BMW Group launched its latest concept car, the futuristic, metaverse-inspired BMW i Vision Dee. “Dee”, which stands for Digital Emotional Experience, features a voice interface and digital windscreen displays that will be available from 2025 on the company’s Neue Classe car models. The car company has also launched an interactive website, “Joytopia”, which features a virtual world to explore and interact with Dee.

In an attempt to go beyond existing driver assistance and voice control technology, Dee introduces a head screen that runs along the windshield of the car. Once activated, the windshield becomes a display panel that, in its most basic form, features a speedometer and other graphics.

A Mixed Reality Slider controls the display: contains BMW’s “shy tech” sensors where a car’s instrument panel exists. Working in conjunction with the dimmable windows, the driver can use the sensors to select a variety of features ranging from analogue, communications, augmented reality projection and even entering a virtual world.

“In this way, we can exploit the full potential of digitalization to transform the car into an intelligent companion,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. Videos and detailed images of the metaverse-inspired concept car appear, and the screen replaces highway sidewalks with gardens and futuristic buildings.

The entertaining story-driven video features both Arnold Schwarzenegger and the ’80s Knight Rider concept car.

Externally, Dee contains “phygital” elements, a fusion of the digital and the physical. Combined with natural language, the technology allows the car to talk to humans and express emotions with facial expressions through the headlights and grille. The entire exterior surface of the car is made up of e-ink segments and can display up to 32 colors. This allows the car’s side windows to project avatar versions of the driver, extending the interior virtual world to the car’s façade.

BMW showcased the concept car at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. There were hints of things to come when BMW filed trademarks for NFT and the metaverse in December 2022.