As part of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in 2023, the BMW Group is sharing its vision of the future digital experience, both within and outside of the vehicle. BMW i Vision Dee is a futuristic mid-size sedan with a minimalist and pared-down design language. ‘Dee’ stands for Digital Emotional Experience – and it aims to strengthen the bond between people and their cars in the future. Our current knowledge of voice control and driver assistance systems will be far outweighed by the capabilities of future digital functions.
BMW’s Head-Up Display extends across the entire windscreen and provides a glimpse of the next generation of vehicles. In addition, the BMW Group has refined the use of color-change technology so that it will be available in the NEUE KLASSE models beginning in 2025. After unveiling the BMW iX Flow Featuring E Ink, which switches from black to white, at the last CES, the BMW i Vision Dee can now curate its exterior in up to 32 different colors.
Rather than simply alternating between black and white, BMW i Vision Dee now offers a multi-colored, variable and individually configurable exterior. The body is covered with an ePaper film from BMW Group’s cooperation partner, E Ink. It supports 32 colors. 240 E Ink segments cover the BMW i Vision Dee’s body, each with an individual display. Within seconds, an almost infinite variety of patterns can be generated. E Ink developed the laser cutting process and the electronic control design. These technologies were adapted for curved surfaces and animated by BMW Group’s in-house engineers – enabling a form of customization unique to the automotive sector.
BMW i Vision Dee is an intelligent, almost human-like vehicle that accompanies drivers not only on the road, but also in their digital environment. BMW i Vision Dee features the BMW Mixed Reality Slider in combination with the advanced Head-Up Display. Drivers can choose how much digital content they want to see on the advanced Head-Up Display using shy-tech sensors.
A five-step selection process starts with analog, then moves onto driving information, communications system contents, augmented-reality projection, and virtual worlds. Dimmable windows can also gradually fade out of reality. BMW i Vision Dee makes mixed reality an immersive experience, engaging different senses without requiring any additional tools, creating a heightened dimension of driving pleasure.
BMW has been a trailblazer in the automotive sector for Head-Up-Displays for more than two decades. A projection across the entire windscreen in BMW i Vision Dee enables information to be displayed on the largest possible surface – which becomes recognizable as a display once it is activated. Thus, BMW i Vision Dee illustrates how an advanced Head-Up-Display could also be used in the future for display and operation. Standard-production BMW Head-up-Displays will be used in the NEUE KLASSE models beginning in 2025.
A personalized welcome scenario combining graphical elements, light and sound effects begins the digital experience outside the vehicle. Humans and their vehicles communicate with natural language, the simplest and most intuitive form. On a uniform surface, the BMW kidney grille and headlights create a phygital (fusion of physical and digital) icon. BMW i Vision Dee can express moods such as joy, astonishment, or approval visually while it talks to people. Additionally, BMW i Vision Dee can project the driver’s avatar onto the side window.
BMW Group’s future lies in electric, circular, and digital technologies. A new milestone on the road to the next generation of vehicles, the NEUE KLASSE, will be the BMW i Vision Dee. This represents the digital aspect of this trio. As part of its ongoing commitment to providing further insights into the revolutionary vehicle concept of the NEUE KLASSE, BMW Group will make further announcements throughout 2023.
