CHANGE THE OIL, UPGRADE THE SOFTWARE
James D. Kerstetter · 2004
BMW and Sun Microsystems are working together to revolutionize the way automakers design internal computer systems for their automobiles. Select BMWs have a built-in software system called iDrive that controls the car's audio systems, navigation and climate control. The display panel allows drivers to manipulate these systems from a single knob. iDrive contains a programming architecture for car systems called Top Level Architecture (TLA) which could reduce the cost of software for cars by more than 50%. TLA, which is based on Sun's Java programming platform, allows software to be added or updated to the automobile at any time during its life.