BMW details Superbrains for Neue Klasse EVs – 20 times more computing power, zonal wiring architecture

BMW’s upcoming Neue Klasse models will feature what the brand calls Superbrains, which are four high-performance computers that form a digital nervous system for various vehicle functions. According to the German automaker, the four Superbrains provide more than 20 times the computing power compared to the current vehicle generation and are already designed for upcoming software and function updates, including AI-powered experiences.

One of the four Superbrains is referred to as the Heart of Joy and forms part of the BMW Dynamic Performance Control, which manages the vehicle’s drivetrain, brakes, charging, recuperation and steering functions. As the engine and chassis control are combined into a single control unit for the first time, the company claims the response time is less than one millisecond, ten times faster than previous control units.

A second Superbrain handles automated driving functions and integrates what was previously distributed across four control units into one powerful computing unit. Compared to the previous generation, BMW says the integrated unit offers a compute performance uplift of 20 times.

To handle the Neue Klasse’s infotainment, there’s a third Superbrain to power BMW Operating System X. This is represented by Panoramic iDrive that includes the Panoramic Vision, 3D head-up display and central display. Additionally, AI-supported and cloud-based functions are part of the infotainment, which comes with a ‘Shared Service Layer’.

Lastly, basic functions are managed by a fourth Superbrain so things like vehicle access, climate and comfort, interior and exterior lighting, data flow and processing as well as remote software upgrades work as they should. Up to 100 vehicle functions are integrated into this single unit that is linked to 50 sensors.

In addition to the Superbrains, a critical component of the Neue Klasse’s digital nervous system is a simplified wiring harness. Thanks to a zonal wiring harness architecture (also used by Rivian), the brand’s new electric vehicles (EVs) use 600 metres less wiring compared to the previous generation, which brings with it weight savings of 30%.

The wiring harness is divided into four zones, including the front end, centre, rear and roof, with the Superbrains being connected via high-speed data connections to small control units. These zonal controllers manage and consolidate the data flow of the electronics in and out of the zones, allowing for shorter, thinner and lighter wiring.

On a related note, the reduced wiring necessitates the use of ‘Smart eFuses’, which are digital fuses that replace up to 150 traditional fuses. These can be programmed to handle energy distribution to components, with intelligent power modes available for various vehicle states to improve energy efficiency by 20%.

The new hardware requires strong software support to fulfil BMW’s software-defined vehicle (SDV) targets. As such, development teams are working on over 1,000 software modules, over 20 GB of software and over 500 million lines of code. To support these efforts, the company uses CodeCraft that uses generative AI to increase productivity by more than 130 times compared to 10 years ago.

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