Advertisement
Canada markets open in 8 hours 36 minutes

  • S&P/TSX

    21,885.38
    +11.66 (+0.05%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,048.42
    -23.21 (-0.46%)
     

  • DOW

    38,085.80
    -375.12 (-0.98%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7324
    +0.0001 (+0.01%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    83.87
    +0.30 (+0.36%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    87,798.65
    -31.25 (-0.04%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,387.31
    +4.73 (+0.34%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,347.30
    +4.80 (+0.20%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    1,981.12
    -14.31 (-0.72%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.7060
    +0.0540 (+1.16%)
     

  • NASDAQ futures

    17,770.50
    +203.00 (+1.16%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    15.37
    -0.60 (-3.76%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,078.86
    +38.48 (+0.48%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,018.03
    +389.55 (+1.04%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6828
    +0.0007 (+0.10%)
     

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 +.