A recurring question among car manufacturers is what the vehicles of the future will be like. There are many technological aspects that can be integrated today, but it is unlikely that an advanced design will survive without elegance, efficiency, and intelligence. Doubts like this lead us to BMW's Vision Next 100 concept, a car designed for the next hundred years that features elements such as augmented reality and autonomous driving without barriers or restrictions.
BMW's centennial vision
How does a market prepare for the next century? It's not an easy question to process, however, the most important representatives know very well that they must try to anticipate the future if they want to gain (and maintain) a certain advantage over their competitors. In the case of cars, the most notable efforts are concentrated on electric propulsion, connectivity, and autonomous driving, but we are barely taking the first steps, and the "conventional" vision of cars still remains with us. Past developments have served us well, and if there is a company that understands that, it is BMW. During yesterday, the historic German manufacturer turned one hundred years old, and to celebrate this very special event, it decided to extend its vision into the future another hundred years, through its brand-new Vision Next 100 concept.
Alive Geometry and the two driving modes
Logically, the first thing that catches our attention about the Vision Next 100 is its sci-fi look that reminds us of several movies, but the essential idea behind this concept is called Alive Geometry. What BMW proposes is a constant exchange of information between the dashboard and the windshield, a more dynamic flow assisted by technologies at the level of augmented reality, and an artificial intelligence assistant in the shape of an orb called Companion. To these are added two driving modes: "Boost" delivers total control over the steering wheel (although always with the help of Alive Geometry), while "Ease" removes the steering wheel from the dashboard and puts the car in autonomous mode.
Challenges on the road to reality
An advanced concept without a doubt… perhaps too much. The construction methods and materials represent a great challenge, and it seems we are about 30 years away from the first viable prototype. Something similar happens with the augmented reality windshield-screen. The next evolutionary step depends on OLED screens, and that technology has several sharp edges to eliminate. Until then, let's dream.
