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BMW is developing a full-screen head-up display for the 2025 Neue Class

    A BMW i Vision Circular and a BMW I Vision Dee
    Enlarge / On the left, BMW’s 2021 i Vision Circular concept; right, this year’s i Vision Dee.

    BMW

    I’m almost sad I’m not in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and for the second year in a row, that fear of missing out is due to a new augmented reality screen for cars. Last year it was a new in-plane holographic optical element display from Texas Instruments that projects an image onto the surface of the windshield, unlike a traditional head-up display, which casts a smaller image into the space in front of the driver.

    This year it’s a new BMW concept car that previews some of the tech we’ll see in the company’s Neue Klasse EVs, which will feature full-windshield augmented reality when they go into production in 2025.

    The concept is called the BMW i Vision Dee, with the “Dee” standing for “digital emotional experience” rather than suggesting that BMW designers are fans of It’s always sunny in Philadelphia.

    This view gives you an idea of ​​what the augmented reality windshield would look like. You can also see the driver using the mixed reality slider "shy technology" it is hidden behind the trim on the dashboard and invisible when not in use.
    Enlarge / This view gives you an idea of ​​what the augmented reality windshield would look like. You can also see the driver using the mixed reality slider, which is “shy technology” hidden behind the trim on the dash and invisible when not in use.

    BMW

    It complements the BMW i Vision Circular we saw in 2021. That concept explored more sustainable production; it tries out new human-machine interface ideas, 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 displayed on the windows. projected – of course, that mode is only 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 transform the car into an intelligent companion,” said BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse. “That is the future for car manufacturers – and also for BMW: the fusion of the virtual experience with real driving pleasure. At the same time, BMW i Vision Dee is another step towards the New Class. With this vision, we look far into the future and we underline the enormous importance of digitization for our upcoming product generations.”

    • The i Vision Dee is a minimalist three-box shape. Click through this gallery for more details.

      BMW

    • The i Vision Dee can project content onto the side windows and dim them in the process. Somehow I don’t think this feature will make it to production.

      BMW

    • The shape of the rear window is known as the ‘hofmeister kink’ and, like the kidney grille, is a BMW design signature.

      BMW

    • The front grille covers have e-ink panels and also house the headlights.

      BMW

    • The taillights blend into the body.

      BMW

    • BMW has some experience using e-ink panels on cars.

      BMW

    I’m not sure how much the shape of the i Vision Dee will translate to a production Neue Klasse sedan – BMW is planning multiple models and versions of the new EV platform, just as it did with the original Neue Klasse sedans and coupes in the 1960s and 1970. But I hope the minimalist approach to styling survives, as I find the outer form quite alluring.

    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 touch controls behind the trim and generally makes them disappear from view when not in use.

    I’m less sure we’ll see some of the Dee’s other ideas in production. While full windshield augmented reality displays are in the works I’m not sure there will be a demand for windows that can dim to the outside world but if the car can drive itself it could be really useful to convert that space turn into displays for the occupants if you get stuck in heavy traffic.

    Another look at the interior of the i Vision Dee.
    Enlarge / Another look at the interior of the i Vision Dee.

    BMW

    Still, the implementation in the Dee seems pretty clever, with a slider that allows the driver to move through five stages of information display. The most basic of these shows the information you need while driving: speed, directions, and so on. More information-rich stages add infotainment and communications, then augmented reality, and finally that completely virtual world that blocks out the real one (at least temporarily).

    The Dee also features some external display technology. BMW retains its traditional kidney grille as the face of its vehicles, but here it takes the form of an active grille that closes the nose when cooling is not needed. The surfaces of the grille covers are e-ink displays that, in conjunction with the headlights, can create different “facial expressions” for the car.

    It’s not the first time we’ve seen an idea for cars using visual cues to communicate with other road users and pedestrians, and it probably won’t be the last. In fact, the entire car is covered in e-ink panels: 240 individually controlled segments, each of which can display up to 32 colours.

    This video demonstrates the e-ink body panels of the i Vision Dee.

    “With BMW i Vision Dee, we are showing how the car can integrate seamlessly into your digital life and become a reliable companion. The car itself becomes your gateway to the digital world, with the driver always in control,” says Adrian van Hooydonk. , Head of BMW Group Design. “Implemented correctly, technology will create valuable experiences, make you a better driver and simply bring people and machines closer together.”