This is possibly the most innovative car concept that you will have ever seen since the show Knight Rider. You no longer have to dream of a talking car that can be your emotionally intelligent companion because BMW wants to make it a reality. BMW has introduced their concept of the BMW I Vision Dee, “the future of digital mobility” and the ultimate travel companion.
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BMW i Vision Dee
When first looking at this concept, you might be confused about whether this is a car or an AI, and the answer is…yes. Dee stands for Digital emotional experience. Calling a vehicle ‘she’ metaphorically will be a thing of the past because Dee is a female-voiced emotional artificial intelligence and the perfect digital companion for your travels between physical and virtual reality. There are many digital applications to this concept, and reading the website made me a little confused at what this concept is meant to be at first, so if you are in the same boat as me, let me explain.
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Exterior Design
This BMW i Vision Dee concept car has a classic, slightly boxy, sporty sedan design. Although it appears minimalistic initially, it brings a whole new dimension of individualisation and customisation. As the car (entity? AI? Companion?) is called, Dee can display her character visually to the outside world through E Ink Technology. This means that she can customise the colour of her exterior, either according to her emotional state or your needs or wants.
Her headlights and closed BMW kidney grille come together to form a physical-digital (BMW is calling it Phygital) surface where she visually expresses her emotions through animated “facial” or eye expressions. This is yet another way this emotionally intelligent AI can show you how she feels.
All the analogue elements of the BMW i Vision Dee have been replaced with digital features, such as the innovative and highly advanced interior heads-up display.
Interior Design
The interior of this companion car is just as minimalist as the exterior at first glance, without any of the usual analogue dials you would see in a regular car. Instead, the heads-up display includes a mixed-reality slider that uses Shy-Tech touch sensors to switch between four levels of digital content that can be displayed on the windscreen, gradually transforming it into a full-scale portal for “a digital experience”.
The different choices of display include levels from driving-relevant information such as your speedometer and other related metres to adding content from the communications system, to an augmented reality projection displayed for you through your screen, to entering an entirely virtual world. Of course, what they mean about a virtual world could be clarified, but it sounds super exciting!
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Other Features
Of course, it wouldn’t be an emotionally intelligent AI without the ability to talk to you. Dee has a voice “full of personality” that can be heard from within and outside the vehicle. Through speaking to Dee, she learns how to interact with you and intelligently respond to you and your surroundings, building a natural feeling relationship with her driver.
You also create your personal avatar, which the BMW i Vision Dee recognises and adapts to. Your avatar will be displayed on the driver’s side windows. Dee will even welcome you by opening the door as you approach. Wild right?
From the concept information, it seems like BMW has already made a prototype of the i Vision Dee. However, most of the videos have been created digitally so that we can understand the concept. If they could get this right, who knows how expensive it might be, but this is the first step towards the future of vehicular technology.
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TL;DR
- BMW has created a concept car that is the ideal travel companion, with an emotionally intelligent artificial intelligence dubbed Dee.
- The concept is exceptionally innovative, using technology and digital effects in nearly every aspect of the car.
- Only time will tell whether the BMW i Vision Dee will become a reality or remain in virtual reality.
