I’m almost sad not to be at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and for the second year in a row this fear of missing out is due to a new augmented reality display for cars. Last year it was a new in-plane display with holographic optics from Texas Instruments that projects an image onto the surface of the windshield, as opposed to a traditional head-up display that projects a smaller image into the space in front of the driver throws.
This year, it’s a new BMW concept car that previews some of the technologies we’ll see in the company’s new class electric vehicles, which will feature full-windscreen augmented reality when they go into production in 2025 walk.
The concept is called BMW i Vision Dee, with the “Dee” standing for “Digital Emotional Experience” and not suggesting that BMW designers are fans of it It’s always sunny in Philadelphia.
It’s a counterpart to the BMW i Vision Circular we saw in 2021. This concept explored more sustainable manufacturing; This is trying out new ideas for human-machine interfaces, including a mixed-reality slider that lets drivers decide how much digital content they want the car to show them, with everything from basic driving information to virtual worlds projected onto the windows will – of course , this mode is only intended for use in autonomous driving.
“With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showing what is possible when hardware and software merge. In this way, we can exploit the full potential of digitization to turn the car into an intelligent companion,” says BMW CEO Oliver Zipse. “This is the future for automobile manufacturers – and also for BMW: the merging of the virtual experience with real driving pleasure. At the same time, the BMW i Vision Dee is another step on the way to the new class. With this vision.” we look far into the future and underline the enormous importance of digitization for our coming product generations.”
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The i Vision Dee is a minimalist three box shape. Click through this gallery for more details.
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The i Vision Dee can project content onto the side windows and dim them at the same time. Somehow I don’t think this feature will make it into production.
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The shape of the rear window is known as the “Hofmeisterknick” and, like the kidney grille, is a BMW design signature.
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The front grille covers have E Ink panels and also contain the headlights.
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The rear lights merge with the body.
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BMW has had some experience using e-ink panels on cars.
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I’m not sure how much the shape of the i Vision Dee will translate into a production New Class sedan – BMW is planning several models and versions of the new EV platform, similar to the original New Class sedans and coupes The case was in the 1960s and 1970s. But I hope the minimalist approach to styling survives as I find the exterior form quite appealing.
Interior renders show heavy use of ‘shy technology’, something we first saw from BMW with the Vision iNext, a concept that became the production iX. BMW calls this “reductive design”; It hides the touch controls behind the bezel and generally hides them from view when not in use.
I’m less sure we’ll see some of Dee’s other ideas in production. While full-windshield augmented reality displays are in the works, I’m not sure until the advent of actual autonomous driving systems being sold in consumer cars (as opposed to robotaxis like Waymo) there will be demand for windows, which can be blacked out to block out the outside world, but if the car can drive itself it could be very handy to turn that space into displays for the occupants when stuck in heavy traffic.
Still, the implementation in the Dee seems pretty clever, with a slider that lets the driver move through five levels of information display. The simplest of these shows the information you need while driving – speed, directions and so on. More information-dense levels add infotainment and communication, then augmented reality, and finally this completely virtual world that (at least temporarily) hides the real one.
The Dee also features some exterior display technologies. BMW retains its traditional kidney as the face of its vehicles, but here in the form of an active grille that closes the nose when cooling isn’t needed. The surfaces of the grille covers are e-ink displays, which together with the headlights can create different “face expressions” for the car.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen an idea for cars that use visual cues to communicate with other road users and pedestrians, and it likely won’t be the last. In fact, the entire car is covered in E Ink panels – 240 individually controlled segments, each capable of displaying up to 32 colors.
“With BMW i Vision Dee, we show how the car can be seamlessly integrated into your digital life and become a loyal companion. The vehicle itself becomes your portal to the digital world – the driver is always in control,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design. “When used properly, technology creates rewarding experiences, makes you a better driver and simply brings people and machines closer together.”
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