Even automakers who aren't officially exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show still make it into the media spotlight focused on Las Vegas this week via their electronics suppliers. NVIDIA used CES to announce that it will provide new display technologies for BMW and Tesla.
The graphics processor supplier gained attention and booth traffic at last year's CES by featuring a dashboard buck to show off the 2011 Audi A8's Google Earth nav mapping capabilities. This year NVIDIA will show graphics processor units (GPUs) it will supply to power the infotainment displays of next-gen BMW and Mini models as well as the whopping 17-inch in-dash screen that makes up the entire center stack of the Telsa Model S.
For the next-generation BMW and Mini models, the end result will be the lifelike terrain models made popular by Google's satellite view mapping and more detailed landmarks such as buildings. The new processors will also provide an overall sharper display, with resolution of 1280x600. NVIDIA also promises faster user-interface response times, so impatient BMW drivers won't have to wait for map graphics to load.
NVIDIA's Tegra processors will power the navigation, infotainment and instrument cluster displays in the Tesla Model S, including what the company claims is the largest touch-screen display ever used in a car. And the only one that takes up the entire center console.
The display will be part of the connected navigation system for the Model S, which will feature live traffic, weather and dynamic POI info. The center-console touch screen will also incorporate the car's climate controls. A smaller (by comparison) 12.3-inch LCD will be used for the instrument cluster, and it will also use high-res 3D graphics to provide data about the car.
We'll get by the NVIDIA booth when CES opens to get a gander at the new displays, and shoot video to show them in action.
ddark13 says:
07:08 PM, 01/ 4/11
how could you possibly need so much information for a gps system. youre goign to spend an hour just trying to find your car on that obnoxiously large screen. at least divide it up in 3 parts like a traditional console with gps on top, audio, and climate controls on the bottom.
billt9 says:
03:32 AM, 01/ 5/11
virtual touch screen buttons. worst thing to have in a moving vibrating vehicle.
Everyone should learn from Ford Edge/MKX's mistake and ban these things from vehicles.
throwback says:
05:51 AM, 01/ 5/11
17" screen? Talk about having the cabin awash in light. Hopefully they will offer a night panel button like Saab. A smart phone screen throws out too much light as it is.
tmanz says:
12:43 PM, 01/ 6/11
"how could you possibly need so much information"
"virtual touch screen buttons. worst thing to have in a moving vibrating vehicle."
"Talk about having the cabin awash in light"
+1 on all of those points.
Lets not make the dashes more interesting and captivating than what is outside the windshield.
We could always take all we know about design and ergonimics and make the cars easier to operate and the controls easier to find and use without looking at them.....