BMW transforms the windshield into a display

In series from 2025 BMW transforms the windshield into a display

2023-01-17 Von Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Hendrik Härter 2 min Reading Time

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In its concept car BMW i Vision Dee, BMW shows how vehicles will be operated in the future. The windshield transforms into a large-format display. This is expected to be available in series production as early as 2025.

No switches, knobs, or displays: In the BMW i Vision Dee, the driver communicates using voice and gestures. Relevant information can be projected onto the windshield.(Image: BMW) — No switches, knobs, or displays: In the BMW i Vision Dee, the driver communicates using voice and gestures. Relevant information can be projected onto the windshield.
(Image: BMW)

The windscreens are becoming more interactive as displays are integrated into the cockpit of modern vehicles. However, drivers often face the issue of being overloaded with information. In the case of the BMW i Vision Dee limousine concept, BMW takes a novel approach by transforming the windshield into a large display to provide an uncluttered display and a limited amount of information for the driver.

Clean - more so, a bare dashboard presents itself to the passengers. The speedometer, navigation, and all other information are projected onto the windshield by the vehicle.

Automotive supplier Continental introduced something similar at the end of 2022: The Scenic View HUD projects essential information for the driver onto a specially coated, black-printed area at the lower edge of the windshield with high luminosity.

If drivers wear polarized sunglasses, they can easily read the projected display on the windshield.

Windshield becomes a large display

But back to BMW's concept car: The presented head-up display is expected to make it into series production, according to BMW. "As early as 2025, the series version of the head-up display across the entire width of the windshield will be used in the models of the Neue Klasse," BMW announced.

This would be a novelty. For the first time, the windshield would then be possible as a single display for information. The driver will search in vain for switches and buttons. The concept vehicle is intended to operate solely through voice and gestures. For this purpose, BMW has installed sensors on the surface.

The driver can decide which information should be displayed on the windshield. When the vehicle is stationary, reality can be hidden using dimmable windows. Then the occupants of the vehicle immerse themselves in their own virtual reality.

With this sensor technology, BMW wants to show what is possible when hardware and software merge, said BMW CEO Oliver Zipse.

E-Ink: Exterior changes its appearance

Merely using the windshield as an information carrier is not enough for BMW's designers. Last year, BMW showcased the BMW iX Flow, a vehicle that could change its exterior color. Here, E-Ink technology is employed. Manufacturer BMW spoke about "new freedoms of choice" at CES 2022.

Background of the technology: The surface coating of the BMW iX Flow with E-Ink contains millions of microcapsules with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a human hair. Each of these microcapsules contains negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments.

When stimulated by an electric field, depending on the selected setting, either the white or black pigments gather on the surface of the microcapsule, providing the desired color to the bodywork. However, whether this technology will make it into production remains uncertain.

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