Ahead of CES 2021, were getting a look at the future of cars — and it’s gigantic.
Mercedes-Benz is giving its next-generation electric car an advanced infotainment system. Dubbed MBUX Hyperscreen, it’s based around one massive screen that runs from one side of the dashboard to the other. The system debuts on the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, which is scheduled to start production later this year.
MBUX is short for “Mercedes-Benz User Experience,” the infotainment system Mercedes launched in 2018 and now uses in everything from luxury cars to cargo vans. The Hyperscreen version has little in common with current iterations of MBUX beyond a name, however. Its 56-inch curved OLED display is the largest in a production car, and it’s backed by eight CPU cores, 24 gigabytes of RAM, 46.6GB per second of RAM memory bandwidth, and 12 actuators for haptic feedback. The screen glass is also double coated to reduce reflection and ease cleaning, Mercedes noted, while brightness is automatically adjusted using a camera and light sensor.
The screen’s size also allows for separate displays for the driver and front passenger (the latter turns off when the front seat isn’t occupied). Mercedes also eliminated sub-menus, displaying all features in what the automaker calls a “situational and contextual way.” That’s partly the result of research into usage patterns of the first-generation MBUX system. For example, Mercedes found that navigation was one of the most-used functions, so designers placed that at the center of the screen.
The MBUX Hyperscreen also uses artificial intelligence to predict what users want, according to Mercedes. The system can take note of when drivers habitually do things at certain times — whether it’s calling the same person, or activating the car’s hot stone massage function — and make suggestions based on those habits. It’s not just functions inside the car, either: the system can learn the locations of steep driveways or speed bumps, and automatically raise the suspension to clear them.
MBUX Hyperscreen will launch in the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan — the automaker’s upcoming flagship electric car. The sedan should enter production in Germany sometime in the next few months, while an SUV version is scheduled to start production in Alabama in 2022. Mercedes has said it will launch 10 new electric cars under its EQ sub-brand by 2025, but the MBUX Hyperscreen system will likely be reserved for high-end models.
If you’re looking for more information on what to expect at CES, you can take a look at our predictions for cars and car tech to come from the big tech extravaganza.
