The BMW I Vision Dee is a cutting-edge mid-size car with a new, simplified design language. Dee stands for Digital Emotional Experience, which is precisely what it aims to do moving forward: create a closer link between individuals and their automobiles.
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BMW I Vision Dee brings an immersive experience
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas, the BMW Group presented its vision of the digital experience of the future, both inside and outside the car. Future digital features will be significantly more advanced than the voice control and driver assistance technologies used today.
The whole width of the windshield is covered by the BMW Head-Up Display, which provides a peek at the next car generation. This innovation will be offered in NEUE KLASSE models starting in 2025. Additionally, the BMW Group has improved how it employs color-change technology.
The BMW iX Flow Featuring E Ink, which could switch from black to white, was introduced at the last CES. Now, the BMW I Vision Dee may choose from up to 32 colors for the outside.
“With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showcasing what is possible when hardware and software merge. In this way, we are able to exploit the full potential of digitalisation to transform the car into an intelligent companion. That is the future for automotive manufacturers – and, also, for BMW: the fusion of the virtual experience with genuine driving pleasure. At the same time, BMW i Vision Dee is another step on the road to the NEUE KLASSE. With this vision, we are looking far into the future and underlining the tremendous importance of digitalisation for our upcoming product generations,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
BMW I Vision Dee helps drivers navigate both their digital surroundings and real-world driving conditions with its sophisticated, almost human-like skills.
Discover the virtual universe with BMW Mixed Reality Slider
The digital centerpiece and primary point of operation of the BMW I Vision Dee is the BMW Mixed Reality Slider in conjunction with the cutting-edge head-up display. Drivers may choose how much digital material they wish to see on the sophisticated head-up display using low-tech sensors on the instrument panel.
The five options are analog, driving-related information, communications system content, augmented reality projection, and finally, admission into virtual worlds. Dimmable windows may likewise be used to progressively mute reality in parallel.
In BMW I Vision Dee, mixed reality may be experienced in an immersive manner that stimulates many senses without the need for extra equipment, adding a new level of driving enjoyment for the user.
The NEUE KLASSE head-up display will be launched in 2025
The BMW Group has steadily improved this technology over the last 20 years and is recognized in the automobile industry as a pioneer of the Head-Up Display. BMW I Vision Dee uses projection over the width of the windshield to show information on the greatest area possible, which is only discernible as a display once it is turned on.
In this manner, the BMW Group shows off the enormous potential of projection technology, and BMW I Vision Dee imagines how an improved head-up display may also be used in the future for the notion of display and operation. From 2025 on, versions of the NEUE KLASSE will employ the standard-production version of the BMW Head-up Display that spans the whole width of the windshield.
Features that bring humans and cars closer
Outside the car, a customized welcome scene combining visual components, lighting, and sound effects kicks off the digital experience. Natural language enables complete comprehension between people and their automobiles since it is the simplest, most intuitive type of communication.
The headlights and closed BMW kidney grille also combine to create a shared phygital emblem on a uniform surface, which enables the car to make many facial emotions. This implies that BMW I Vision Dee may converse with people while also visually expressing emotions like delight, amazement, or approbation.
To further customize the welcome scene, BMW I Vision Dee may also display a picture of the driver’s avatar onto the side window.
E Ink technology has already been launched
The BMW Group is currently introducing a full-color version of the E Ink technology in the BMW I Vision Dee, which will be utilized as the outside skin of the vehicle for the first time ever in the world, after the dramatic presentation of the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink at CES 2022.
Instead of merely switching between black and white, the outside of the BMW I Vision Dee is now multicolored, completely flexible, and individually programmable. The body of the vehicle is covered with an ePaper coating from the BMW Group’s collaborative partner, E Ink. Displays of up to 32 colors are possible.
240 E Ink elements that can be individually manipulated make up the body surface of the BMW I Vision Dee. This enables the creation and variation of an almost unlimited number of designs in a matter of seconds. Together with E Ink, we created the electrical control system and the laser cutting technique used to trim the films.
The BMW Group’s own engineers created the technology’s adaption for curved surfaces and animation programming, providing a kind of customization that is unmatched in the global car industry.
Discreet design to focus on the digital experience
In order to draw emphasis to the digital experience and the core elements of the BMW brand, the design of BMW I Vision Dee has been purposefully simplified. The iconic three-box sedan design that serves as the foundation of the BMW brand defines the appearance.
Phygital symbols are used in place of analog components in classic design aspects including the BMW kidney grille, dual circular headlights, and the Hofmeister kink. As a result, BMW I Vision Dee has a distinctively computerized but human personality.
To guarantee that nothing interferes with the digital experience and the new sense of increased driving enjoyment, digitalization inside goes hand in hand with the reductive use of materials, operational controls, and displays. With its center vertical spoke and unique form, the steering wheel produces touchpoints that are activated when approached or touched and may be used to move the thumb.
Together with the Head-Up Display, these physical touchpoints enable the selection of the material that is projected onto the windshield, supporting the maxim “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road.”
A “new class” of BMWs is on its way
The BMW Group will be electric, circular, and digital in the future. The digital component of this trio is represented by BMW I Vision Dee, another step toward the NEUE KLASSE, the next vehicle generation. Over the course of 2023, the BMW Group will provide further details and sneak peeks at the groundbreaking vehicle concept of the NEUE KLASSE.
