BMW will soon turn your 5 Series into a surveillance device
Its Remote View 3D technology could be used in a number of ways, most of which are thankfully not creepy.
More and more automakers are adding multiple exterior cameras to their vehicles. Using some software, these cameras can create a top-down view of the vehicle, which is quite useful for parking or other close-quarters maneuvers. But BMW is about to follow in Cadillac's footsteps and take it one step further with Remote View 3D.
BMW sent out one picture and no information with its Remote View 3D preview, but it's fairly obvious how it will all work. The next-generation BMW 5 Series will likely feature a wealth of cameras, but instead of using that top-down view to parallel park, you can stream it to your phone for...reasons.
Some of those reasons could be perfectly sensible. You might want to check up on your car if it's parked in a not-great neighborhood. That noise you just heard outside? Let's pull up the phone and see if someone's trying to get into the car. It could also be used for a system similar to BMW's new 7 Series, where you'll be able to park the car while outside of it.
It's another layer of vehicle surveillance, really. Perhaps it will feature a system akin to Cadillac's CT6 cameras, which can be linked to various vehicle sensors to turn the car into a dashcam, so when the vehicle is disturbed, the cameras will record the pensioner who bumped you with a shopping cart or the angry ex-wife that finally figured out that those business trips weren't actually for business, per se.
Of course, the new 5 Series is still under wraps, so there's a reason why BMW is being tight-lipped here. The midsize executive Bimmer is due for a fresh look, so it could debut as early as Paris next month. It's likely to happen some time during the 2016-2017 auto show season, though.
