Over the years there has been a cliché that the most advanced cars are only equipped with huge screens, high performance processors, or advanced AI technology ……
But according to Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW Group, these things are not the focus of the user experience.
‘Digital leadership in the car is not about biggest screen, or the highest processing power, or even who writes the most lines of code. No, the only thing that matters is what the user feels and experiences.’
When you start your car, the greeting you receive should not be the text with your name on the screen, but rather the excitement of being on the road that you can feel.
Breaking the boundary between virtual and real, let the in-car intelligent assistant become your faithful companion, and as you spend time together, it will understand you more and more.
‘Sounds like mobility is becoming more human, right?’
The car, as an object, will also give you an emotional experience in the future.
It will be a little nervous, it will wink at you mischievously, and it will surprise you with augmented reality images of you glancing out the window in the cockpit.
On January 5, during CES 2023, BMW Group unveiled the BMW i Dee, the first digital emotional interaction concept for global users, a digital emotional experience to be exact.
Through the concept model, BMW wants to demonstrate its vision of the future digital experience inside and outside the car, and to look forward to the upcoming BMW “New Generation” models in 2025.
BMW says the future of in-car digital functionality will go far beyond the familiar voice control and driver assistance systems of today. With its intelligent, near-human capabilities, BMW i Dee can become the ultimate partner for people’s digital lives.
In the demonstration, BMW endowed the BMW i Digital Emotional Interaction Concept with a number of innovative technologies to achieve a perfect experience for the driver in both the virtual and real worlds.
It takes the visual experience a step further.
The central control system of the BMW i Dee uses a combination of the Advanced Head-up Display and the Mixed Reality Slider.
The flat-screen display system, first applied to the BMW i Dee, is different from existing flat-screen display technology.
It keeps the projected content displayed at the same width as the windshield, so that digital information can be displayed as large as possible, rather than the traditional small area.
The flat-screen display can show other driving information such as the vehicle’s current speed and direction of travel. The experience is more natural and safer due to the increased area of displayed information and the alignment with the driver’s line of sight of driving, taking into account both seeing the road and browsing information.
BMW has revealed that the flat-screen display will be available in production vehicles on the Neue Klasse electric platform by 2025.
Another highlight of the BMW i Dee is the Mixed Reality Interactive Interface.
Without any assistive devices, the mixed reality technology can fully engage the different senses and create an immersive experience in the car, thus creating a new dimension of driving pleasure for the driver.
BMW’s Shy Tech sensors are embedded in the BMW i Dee’s instrument panel, allowing the driver to determine the digital content to be displayed on the HUD system and customize the richness of the content.
Through the mixed reality interactive interface, the driver can also choose between five layers containing: real environment, driving information, social communication, augmented reality projection, and virtual world.
Talking to people and expressing emotions is another major highlight of BMW i Dee.
In terms of design, the BMW i Dee’s headlights and closed double-kidney grille together form the Human-Machine Emotional Interaction module outside the car, allowing the car to make different “facial” expressions, such as expressing emotions, such as joy, surprise or approval.
BMW has also given BMW i Dee the ability to create personalized welcome scenarios that communicate and interact with people in the most natural way through words and expressions.
Using sensors installed on the body of the car, the vehicle can recognize the identity and location of the person, and when the vehicle detects the driver approaching the cockpit, the door will automatically open to show welcome.
In addition, the car can also project the driver’s virtual image on the side windows.
Finally, as a bonus, BMW has also used advanced E Ink full-color electronic paper display technology for the body of the BMW i Dee, which is fully variable and can be individually configured for a colored appearance. With different electrical pulses, up to 32 color effects can be achieved.