Bmw’s New Idrive Turns The Whole Windshield Into A Heads-up Display

At CES this week, BMW announced a caller iDrive operating strategy pinch an eye-catching centerpiece: a 3D heads-up show (HUD) that stretches from pillar to pillar connected nan windshield. 

Included successful this futuristic setup is simply a caller steering instrumentality pinch haptic buttons and a caller augmented reality strategy that layers navigation directions and driver assistance pinch roadworthy information. And perchance nan astir noticeable change: BMW eliminated nan accepted gauge cluster successful nan dash successful favour of a customizable integer type projected onto nan windshield.

“We’ve taken connected a caller position successful designing nan UX,” Christian Bauer, nan caput of integer and UX astatine BMW, told a group of journalists astatine a preview arena held adjacent BMW’s monolithic Spartanburg, South Carolina, useful successful November past year. “Pushing nan show personification to nan thoroughfare will thief drivers make quicker decisions, which will make it easier to support your eyes connected nan road.”

The caller strategy will look successful nan upcoming-but-yet-unnamed X-class SUV that BMW is building connected nan all-electric Neue Klasse platform. That SUV will make its debut astatine nan extremity of 2025, according to BMW. 

BMW, for illustration galore automakers, is pursuing successful Tesla’s minimalistic footsteps by cutting down connected screens and dials incorrect nan vehicle. While BMW isn’t nan first to destruct nan dash cluster and alternatively task it onto nan windshield, it is an absorbing move for a institution pinch nan tagline “Ultimate Driving Machine,” and its drivers personification historically preferred classical dials and gauges successful nan dash.

BMW isn’t really worried astir immoderate backlash, main exertion serviceman Frank Weber told maine — moreover though location were immoderate members of nan company’s committee who were a spot concerned erstwhile first presented pinch nan idea.

Weber said nan caller group up is nary longer for illustration having a video aboveground successful your car, but alternatively an added furnishings of augmented reality that keeps driver and car overmuch connected to nan road. “You are connected to nan car, and nan car is connected to nan road. It’s precisely wherever you would expect nan accusation to be,” he added.

Your dashboard connected nan windshield

This isn’t nan first clip that BMW has teased nan caller heads-up show called BMW Panoramic iDrive. The institution showed disconnected a type of it astatine CES 2023 successful nan iVision Dee concept, and it’s each information of nan caller level called BMW Operating System X. 

The caller heads-up show runs connected nan constrictive achromatic information astatine nan bottommost of nan windshield that stretches betwixt A-pillars. The show is three-dimensional and includes speed, adaptive driving assistance information, stoplight and roadworthy mobility information, navigation information, and authorities of charge. It’s customizable, too, allowing drivers to group up nan accusation they want to personification successful their eyeline while connected nan road.

Unlike different HUDs, wherever you personification to beryllium astatine nan correct position to spot nan accusation displayed, BMW says nan caller show will beryllium visible to immoderate nan driver and passenger. 

BMW too integrated navigation and ADAS features successful nan HUD truthful that nan measurement you’re pursuing turns greenish erstwhile utilizing onboard navigation pinch driver assist. “If you deliberation astir higher levels of automated driving,” Bauer said, “then ADAS and navigation group recreation together.” He too noted that galore of nan features of nan caller HUD came astir acknowledgment to customer feedback. BMW already offers immoderate hands-off autonomous driving features connected marked highways. 

Though nan windshield is nan show surface, it is not a specialty windshield and won’t costs different to move if it gets a chromatic chip, BMW said. A emblematic movie connected nan windshield helps make nan 3D images look crisp and clear. And nan achromatic group that nan HUD is projected onto is nan modular achromatic group connected each different vehicles. 

Customizable infotainment screen

In summation to creating a full-windshield HUD, BMW too introduced a caller rhombus-shaped halfway infotainment aboveground that offers a overmuch customizable interface. Users tin guidance and driblet “pixels,” aliases apps that they usage frequently, into a mates of main boxes connected nan location aboveground truthful they are overmuch readily available. According to BMW, nan institution does personification plans to relationship a BMW app shop for nan caller UX, which could spot paid apps for things for illustration emblematic lighting packages, akin to Hyundai’s plans for nan upcoming Ioniq 9. 

BMW says it’s utilizing separator AI to “learn” from nan customer arsenic they thrust and relationship applicable features based connected behavior. For example, if you often return a winding roadworthy location from work, put nan conveyance into Sport mode, and cue up your euphony app, those options will regularly celebrated into nan halfway aboveground for easy access. And if you often comprehend to meditation apps aliases podcasts while charging your EV, those apps will celebrated into nan halfway stack whenever you’re plugged in.

BMW says it’s too utilizing ample relationship models to thief make nan conveyance smarter astir what drivers want. BMW’s earthy sound nickname strategy has been a group leader for immoderate time, but now nan institution is leveraging LLMs to make navigation a spot easier. For example, you tin inquire nan strategy to return you to a charging position adjacent to a marketplace store, utilizing earthy language, alternatively than having to usage circumstantial keywords.

In summation to updating its OS, BMW has too reimagined nan steering instrumentality successful nan upcoming Neue Klasse. The caller type has alternatively a less overmuch buttons covered successful a azygous information of plastic, overmuch for illustration a aesculapian device. Each fastener lights up erstwhile nan strategy is disposable and offers haptic feedback erstwhile pushed. 

BMW fto america acquisition an approximation of nan HUD and usage immoderate of nan haptic buttons connected a VR rig successful November, up of nan CES announcement. While it was intolerable to get an belief of nan imagery’s real-world clarity connected nan windshield, nan haptic buttons were easy tin to navigate without being tin to spot them. The buttons consciousness akin to those successful nan 2024 Mercedes Benz S-Class and are each incorrect easy reach.

BMW says that nan caller iDrive, UX, and interior setup will commencement to look successful its vehicles astatine nan extremity of 2025.