BMW Panoramic Vision is HUD for the ‘Neue Klasse’

The new BMW head-up display is called BMW Panoramic Vision and represents the reinterpretation of the BMW driver orientation “eyes on the road, hands on the wheel” in the ‘Neue Klasse’.

BMW is developing an entirely new technological platform for the ‘Neue Klasse’, whose name refers to the company’s pioneering models of the 1960s. This platform will set new standards in digitalization, sustainability, and design for electric cars. We already saw a glimpse of it when BMW showed its i Vision Dee at the CES in Las Vegas.

The new head-up display, projecting across the entire width of the windscreen, creates a unique interaction and information surface for all occupants. Frank Weber, Member of the Board for Development at BMW AG, describes this new head-up display’s main advantages: “The windscreen becomes a single large display with our new BMW Panoramic Vision, opening up completely new possibilities for the design of our vehicles.”

Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel

“The driver decides which information he wants to display in his own field of vision and if all other occupants can see the entire content. The revolutionary projection and the significantly more structured cockpit give an amazing new feeling of space and driving. “We are taking our proven ‘eyes on the road, hands on the wheel’ slogan to a new level.”

For the first time, the projection technology allows visible displays across the entire width of the windscreen for all passengers. In addition, BMW Panoramic Vision shows information relevant for the driver and passengers with higher light intensity. It contrasts onto a dark-coated area at the lower edge of the windscreen.

“This creates an extremely sharp image that is always visible across the full width of the windscreen. As a result, information relevant to the driving situation is always available in the right place at the right time,” says the accompanying press release.

Driver-centric

The BMW Panoramic Vision is a new interpretation of the BMW driver-centric approach in the new BMW iDrive control system for the New Class. BMW was the first car manufacturer to develop a cockpit focusing on a particularly intensive, safe, and concentrated driving experience.

On-board computers with digital displays first appeared in the BMW 7 Series in the 1980s. The first BMW iDrive in 2001 reduced switches and buttons like no other control system before, creating a modern, uncluttered interior. The first series production of BMW head-up displays followed shortly afterward. Now, a new era begins with Panoramic Vision.

The BMW Group continues to develop the comprehensive BMW iDrive operating concept with the BMW Panoramic Vision. The company presented its revolutionary BMW i Vision Dee vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this year. It shows how an extended head-up display can also be used for display control design and an immersive user experience in the future.

The study demonstrates the fusion of reality and the virtual world by turning the windscreen windows into projection surfaces. This technology is now becoming a reality as a series version of New Class vehicles under the name of BMW Panoramic Vision.

At the IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, the BMW Group will present further steps and new details on the way to its Neue Klasse. In addition to the BMW Panoramic Vision, further new control and information elements from the new BMW iDrive will be present in the New Class models.

CEO Oliver Zipse concluded at the annual BMW press conference: “Our revolutionary Head-Up Display blurs the lines between reality and the virtual world. Augmented Reality even enhances the real world. No one has ever imagined and implemented it like this in a car before. We call it BMW Panoramic Vision. And it is certainly not science fiction. In 2025 – just two years away – a standard-production version of this technology will be used in the Neue Klasse.”