BMW Group has gone into overdrive on car innovations lately, and Basemark helped it develop an augmented reality application to help drivers.

Helsinki, Finland-based Basemark makes graphics and autonomous driving software for modern cars. And now it is helping BMW create AR applications for the car maker’s new iX model.

These new features help to increase the driving experience, comfort and safety to a new level. Basemark’s AR over-video application is the first app and is now available in some of the latest BMW models. The work helps the new electric BMW iX vehicles use sensor data and computer vision functionality. These enable AR-enhanced information to be shown on the car’s infotainment screens.

AR-powered infotainment systems help the driver with vehicle interaction and by being more aware of their surroundings. For example, AR increases the ease, accuracy, and safety of navigation. With AR, upcoming turning maneuvers and lane recommendations are shown to the driver directly on infotainment screen.

The front-view camera automatically sends live footage to the curved touchscreen where interactive arrows appear to show the driver exactly where they need to go. The map remains visible thanks to a split-screen functionality. This means drivers no longer need to interpret the image from the navigation map to the road in front of them.

AR features also help to improve the parking experience in densely packed urban environments. AR can also help to guide the driver towards available parking vacancies, it informs about parking limitations and rates, and augments the driver’s spatial awareness during parking.

“The BMW Group’s augmented reality-powered applications set a new standard for driver experience, comfort and safety. We are delighted that Basemark’s leading automotive software know-how resulted in AR implementations that fulfilled the concept of the BMW Group and asset requirements with great technical feasibility and high performance,” said says Tero Sarkkinen, CEO Basemark, in a statement. “We also collaborated to improve the BMW Group’s asset creation and delivery process, empowering both designers and developers, resulting in reducing time spent for development. The work also included providing support for concept exploration and simulation development of AR concept features.”