Full disclosure: BMW put me up in a nice hotel and fed me for a couple of days so I could see what its Technology Office in Mountain View, California is cooking up.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n BMW showed off a small display with a raised, multifaceted bulge poking out from its center. It almost looked as if a golf ball-sized diamond was embedded partway into the screen. As vibrant graphics resembling what you’d see in a car\u2019s infotainment system flashed across the screen, pixels danced across the 3D surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n If it were fully functional and in a car, the various facets could\u2019ve been tapped to control things like the media player. This particular prototype wasn\u2019t touch-sensitive, but BMW said it has operational ones that it\u2019s keeping under wraps.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s the point? In part, it\u2019s an attempt to recreate the benefits of traditional, tangible switches in an increasingly digital world, Etienne Iliffe-Moon, a designer and engineer at BMW\u2019s R&D outpost, said. Giving drivers a physical touchpoint could help them adjust things more quickly and spend less time glancing at screens, improving vehicle safety, he said. Studies suggest that in-car screens lend themselves to distracted driving. Many people who have driven new cars, myself included, can attest that screens often demand more attention than simpler controls.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe physical button that we used to have in the car 50 years ago\u2014you know where that button is, it has a single function and it does what you need it to do,\u201d Iliffe-Moon said. \u201cThis gives us that physical place you can find without really looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, and unlike conventional buttons, BMW\u2019s \u201cjewel\u201d could offer up different functions based on what the driver is doing, he said. He added that the interface could be customized for models across BMW Group\u2019s various brands: BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad (its motorcycle division).\u00a0<\/p>\n Some readers may find it disappointing that BMW\u2019s solution to touchscreens taking over cars may be yet another touchscreen. Still, the idea is outside-the-box and eye-catching, much like the mesmerizing orb in Genesis’ new electric SUV. And a unique kind of touchscreen controller you can\u2019t get in any other car could certainly dazzle future BMW customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n BMW wouldn\u2019t say if or when the 3D display will leave the lab and enter an actual production vehicle. We\u2019ll be keeping an eye out for the jewel\u2014or something like it\u2014in BMW\u2019s next-generation vehicles arriving in 2025. BMW has teased that those vehicles will be brimming with flashy technology, including potentially a projected display that spans the entire width of a car’s windshield.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gallery: BMW 3D Touchscreen Prototype In Action <\/h3>\n
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