Tech Trend 247

Want to know what's happening around your car at all times? It seems with the next BMW 5 Series, you might be able to do just that.

BMW decided to be a big tease Friday morning when it released the single image you see above accompanied by a two-sentence press release:

Always know what is happening around your vehicle. The next generation of the BMW 5 Series with the BMW Connected feature ‘Remote View 3D’. 

Presumably, this is BMW's way of previewing one of the tech treats on its forthcoming next-generation mid-size 5 Series luxury sedan, called Remote View 3D.

From what we can ascertain, the 5 Series equipped with BMW's 360-degree surround-view camera system will be able to display the images, along with a 3D rendering of the car, on an owner's smartphone — even when the driver is nowhere near their Bavarian driving machine. With it, owners can presumably digitally monitor a 360-degree view around their car.

While at first blush this seems super cool and James Bond-y, having marinated on it a minute, it might rather become a source of much anxiety.

I say that because I know I'd find myself sitting at dinner with loved ones, for example, watching the live feed from my car. And sitting there helplessly, as I watch chuckleheads bump into my brand-new Bimmer, would be quite irksome.

Putting my neurosis aside, I'll tip my hat to BMW because it's a pretty cool idea and likely has more helpful applications than to raise a 5 Series' owner's heart rate.