Mercedes wide screen display aims to outdo Tesla's hallmark touchscreen

LONDON: Daimler AG today unveiled a new “Hyperscreen” display that will cover almost the entire dashboard of its luxury Mercedes-Benz models, in a bid to outdo Tesla Inc’s large touchscreen infotainment system that has been a hallmark of the electric carmaker’s success.

In a video presentation, Daimler chief executive Ola Kallenius said the new screen - which at 56 inches (142.24 cm) in width dwarfs Tesla’s vaunted 17-inch screen - will make its debut in the EQS, Mercedes’ new fully electric sedan that will be unveiled later this year and will have a driving range of 700km.

As well as including vehicle functions such as the speedometer, and music and navigation features, the screen will allow passengers to access some vehicle functions and, in some markets, to watch television without disturbing the driver.

Tesla has dominated global electric vehicle sales and traditional carmakers like Daimler have been pushing to develop vehicles to compete for market share.

The pressure to outdo Tesla has been heightened by tighter emissions standards in the European Union and China, and the decision by a growing number of countries to start banning sales of new petrol or diesel cars as early as 2030.

MBUX Hyperscreen: Key facts & figures

> With the MBUX Hyperscreen, several displays appear to merge seamlessly, resulting in an impressive 141-centimetre wide and curved screen band. The area that passengers can experience is 2,432.11 cm2.

> The large glass cover display is curved three-dimensionally in the moulding process at temperatures of around 650°C. This process allows a distortion-free view of the display unit across the entire width of the vehicle, irrespective of the display cover radius.

> To get to the most important applications, the user must scroll through 0 menu levels. That's why Mercedes-Benz calls this zero layer.

> There are a total of 12 actuators beneath the touchscreen for haptic feedback during operation. If the finger touches certain points there, they trigger a tangible vibration in the cover plate.

> Two coatings of the cover plate reduce reflections and make cleaning easier. The curved glass itself consists of particularly scratch-resistant aluminium silicate.

> The safety measures include predetermined breaking points alongside the side outlet openings as well as five holders which can yield in a targeted manner in a crash thanks to their honeycomb structure.

> Eight CPU cores, 24-gigabyte RAM and 46.4 GB per second RAM memory bandwidth are some of the MBUX technical specifications.

> With the measurement data of a 1 multifunction camera and also 1 light sensor the brightness of the screen is adapted to the ambient conditions.

> With up to seven profiles, the display section can be individualised for the front passenger.