BMW has announced it will reveal its Air Touch gesture control technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

BMW HAS ANNOUNCED it will “demonstrate what the interior and user interface of the future might look like” via its Air Touch gesture control technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Reading through the guff, it seems that drivers will soon be waving their hands around for reasons other than road rage…

BMW hasn’t explained how the technology would work, but it has described what it’s capable of doing. “This feature empowers intuitive control of entertainment, navigation and communication functions using simple gestures made with a flat hand. AirTouch allows the display in a vehicle to be operated like a touchscreen without actually having to make contact with the surface.

“Sensors record the hand movements in the area between the central console and the interior mirror. This enables drivers or passengers to change the focus on the surface of the large panorama display. Simple confirmation selects the relevant menu item or activates an icon,” BMW said in a statement.

Gesture control isn’t new for BMW, indeed it’s already available on the BMW 7 Series as BMW Gesture Control. But, the german car makers said its Air Touch concept is a big step ahead.

Sensors have been installed in the dashboard which respond to hand movements allowing three-dimensional control. A movement of the hand or a gesture activates the surfaces on the large panorama display.

To confirm an action using Air Touch a concealed AirTouch button, located on the rim of the steering wheel, lights up when a menu or icon can be activated. “One tap is sufficient to activate the desired program or change a setting. The passenger also has a button like this positioned on the side sill in the door area. Passengers are therefore able to use one hand to navigate through the menu and the other hand to confirm inputs very quickly,” BMW said.