A door might be mundane in most cars, but not in the 2023 BMW 7 Series or its fully electric i7 counterpart. Trickling down from Rolls-Royce, automatic doors are available as an option on the new G70. Aside from integrating a 5.5-inch touchscreen to control many in-car functions, the electrically operated doors come bundled with a plethora of safety systems.
A new video released by BMW puts the spotlight on the i7 with its automatic doors, which will fully open at the press of a button, provided the way is clear. No fewer than 12 ultrasound sensors mounted on the side of the car can detect objects located up to the window frame and up to one meter away from the doors. If another car is detected nearby, the door will only open up to a certain point, thus leaving enough room for the owner of the other vehicle to open the door.
The technology is not foolproof since there is a risk that sensors might not be able to recognize smaller objects or other car doors at certain angles. For this reason, BMW argues it’s best to put your hand on the door and stop it in case it’s about to slam into an adjacent object. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry. A door that’s about to close will automatically come to a halt if something is blocking its way, such as a suitcase as demonstrated in the video.
Initiating the opening/closing sequence is done by the simple press of a button or by using the key. The German luxury marque plans to roll out an additional method by using the My BMW App from a smartphone to open and close the doors while sitting outside of the 7 Series / i7. It’ll also be possible to do it through voice commands or by using the iDrive while sitting inside the car.
Source: BMW