BMW i Vision Dee – The merger of real world and virtual reality

The future of mobility becomes more and more digital. The real-world merges with the digital one and time and space are becoming less and less relevant. It is thus no miracle that the newest vision in terms of the automobile goes that route, too. BMW just unveiled the i Vision DEE, where DEE is an acronym for “digital emotional experience”. On the one hand, this concept creates a merger of hardware and software and a blend of real world and virtual reality on the other hand. In this manner, it’s supposed to be the ultimate companion in everyday life. It can talk and where you would find the grill in combustion engine cars, it makes faces to interact with its environment. “With it, we are exploiting the full potential of digitalization, to make the car an intelligent companion. That is the future of a car manufacturer – and that is the future of BMW: the merger of virtual experience and real driving pleasure”, says Oliver Zipse, CEO of the BMW Group.

“Mixed reality slider” is the name of the central and only control panel in the otherwise Spartan cockpit of the i Vision DEE. With it, you can find the perfect mixture of real and virtual world. Depending on how far you move your finger over the slider, the head-up display in the wind shield shows either classic information about the ride or displays content from the digital communication channels of the riders as well as social media content. If all that is too little for you, you can also immerse yourself in colorful virtual worlds. On the highest level – level 5, the road is the only real thing. Additionally, the real world can be gradually faded out; the windows are dimmed for this purpose. Apart from the virtual reality functions, the voice assistant is supposed to be used to interact with the i Vision DEE.

Last year, BMW surprised its audience with the black-white color-changing technology. Now, however, the e-ink foils have been further developed in such a way that the i Vision DEE becomes a chameleon, so to speak. 32 different colors can be displayed: in patterns, as a gradient or only one specific color.

When you approach the i Vision DEE, you are greeted with an individual avatar and your name on the side window. In addition, the door opens magically. This is intended to convey a feeling of coming home and, in a sense, of being appreciated by the car. Altogether, BMW has brought the topic of emotion very much to the front, demonstrating once again that the topic of mobility, and in particular the topic of driving a car, is emotional and that humans are also emotional beings. This fits in with the topic of this year's IAA MOBILITY 2023, where the motto "Experience Connected Mobility" is about making modern and future mobility tangible and not just exhibiting the latest trends.

If BMW has its way when it comes to innovations, the i Vision Dee also demonstrates two other important aspects: namely sustainability and a strong improvement in electromobility. In future, 100 percent of the vehicles will be made of recycled materials and can be fully recycled once again. The i Vision Dee is showcasing BMW's "Neue Klasse" which is going to be introduced in 2025. Here, new round-cell batteries are going to be used, which, in contrast to conventional lithium-ion batteries, offer a 20 percent increase in energy density and require fewer raw materials. Solid-state batteries are then to come for the first time in 2030.

So, the future of the automobile has only just begun and we can look forward to seeing what BMW will present at IAA MOBILITY 2023 and what BMW's "Neue Klasse" will look like at the subsequent IAA MOBILITY in 2025.