BMW presents its futuristic medium sedan, the i Vision Dee

BMW has introduced the i Vision Dee, a futuristic midsize saloon with a new, refined design language. The name ‘Dee’ stands for Digital Emotional Experience, and that is precisely its goal: to create an even stronger bond between people and their cars in the future. Future digital features will go far beyond the level of voice control and driver assistance systems we know today. The BMW Head-Up-Display extends the full width of the windshieldproviding insight into the next generation of vehicles.

With its intelligent, almost human capabilities, BMW i Vision Dee accompanies drivers not only through real-life situations on the roads, but also in their digital environment.

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The BMW Mixed Reality Slider, in combination with the advanced Head-up Display, is the digital highlight and the central operational control of the BMW i Vision Dee. Thanks to high-tech sensors located in the instrument cluster, the driver can decide for himself how much digital content he wants to see on the advanced Head-Up Display. The selection in five steps ranges from analog content, through information related to driving, the contents of the communications system, the projection of augmented reality, to the entry into virtual worlds. In parallel, you can also use adjustable windows to gradually dim reality. Mixed reality can be experienced in the BMW i Vision Dee in an immersive way that engages different senses without the need for additional tools, creating a new dimension of driving pleasure for the user.

The digital experience begins outside the vehicle, with a personalized welcome scene that combines graphic elements and light and sound effects. Natural language serves as the simplest and most intuitive form of interaction, allowing a perfect understanding between the human being and his vehicle. BMW’s closed headlamps and kidney grille also form a common phygital icon (fusion of the physical and the digital) on a uniform surface, allowing the vehicle to produce different facial expressions. This means that the BMW i Vision Dee can speak to people and at the same time visually express moods such as joy, wonder and even approval. BMW i Vision Dee can also project an image of the driver’s avatar on the side window to further personalize the welcome scene.

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The body surface of the BMW i Vision Dee is divided into 240 E Ink segments, each of which is individually controlled. This allows an almost infinite variety of patterns to be generated and combined in a matter of seconds. The laser cutting process used to cut the sheets and the design of the electronic control were developed in collaboration with E Ink. The adaptation of this technology to curved surfaces and the programming of the animations were developed by internal BMW Group engineers, enabling a unique form of personalization in the automotive sector worldwide.

The design of the BMW i Vision Dee has been deliberately pared down to focus attention on the digital experience and the DNA of the BMW brand. The exterior is defined by the classic three-volume saloon design that is at the core of the BMW brand. Traditional design elements such as the BMW kidney grille, twin circular headlamps and Hofmeister curve have been reinvented, with digital icons replacing the analog elements. This gives the BMW i Vision Dee its own digital, yet human character.

Inside, digitization goes hand-in-hand with reduced use of materials, operational controls and displays to ensure nothing distracts from the digital experience and the new feeling of increased driving pleasure. The wheel’s unconventional design, with its central vertical radius, creates tactile points that come to life when approached or touched and can be operated with a flick of the thumb.

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These phygital touch points control the selection of content projected onto the windscreen and, together with the Head-Up Display, thus support the “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road” principle.