BMW Group and Nanyang Technological University have launched a joint research programme on future mobility - the first of its kind in the region and one of eight the German car-maker has worldwide.

The $5.5 million Future Mobility Research Lab is co-funded by the two parties, and will focus on three areas over the next five years.

The three areas are: next generation of batteries for electric vehicles and other applications; mobility research, which studies the commuting patterns of people in a mega-city; and human-machine interface, which works on systems that can detect as well as predict driver behaviour.

The lab will start with about a dozen people, including six PhD students. Both sides expect to have deliverables within four years.