BMW Will Add “Quantum Garden” Digital Art Mode To Its Vehicles In 2022

BMW has partnered with digital artist Cao Fei to create an art mode that takes advantage of its vehicles’ substantial infotainment and lighting control. The artist previously worked with the automaker on its 2017 M6 GT3 Art Car.

Demonstrated on the iX M60 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the artist has worked with BMW to create an art show that interacts with the way the vehicle is being driven. Like the automaker’s other drive modes, Art Mode affects the drive control, steering control, mood lighting and sound, as well as the lighting and the graphics on its curved display. According to BMW, all are precisely coordinated to create a holistic experience. Named Quantum Garden, the art installment moves constantly, with patterns that grow and shrink and seem to interact.

Read Also: BMW Partners With Digital Artist Cao Fei On 2017 M6 GT3 Art Car

“My work ‘Quantum Garden’ gives the BMW driver the chance to experience the ever-changing digital landscapes of a multifaceted universe in a screen world, where abstract poetry and sensory pixels intersect,” said Cao Fei. “Its network of open-ended spectra are connecting our hearts to the call of goodwill from the depths of the universe.”

She describes the art mode as a poetic collection of universes with innumerable atoms, nebulae, and fast-moving beams of light intersecting and extending, combining and separating, perceiving, and listening to each other.

BMW, meanwhile, calls the digital art mode a natural extension of its multimedia work and an expression of its focus on customers.

“For the very first time, we are making digital art an integral part of the modern driving experience in a car and use innovative technology to transform mobility into an individual, highly exclusive, and emotional experience,” said Christoph Grote, Senior Vice President Digital Car at BMW.

The digital art mode isn’t just a way to show off at CES, though; it’s a way to show off everywhere. The mode will be made available on other BMW series vehicles this year and select models will be able to have it retrofitted via software update.