With its new brand campaign and ‘Meet Okto the Octopus’ video, BMW has provided an unusual insight into the operation of its new Heart of Joy central control unit.
The star of the video is an octopus performing a perfectly coordinated underwater choreography—as an analogy for the way the Heart of Joy will intelligently coordinate key driving functions in future BMW vehicles, starting with the Neue Klasse models.
A new central control unit called the Heart of Joy is taking BMW driving dynamics to a new level—from standstill to the limits. It will make its debut in the BMW Neue Klasse models. The Heart of Joy combines with the BMW Dynamic Performance Control software stack to centrally control the powertrain, brakes and recuperation as well as some steering functions.
Compared to previous systems, the new control unit processes driving information around ten times faster and responds more directly to the driver than ever before. The Heart of Joy passed its first public performance test at Auto Shanghai, as part of the BMW Vision Driving Experience.
The ‘Meet Okto the Octopus’ video translates the new “superbrain’s” power into cinematic poetry. The star of the video is an octopus. A fascinating animal that uses a decentralised nervous system to enable independent control of individual parts of its body. Much like a modern car has separate control units for braking, acceleration and steering.
In the new BMW brand video, this scenario is reversed: the octopus is given a central nervous system and then moves in a synchronised, precise and controlled manner to perform an underwater waltz—while simultaneously avoiding hazards.
The video’s concept and implementation are the work of the Jung von Matt Hamburg agency. The video will be shown online and in cinemas worldwide.
