BMW AG has unveiled a prototype for a vehicle that can converse like a human, adjusts its colour to the driver’s mood, and lacks dashboard screens. The BMW I Vision Dee unveiled at a grand opening for the CES conference here on Wednesday night, highlights technologies that Chief Executive Oliver Zipse predicted will go into production in 2025. The Neue Klasse, or new class, is a new series of electric automobiles that BMW intends to introduce.
BMW suggested that the “Dee” technology might transform future automobiles into the “ultimate companion”
The BMW concept car had features that would be difficult to put into mass production at reasonable rates. Zipse nonetheless promised that BMW “will introduce this technology into our Neue Klasse… in serious production” to a crowded theatre at the Palms Casino. The dashboard’s lack of screens was one of the idea’s most noticeable aspects. An image projection on the car’s windscreen is instead controlled by a single digital slider on the dashboard. At its most advanced, the windscreen might instead display a digital, virtual world than the actuality of city streets.
According to Zipse, “Digital leadership is not about who has the biggest screen.” Most of BMW’s luxury category rivals disagree with that stance, starting with electric car pioneer Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), which has made a sizable, high-definition screen the centrepiece of their dashboards. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor and former governor of California, made an appearance at the presentation, which also featured a prominent role for “Dee,” a computer assistant with a female voice who spoke with Zipse and other participants. BMW suggested that the “Dee” technology might transform future automobiles into the “ultimate companion,” parodying its long-standing tagline “the ultimate driving machine.”
BMW displayed the most recent E-Ink technology application as a finishing flourish. The 240 unique colour cells of the I Vision Dee vehicle can each be changed. The prototype changed quickly from a light green hue to a dark purple hue to red with white racing stripes.