- The BMW i Vision Dee is a color-changing concept car revealed today as part of CES 2023.
- Inside, the entire windshield of the i Vision Dee can act as a screen, offering a different level of augmented reality.
- While most of the car is conceptual, BMW says some features will start arriving in 2025.
The BMW i Vision Dee concept that debuted at CES 2023 bears little resemblance to anything in the automaker’s current lineup. That’s by design, as the small sedan’s simple styling is meant not to distract from the various digital and virtual elements that make it so innovative. From body panels that change color to an interior where the entire windshield acts as a display, the i Vision Dee concept previews the road ahead for BMW’s future technology offerings.
Chameleon-Like Concept Car
The i Vision Dee is not the first BMW to change color. At last year’s CES, the company unveiled the iX Stream, which is wrapped in the same material used by e-readers. It’s called E Ink. However, unlike the iX Flow, the i Vision Dee can shift beyond grayscale. In fact, BMW says the chameleon-like sedan offers up to 32 different colors with endless possibilities for different patterns, each of which can be controlled on the car’s 240 individual E Ink panels.
If the i Vision Dee’s color-changing abilities aren’t impressive enough, the car can also sport a digital interpretation of BMW’s kidney grille. This allows it to create expressions of surprise, visual approval and more. It reminds us of a character from the Pixar franchise car, but we’ll leave it up to someone else to decide if it’s cute like Lightning McQueen or creepy like Mater.
Along with a new take on its trademark grille shape, the concept incorporates Hofmeister’s version of the kink, albeit with a digital twist. While the i Vision Dee’s appearance is pretty obvious when it’s not wearing crazy colors, BMW says the sedan was inspired by the iconic 2002 model, and we can see a hint of it in the sedan’s proportions.
When people approach the concept, it is designed to display the driver’s avatar image on the side window. That sounds silly to us, but it’s part of a bigger plan to make the car even more personalized. The doors will automatically open and greet you when the car senses the driver is approaching.
See Inside Dee
Dee stands for Digital Emotional Experience, which BMW says is its new philosophy for future model development. It’s about forming a closer relationship between humans and machines. With Dee—as BMW likes to call its concept—this is achieved through visual elements and verbal communication such as voice commands.
The interior of the i Vision Dee is almost devoid of physical switchgear, which is meant to emphasize the use of voice commands and focus your attention on the road. Of course, there is a steering wheel with vertical spokes and dual touchpads, but BMW focuses most of its attention on the windshield, which acts as a large digital display. All the information that would normally be shown on a traditional gauge cluster or central touchscreen is now projected across the entire width of the windshield.
Basically, the i Vision Dee windshield is a large head-up display. However, there is more to it than that. The amount and type of content that appears can be selected by the driver via touch-sensitive controls on the dashboard. BMW calls it the Mixed Reality Slider. It includes five different levels that include analog, driving information and more.
A more immersive level explores augmented reality, with top settings dimming all windows and turning the interior into a fully digital environment. Think of it like virtual reality, but without the clunky headset.
Coming to Cars in 2025
While it’s obviously important to remember that the i Vision Dee is just a concept car, BMW says some features will be available on the production model as early as 2025. For example, that’s when customers can expect to see the first production version of a head-up display that runs the entire width of the mirror. front (just don’t expect anything near a full concept virtual mode).
That would be cool, but we’re even more excited for the day when we can create our own custom livery on a brand new Bimmer.
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This content is imported from polls. You may be able to find similar content in other formats, or you may be able to find more information, on their website.