Mercedes-Benz has taken the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) a step further by introducing the MBUX Hyperscreen — an intuitive infotainment system powered by artificial intelligence that can learn upto seven users’ preferences. It is a single 56-inch curved surface that stretches across the width of the car and even has the AC vents integrated into it seamlessly.
The infotainment system has three screens: instrument cluster for the driver, a central display for driver and passenger which is essentially a larger infotainment screen and a passenger entertainment screen as well.
When the passenger seat is not occupied, the passenger screen cannot be used and the screen just becomes a part of the aesthetics of the car. All the graphics are in a new blue and orange colour to give it a very futuristic, electric theme. The camera and sensors regulate the brightness level of the screen and the ambient light accordingly.
MBUX has been around since 2018 and is now used in almost all their passenger cars and vans. So Mercedes-Benz, after studying the user behaviour on the first generation of the MBUX, observed that the most used functions in a car are navigation, radio or media and phone connectivity. So based on a user’s pattern, the car has something called the ‘zero layer’– a default screen that displays the functions used by an individual the most. Over time, if the preferences change, the car then changes the functions on display too. The MBUX Hyperscreen system can also store up to seven user profiles in a case where there are multiple people using the car.
Now, all this glass on the dash of your car, raises a question — is it safe? Mercedes claims that in the unfortunate event of a crash, the screen has been designed to have predetermined breaking points to keep the occupants safe.
Putting the aesthetics and practicality aside, MBUX Hyperscreen is like your personal in-car assistant. It is designed to understand the user’s behavior, and tailor make suggestions accordingly.. The system learns and stores your preferences every time you use it, and will then proactively give prompts for the same.
The system gives you suggestions based on the user pattern, time and location. They call this "Magic Modules". It is a module that suggests a to-do-list, birthday reminders, call reminders based on time and even massage programmes and so on. To elaborate on the Magic Module, say you call a person everyday between six and seven in the evening, the car learns this pattern and the next time, it gives you a call suggestion. The system also studies your massage programmes depending on seasons and location and suggests it to you beforehand. If the user regularly switches on heating functions after getting into the car, the car learns that and foes it for you the next time around.
Another party piece is that the car learns when the suspension has to be lifted by using GPS the location. So the next time you approach a speed breaker or a tricky bump that you encounter frequently, the car initiates the suspension lift on its own. This eliminates the need for the driver to dig deeper into the menus and submenus to select this function – and it will be mighty useful in India. .
The co-driver has their own screen as well, called the co-driver display. In certain markets where it is legal, the co-driver will be able to watch videos while traveling using Bluetooth headphones. An intelligent camera-based locking concept will prevent the driver from looking at the passenger display screen to avoid distraction while driving.
The MBUX Hyperscreen also has Smart home functions, which means that if you leave home in a hurry, you could always give a command to MBUX to check if all lights are switched off or not.
The MBUX Hyperscreen will be available as an option in the brand’s upcoming flagship electric sedan, Mercedes-Benz EQS and looks like it will be the benchmark for the future of in-car experience. Exciting time to be alive!