BMW

i Vision DEE: “Digital Emotional Experience”

In the spotlight at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, the BMW Group offers an insight into the future vision of the digital experience that can be experienced in and out of the car. The BMW i Vision DEE study car is a futuristic mid-range limousine, which was envisioned by the designers along a new, extremely streamlined design language. The model name “DEE” of the concept stands for “Digital Emotional Experience” which heralds the groundbreaking experience of digitization, which maximally reflects the purpose of the study car: to create the closest ever connection between a person and a car. The digital functions of the future go far beyond the voice control and driver support systems known today. Meanwhile, the BMW Head-Up Display covers the entire windshield area, prematurely bringing one of the innovations of the next vehicle generation into the present: from 2025, this innovation will be available on members of the NEUE KLASSE model generation. In the meantime, the BMW Group has also further developed the revolutionary color changing body technology: after the black and white shades of E Ink technology unveiled a year ago, also in Las Vegas, this year the body of the BMW i Vision DEE study is now able to animate up to 32 colors.

“With the BMW i Vision DEE study car, we show what is possible when hardware and software become one. In this way, we are able to exploit the full potential inherent in digitalization, transforming the car into a smart companion. For car manufacturers – and therefore for BMW – this is the future itself: the fusion of the virtual world and the real driving experience. At the same time, the BMW i Vision DEE study car is a further step towards the NEUE KLASSE model generation. With this concept, we look to the future and emphasize the absolute importance of digitalization, along which we dream our next product generations” – said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

Thanks to its intelligent, almost human characteristics, the BMW i Vision DEE study car is present as the driver's constant companion not only in real driving situations, but also in the digital world.

“A BMW is brought to life by unrivaled digital performance, and the BMW i Vision DEE concept car is the perfect integration of virtual and physical experiences. Whoever is able to integrate the everyday digital life of customers into the car at all levels can claim the future of car manufacturing as their own,” said Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for vehicle development.

BMW Mixed Reality Slider technology: five steps into the digital world...The BMW Mixed Reality Slider technology – in cooperation with the new generation of the BMW Head-Up Display – is the central control unit and digital highlight of the BMW i Vision DEE study car. Using sensors hidden in the dashboard, the driver can choose between five steps how much digital content the new-generation BMW Head-Up Display should project in front of him: starting with analogue information, through to driving-related information, the contents of communication systems and the projection of augmented reality, until the full arrival to the virtual world. Furthermore, thanks to the dimmable windows, reality can be completely hidden. With the BMW i Vision DEE study car, you can experience unifying reality in an impressive way without any additional equipment, bringing to life a new dimension of the driving experience that affects all the user's senses.

New generation of BMW Head-Up display: from 2025 in model generation NEUE KLASSE...In the automotive industry, the BMW Group is known as the pioneer and guide of the Head-Up Display, as the company group has improved and perfected the technology time to time over the past two decades. In the BMW i Vision DEE concept car, the new generation BMW Head-Up Display covers the entire surface of the windshield, which allows information to be displayed over the largest imaginable area. However, the technology only becomes visible when the driver activates it. With this, the BMW Group heralds the enormous potential inherent in projector technology, while the BMW i Vision DEE concept car also tangibly demonstrates how the new generation BMW Head-Up Display can be used in future display and control concepts. of vehicles in a variety of ways. The basic technology of the new generation BMW Head-Up Display, which covers the entire windshield, will be put into series production for the first time with the model generation NEUE KLASSE, which will debut in 2025.

Welcome technology with sound and figurine icons...The digital experience starts outside the car, with a greeting created according to the personal preferences of the customer of the Bavarian premium brand: the technology combines graphic elements, light effects and sounds . The simplest and most intuitive form of interaction is created by live natural speech, which allows perfect understanding between man and car. The car's closed grille and headlights form a common phygital icon (a fusion of physical elements and digital solutions) with which the car can adopt different facial expressions. This means that the BMW i Vision DEE concept car can speak to people while also visually displaying emotions and gestures such as joy, shock or approval. What's more, the BMW i Vision DEE concept car is also capable of projecting the driver's profile picture onto the side window when greeting, to make the interaction even more personal.

The World Premiere of Colored E Ink Technology...After the BMW iX Flow Concept, equipped with revolutionary E Ink technology, celebrated its spectacular debut in Las Vegas just one year ago, the BMW Group is also unveiling an enhanced and colored version of technology. The BMW i Vision DEE concept car is the world's first four-wheel vehicle with a body that changes color across the entire spectrum. The bodywork of the BMW i Vision DEE study car is not only capable of a spectacular play of black and white tones, but also guarantees a completely changeable and individually configurable display across the entire color palette. This magical overall effect is made possible thanks to the ePaper film layer by E Ink working as a collaborative partner with the BMW Group, with which the entire bodywork of the BMW i Vision DEE study car was coated. The technology makes it possible to display up to 32 different colors.

The creators divided the body surface of the BMW i Vision DEE study car into 240 individually controllable E Ink segments, which allow the creation and continuous change of infinitely varied patterns in seconds. The precise laser cutting process of the film layer and the electronic control technology were jointly developed by BMW Group and E Ink engineers. Installing the technology in the bodywork and programming the individual animations was carried out by the development engineers of the Munich-based group of companies – as part of an unusual car-building process, unique in the automotive industry as a whole.

Completely simplified design language inside and out...The design language of the BMW i Vision DEE study car was devised by simplifying it to the extreme to focus exclusively on the digital experience and the essence of the BMW brand. The concept uses the distinctive three-piece bodywork of the premium Bavarian manufacturer's limousine models, which is characteristic of BMW's most popular model series. Engineers rethought one by one and replaced defining styling features such as the kidney-shaped radiator grille, headlamps with a double double-ring motif, and the Hofmeister twist with figurative icons. This makes the BMW i Vision DEE concept car particularly unique; took on a digital but human character.

In the cabin, digitization goes hand in hand with spectacular cleanliness of the materials used, control units and displays, which ensures that nothing distracts from the digital experience and the all-new, all-encompassing driving experience. Thanks to the touch-sensitive surface of the unusually designed steering wheel with a vertical central spoke, many vehicle functions can be controlled with the flick of a finger. This includes, among others, the projected contents on the windshield, which, in cooperation with the new generation BMW Head-Up Display, implement the “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road” principle.

“With the BMW i Vision DEE study car, we have shown how the car can merge with the driver's digital life and become a reliable and intelligent companion for the driver in all situations. As such, the car serves as an entry point into the digital world – all the while under the driver's control. Under appropriate application conditions, technology delivers unsurpassed experiences, makes you a better leader, and brings the worlds of people and machines closer together.” – said Adrian van Hooydonk, chief designer of the BMW Group.

Another milestone on the way to the debut of the NEUE KLASSE model generation

The future of the BMW Group is electric, recyclable and digital. The BMW i Vision DEE study car embodies the digital aspect of these three pillars, as the next milestone on the way to the debut of the NEUE KLASSE model generation. In 2023, the BMW Group will reveal more details about the revolutionary NEUE KLASSE model generation vehicle concept.

by: Mundoquatrorodas