BMW HoloActive is the coolest driving technology at CES

LAS VEGAS — Holograms are one of those perennially disappointing technologies that companies trot out every few years with promises to change our lives or somehow live up to our Princess Leia aspirations. They never do and then the holographic technology scurries back into the shadows until someone else builds up enough courage to try disappointing us again.
BMW’s HoloActive interface is not one of those disappointments.

The moss in the back is NOT the best thing about this BMW future interior demo.

Image: lili sams/mashable

The luxury automotive company, which announced the future car interior interface in December, chose CES in Las Vegas as the place where it would give skeptics like me a chance to experience this cutting-edge interface technology in person.

SEE ALSO: The best tech of CES 2017

The platform for the user experience was, essentially, a car sculpture, with no doors, a partially wood chassis and, I kid you not, moss under the back seat. That was all fine, though, since it focused your attention on the technology up front.

I swear these buttons appear to float in space.

Image: lili sams/mashable

My guide Holger Hampf, BMW’s head of user experience, urged me to get into the driver’s seat. Before he could even climb in to the passenger seat, I glanced to my right and noticed a pair of buttons – “Yes” and “No” — floating in space just over the area where there might normally be an armrest. There was nothing normal about this.

If you press a virtual button, the dash changes.

Image: lili sams/mashable

I instinctively pointed at the button. Suddenly I felt a small vibration on my finger tip and the button on the left, the one right under my finger, appeared to press down. Both buttons disappeared and were replaced by what looked like a floating flower pattern. In the full width dash, the screen changed, obviously reacting to the choice I made.

The mesh area in the center is where the ultrasonic sound waves come from.

Image: lili sams/mashable

Hampf told me I had already engaged the system, but what, exactly had I done? How did I see floating holographic images without the need for a special environment, glasses or visible mirrors? And how did I feel a haptic vibration when I hadn’t even touched a surface? Was the inside of this sculpted car the actual future? Had I stepped into a time machine and, more importantly, where was my Princess Leia hologram?

Under the hood

It’s not magic, though. HoloActive Touch is simply the combination of three technologies that appear to work perfectly together.

• The first is a hidden mirror array that can project 3D images into space. 
• The second is an ultrasonic sound system that sits just behind the mirror array and is hidden under a permeable mesh. It uses speakers to send a collection of soundwaves that focus on your fingertip. 
• The third component is a small camera in the steering wheel column that lets the ultrasound system know where your finger is so it can focus the sound waves in the exact right spot. 

It sounds crazy and like it shouldn’t work, but it does. Over and over again, I made selections in space and every time I pressed, I felt it.

That is a big LCD screen for your rear seat passengers.

Image: lili sams/mashable.com

My only criticism was the placement of the holographic buttons. I did have to look down to press them. I asked Hampf why BMW hadn’t positioned the holographic imaging system in the dashboard or alongside the steering column. He told me they could move it in future prototypes, though I wonder if they can move the entire system (imaging and ultrasound) all that easily.

Even the seats and steering wheel look like the future.

Image: lili sams/mashable

The HoloActive system worked smoothly with the dashboard. It kept changing as I made different choices. Hampf explained that, unlike a traditional dashboard, the BMW future interior system used a short-throw rear projection system. It was bright and sharp, though, in this demonstration, the image didn’t actually extend to the full width of the car.

The steering wheel retracts for autonomous driving.

Image: lili sams/mashable

The idea, though is that the dashboard will have different zones for the driver and passenger. I could be getting information about my speed and navigation while my passenger watches a movie (which, honestly, I would find distracting).