The LCD displays in car cockpits are getting bigger and bigger and now cover the entire width of the dashboard. However, this approach is not entirely new.
Back in 1996, 26 years ago, Mercedes-Benz showed at the Paris Motor Show what a continuous screen across the entire width of the cockpit could one day look like. The Mercedes-Benz F 200 Imagination concept car presented a new ergonomic concept based on drive-by-wire technology as well as a completely new cockpit design with several screens behind a common cover glass.
The Internet in the car was also heralded at the time, as the following section of a press release reveals: "'In-car entertainment' is the buzzword used for radio, cassette player, CD player and car telephone. [...] In addition, there are more and more navigation systems. There are even fully Internet-enabled electronic systems for cars, at least in the research laboratories."
Today, 25 years later, cassettes, CDs and the classic car phone have already disappeared from vehicles. Instead, cars in 2021 are constantly online and connected to other road users and the infrastructure via car-to-x communication. User-friendly operating systems such as MBUX from Mercedes-Benz are on board and will become a daily companion. The MBUX Hyperscreen revolutionizes the connection between man and car.
Such high-resolution screens, head-up displays with VR displays, intelligent voice control and numerous sensors ensure that driving is becoming increasingly comfortable and safe. And the next vision is already in the starting blocks: autonomous and accident-free driving.
