Ahead of CES Las Vegas 2023, BMW allowed us to discover its brand new i Vision Dee concept car. With animations that make it look like a car from the animated film Cars, it’s the most human of vehicles we’ve come across so far.
BMW is not just a historic car manufacturer. The brand wants to prove with its new concept that it is also part of the future by integrating ever more technologies. Presented on January 5, 2023 at CES Las Vegas, the BMW i Vision Dee is the good example of the combined know-how between hardware design and software development.
This concept incorporates several technological elements developed by the brand: a new generation of intelligent assistant, mixed reality, as well as the e-ink technology presented last year at CES Las Vegas.
BMW i Vision Dee is not just an electric sedan concept planned for the near future. With this project, the brand sees further in time and transforms the car into a smart companion.
What is i Vision Dee?
In line with BMW’s i Vision concepts, this new project is simultaneously focused on digital, electrification and sustainable development, with materials from the circular economy. BMW i Vision Dee is the combination of a very simple design, an interior where the buttons disappear, but much more advanced technology.
The “Dee” in the name of the concept stands for: Digital Emotional Experience. Behind these words, BMW wants to create a stronger bond between the driver and his car, by creating a more human and more connected vehicle.
Hospitality scenarios that bring the concept to life
If on the outside, i Vision Dee looks like a simple electric sedan with a sleek style, once its driver approaches the vehicle, the vehicle seems to wake up to interact with him.
The animations of the panels covered with e-ink technology, distributed over different areas of the bodywork, bring the vehicle to life. What appeared to be conventional LED lights turn into a look that even winks to provoke us. The vehicle can reproduce different human facial expressions to communicate with its environment. This gives a little Cars character side to the concept.
The vehicle can also welcome its driver by projecting his avatar on the side windows, demonstrating that he has recognized it. He can communicate vocally with Dee, even from outside the vehicle, as he would do with an Alexa-type personal assistant. Moreover, to the question ” who are you Dee? “, the vehicle answers:” I am your companion. »
If more and more manufacturers are developing personal assistants to help the driver use the features available on board cars, Dee’s pushes the cursor even further by adopting a more accomplished natural language.
From augmented reality to mixed reality projected onto vehicle windows
BMW gave us the opportunity to test mixed reality with a headset, it already gave a first glimpse of the brand’s work on this subject. On the i Vision Dee, the principle goes further, by imagining that the driver will be able to choose in the future whether he drives with some indications in augmented reality or downright in a virtualized universe. The other screens have also completely disappeared from the passenger compartment presented on the concept.
If you are bored with your daily journeys, BMW invites you to project yourself into a virtual environment. The windshield becomes a different projection of the reality of the road you are driving. With 5 different levels, you can either ride normally with a few discreet displays, or give more space to digital, until you are fully immersed in this new virtual environment.
It is currently quite difficult to imagine a concrete use of this technology. There are certainly some good ideas to take, especially when it comes to augmented reality that signals dangers on the road. While waiting for this technology to be integrated into future vehicles, one wonders if the design of the i Vision Dee concept will be applied to a future production model.
