Advertisement
Canada markets closed

  • S&P/TSX

    21,969.24
    +83.86 (+0.38%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,099.96
    +51.54 (+1.02%)
     

  • DOW

    38,239.66
    +153.86 (+0.40%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7316
    -0.0007 (-0.10%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    83.66
    +0.09 (+0.11%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    86,280.77
    -1,643.66 (-1.87%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,304.48
    -92.06 (-6.59%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,349.60
    +7.10 (+0.30%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,002.00
    +20.88 (+1.05%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6690
    -0.0370 (-0.79%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    15,927.90
    +316.14 (+2.03%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    15.03
    -0.34 (-2.21%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,139.83
    +60.97 (+0.75%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    37,934.76
    +306.28 (+0.81%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6838
    +0.0017 (+0.25%)
     

BMW Gesture Control Walkthrough: Video

Kirk Bell

If voice commands, touchscreen controls, a central dial, and steering wheel buttons aren't enough, BMW will soon have a new way to control the features of your infotainment system. With the release of the 2016 7-Series in October, BMW will debut its new Gesture Control feature.

DON'T MISS: 2016 BMW 7-Series First Drive

Gesture Control doesn't let you control the whole infotainment system. Instead it can recognize six preprogrammed gestures to accomplish a few select tasks. The gestures need to be made above the iDrive dial so a 3D sensor mounted above can recognize them.

Front seat occupants can turn up or down the volume by twirling a finger clockwise for up and counter clockwise for down. That's two gestures. The driver can take a call by pointing at the center screen or reject the call by wiping his/her hand to the right in a dismissive style. That's two more. The driver can also browse a 360-degree view of the vehicle on the center screen by pinching his/her fingers together and moving right or left. That's five.

ADVERTISEMENT

ALSO SEE: Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: 0-60 In 2.7 Seconds, $79,999?

An additional preprogrammed gesture, the two-finger point (think of Curly trying to poke out Moe's eyes), can also be assigned to one of seven tasks: Guidance to home address, Mute/Unmute, Last used menus, Next title/station, Recent calls, Notifications, and Turn off/on control display.

We tried Gesture Control during the media drive of the 2016 7-Series and found that it works fairly well, but it's not bulletproof. The gestures usually got the job done, but occasionally required another try to get results. The volume up/down feature is also hard to modulate. How many finger twirls are needed to get the desired volume? It's inexact and it will require some practice to master.

CHECK OUT: Barracuda Coming Back As A Dodge?

For a video tutorial on this system, click on the accompanying video, in which Marcus Berendt, head of user experience at BMW, demonstrates the system.

_______________________________________

Follow Motor Authority on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +.