BMW brings digital emotional experience to future of driving

BMW wowed visitors at the recently concluded 2023 Consumer Electronics Show with a mid-sized concept sedan that embodies the German premium carmaker's understanding of the future of the digital experience.

The futuristic i Vision Dee, with the word Dee standing for digital emotional experience, showed how a car can shake off its 100-year stereotype of a method of transport and grow into a smart and understanding companion with a soul.

"With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showcasing what is possible when hardware and software merge," said Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG.

"In this way, we are able to exploit the full potential of digitalization 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," he said.

One of the i Vision Dee's highlights is a huge head-up display that stretches across the entire windshield, offering all sorts of information from the vehicle's speed and navigation cues to breaking news as well as social media feeds.

The feature, which BMW calls the Advanced Head-Up Display, has enabled the removal of all physical screens onboard to ensure nothing will distract the driver from the digital experience and the new feeling of enhanced driving pleasure.

This has placed the model in sharp contrast with the competition at a time when carmakers are touting the size and number of touch screens in their vehicles.

Zipse said "digital" is not about who has the largest display or the highest processing power. Instead, what matters most is what the users feel and experience.

He said the series production of the head-up technology demonstrated in the concept car will be used in the models of the Neue Klasse from 2025 onwards.

"It is more than a vision. We will bring this innovation into the 'Neue Klasse'. As early as 2025, our customers will be able to experience this completely new technology in their vehicles," said Zipse.

The i Vision Dee also offers the driver an entry into virtual worlds, thanks to its windshield-wide Advanced Head-up Display and the five-level Mixed Reality Slider, which controls what appears on the display.

While Levels 1 and 2 offer basic information, Level 3 features augmented reality navigation cues including obstacles.

Level 4 and 5 bring virtual elements to the windshield along with the information from other levels, making it seem like a video game.

The car's windows, which are dimmable, also help fade out reality, creating a new dimension of driving pleasure for the driver.

The digital experience is not limited to within the vehicle. When a driver approaches the vehicle, he or she will be greeted by the i Vision Dee with a personalized welcome scenario.

An image of the driver's avatar can be projected onto the side windows to further personalize the greeting display.

This means the car can literally talk to the driver and at the same time express moods such as joy, astonishment or approval using the headlights and the closed BMW kidney grille. This is probably why Zipse called it the first BMW to have a digital soul.

The BMW Group has also refined its use of color-change technology within the concept car.

Last year, the carmaker made the spectacular debut of the iX Flow featuring E Ink at the CES 2022. A full-color version of the E Ink technology was showcased in 2023.

The i Vision Dee, rather than simply alternating between black and white, now has a multi-colored, fully variable and individually configurable exterior of up to 32 colors.

"BMW i Vision Dee is about the perfect integration of virtual and physical experiences," said Frank Weber, member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible for development.

"Whoever excels at integrating the customer's everyday digital worlds into the vehicle at all levels will succeed in mastering the future of car-building," said Weber.

Digitalization is one of the three pillars that constitute the BMW Group's future, with the other two being electric and circular.

BMW is already offering the largest number of electric models among the premium marques.

Its sales of electric vehicles in 2022 accounted for roughly 10 percent of its total deliveries that year.

Zipse said the figure is expected to rise to around 15 percent in 2023.

By the end of 2025, the BMW Group will have delivered around 2 million fully electric vehicles to customers worldwide.

As a premium manufacturer, BMW aspires to lead the way in terms of sustainability.

As early as 2020, it fully embraced this strategic approach across all areas of the business — from administration to purchasing, development, production and sales.

"I firmly believe that the fight against climate change and how we use resources will decide the future of our society and the BMW Group," said Zipse. "We are taking sustainability to the next level."

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn