NEWSBYTE: German car giant BMW is looking to hire artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analysis specialists for a new autonomous driving research centre.
The 23,000 square metre facility is based in Unterschleißheim, Germany, and has room for 1,800 employees.
The decision to build the campus was taken 15 months ago. The BMW Group wanted to pool its development experts in the fields of vehicle connectivity and automated driving in a single location. It hopes that the new campus will attract more and more IT specialists to work there.
BMW no longer a car company
BMW has said that it wants to be seen as a technology business rather than an automaker. The campus represents that vision, with new working environments and creative workspaces. BMW believes that this offers a high level of autonomy and efficiency; for example, a software developer can test out freshly written code in a vehicle that is just a short walk away, said the company.
In addition, BMW claimed it would be the first maker in the automotive sector to apply the agile working model systematically across an entire specialist area. It will apply agile working models to the autonomous driving and driver-assistance section of its business, from the research phase all the way through to series production development.
“The open campus structure offers excellent conditions and exceptional support for scrum teams, and therefore lends itself perfectly to the agile software development process,” said the company in an announcement.
“Scrum teams have an interdisciplinary structure, meaning that a variety of skills are brought together. They handle complex sub-processes, working independently with an end-to-end approach. The high degree of flexibility allows the teams to react quickly and effectively to new requirements,” it said.
Internet of Business says
As the connected transport sector becomes ever more diverse and customer focused, more and more vehicle manufacturers are realising that they need to redefine themselves for a future in which private car ownership may shift from the mass market to high-value niches.
As companies such as Uber and Waymo look beyond the 20th Century concept of a car in every driveway, BMW and its peers need to be change enablers – because if they don’t, then plenty of new technology companies will be happy to take their place.
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