How Volkswagen’s New EV Can Talk Using Light

The Volkswagen ID.4 will be America’s first electric VW, and although some may be disappointed that we’re not getting the ID.3, there’s plenty to get excited about. Last week, we got to look at some of the details of this exciting new SUV, and now Volkswagen is highlighting one of those innovative details in a new video. The feature in question is Volkswagen’s ID. Light, and it does so much more than just add a modern ambiance to the car. Kinda like how Michael Knight’s KITT communicated verbally and with flashing lights, the ID.4 has a light strip below the windscreen that interacts with the driver.

The rationale behind adding this new feature to the ID.4 was that, as screens get bigger and display more and more information, it becomes increasingly difficult to concentrate on what’s important. Thus, the ID. Light provides only distilled information that is easily processed. The light itself is made up of 54 multi-colored LEDs and is designed primarily to be visible in a driver’s peripheral vision. “We were looking for a new kind of communication between the car and the human,” said Mathias Kuhn, Head of User Interface Design at Volkswagen. “We wanted to create a minimalistic, yet revolutionary interaction that was both easy to understand and emotional.”

It works for numerous features, and as you’ll see in the video, can even tell jokes. One of the most useful features is the ability to show directional prompts with an animated blue line. For example, if the navigation system is directing you to turn left, the line flows from right to left. In the event of an emergency braking situation, the light vividly flashes red. When the car is on charge, the lD. Light pulses with a green status bar that can be seen from outside the car. And when you start the car, you get a blue and white mix to let you know that the car is ready to go, since there’s no engine noise. Brilliant ideas, but there will be even more features thanks to remote over-the-air updates.