bmw tft display manufacturer

BMW Motorrad and Bosch are set to give riders what they want, in a move that the cutting edge German engineering and technology company estimates will lead to a safer and more convenient riding experience. In a survey of 2600 motorcyclists, Bosch found that 90% of riders utilize their mobile devices for planning purposes or as part of wrapping up their ride. But perhaps more surprisingly, a third of riders responded that they use their phones while actually riding.

In general, eight out of 10 of those surveyed were in favor of integrating smartphone and instrument cluster information. To address this desire, some of BMW’s new motorcycles will come with Bosch’s 10.25-inch TFT (thin-film transistor) display with split-screen capabilities. Riders will now be provided with the information they previously had to look to the instrument cluster and their mobile device for, in one location.

The new Bosch display will utilize their smartphone integration system called mySPIN to enable content from motorcycle-centric apps like REVER to display appropriately on one half of the screen, while speed or warning indications will display on the other half.

The content being shown can be regulated by the rider with controls on the handlebar. The screen itself is TFT LCD — this technology improves image quality over the traditional LCD displays. Similar Bosch mySPIN split screens will appear on Ducati and Kawasaki motorcycles, as well, but the display sizes may be smaller.

Raystar is a global leading LCD panel supplier and specialized in producing TFT LCD Panel, including Color TFT, Monochrome TFT Display and bar type TFT Display. Raystar Color TFT displays are available in various resolutions and offers a wide product range of small to medium-sized TFT-LCD modules from 0.96” to 12.3". The interface options are in MCU / RGB / SPI / UART / 8080 / LVDS. TFT Panel with control board or TFT LCD Panel with micro controller are also available.

BMW Motorrad->ke1398 is at the forefront of imagination, innovation and technology and proof of that is their latest instrument dashboard on their new generation motorcycles. Made up of a newfound technology known as the thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD), the unit provides in for a far more intuitive rider interface that improves image qualities such as addressability and contrast compared to the standard LCD displays.

Although this piece of tech is not brand-new and is made use by almost all motorcycle manufacturers these days on their high-end bikes, BMW here thinks that they have got the best package available via the unique operating concept of the new Connectivity option. It features a high-quality 6.5-inch full-colour TFT display that can also connect to your smartphone device via Bluetooth to enhance many possibilities for your ride. And we are here to decipher why it fares better than the LCD counterparts.

It all started in 1902 with an analogue speedometer that would have a needle, a gauge and some magnetic phenomena called Eddy currents that would move the needle around to measure the vehicle’s instant velocity. Fast forward to more than a century later, manufacturers started making use of LCD units to digitally display the speed along with the odo, fuel gauge, trip meters, temperature and other tell-tale signs we know of these days.

Today, as technology gains and riders demanding more information to be made available to them at any given time, we have the TFT displays that have begun to adorn all high-end motorcycles and one of them are the ones at BMW Motorrad. The engineers there have created a new Connectivity operating concept that provides “fast and clear information for the rider with the least possible distraction from what is happening on the road”.

Starting with the brand’s 2017 R1200 GS models, BMW has been giving this piece of tech as an optional package whose default screen shows all the usual information like the speed, fuel et al., but is much more than just that. It gets an auto contrast adjust function that varies on the ambient light and has a low-reflection surface to make it more legible even when the sun hits it.

When you access the dash you are taken to a sub menu that has five options – telephone, media, settings, navigation and my vehicle. The state-of-the-art display unit lets you adjust the ride settings of your BMW, and displays the necessary valuable information in an intuitive graphic display that is both easy to apprehend and fun to work around with your customisation skills. You can change your entire screen section to suit your taste rather than just a small section of it and make it dedicated for one singular function.

For example, you can select to view your tyre pressure and the entire screen gets is taken up with this information. If you select a media file, the entire screen turns into a music player. Even with all of this, BMW has made sure that the motorcycle’s speed and gear selected is always shown on the top of the screen even while the display is focussed solely on the requested task.

BMW have ergonomically designed the display in such a way that the rider should be able to access the information he needs with minimum usage of the controller wheel and toggle switches. All this is made enabled for the rider to be able to quickly and easily navigate to his preferences even on the go and without taking his focus off the road, all only by muscle memory.

This light sensitive TFT screen gives out clear and highly legible readings and can be wirelessly connected to your smartphone device and increase the functionality of the motorcycle’s instrumentation to a whole new level. The Bluetooth-enabled device can connect to your smartphone and let you adjust the ride settings of your BMW as well as tethering your phone’s operation to be operable from the onboard computer.

The main function of linking your smartphone is the ability to access your phone’s contacts, call logs and dialler. One can easily navigate to a contact on your phone and make a call to that person on the go. Also, you can receive calls and return calls via BMW’s helmet-mounted Motorrad Communication system that comes with an earpiece and a microphone attached to your helmet. The caller’s details and the picture will be displayed on the screen.

As for entertainment is concerned, the same device will allow you to browse through your music player in the smartphone and enable you to play your favourite track while you wind down on the mountain course. Media controls on the screen can let you toggle between songs. The display also gives you the name of the song, album and the album cover onto the screen. Neat.

BMW has not bothered with accessing your messages or e-mails as they believe that is simply too much distraction for the rider, especially if he has to read long messages while riding as it is dangerous too.

Although BMW has its own traditional standalone GPS navigation system, the company has developed a new Motorrad Connected App that connects the smartphone and the dash. It shows a rudimentary navigation system that shows you turn-by-turn arrow directions with precise turn indications including lane guiding. You can also record your ridden routes and display ride statistics and information onto your smartphone via this app.

The system also saves your destinations and points of interests that can be called up on to the TFT dash. Although there is no full-blown map on the screen, a simple arrow indication charms those short route riders handling everyday rides. For those who still require the full version, can tether the BMW Motorrad Navigator above the TFT screen and can be configured to be controlled via the wheel and switch on the handlebar.

Apart from all of this, the screen also displays the bike"s critical information like current and optimum tyre pressure, ambient temperature, service schedules, amongst other things. But the most important of all is its engine and vehicle diagnostic display which gives us warning displays and information such as low fuel reserve level reached or engine faults like low oil pressure and stalling.

Every year, motorcycle manufacturers make various improvements to their lineup, everything from little internal details, to new paint, to full-on redesigns. Over the years we’ve watched these machines get better, faster, and safer. In the 2020 model year, though, the majority of motorcycle manufacturers seem to be hopping on the TFT wagon. What does that mean for us, the riders?

We are all familiar with the Thin Film Transistor, or TFT screen, on our smartphones, hand-held video game displays, computer monitors, and car “infotainment” systems. The technology has advanced rapidly in the last few years, and motorcycle manufacturers have suddenly determined that they are ready for the harsh environment a motorcycle display needs to endure. During an attentive walk around of the International Motorcycle Show in New York City this past weekend, we noticed that new bikeswithoutTFT screens are becoming the rare exception.

Some manufacturers began outfitting their newest bikes with TFT screens a couple of years ago, but the 2020 model year has seen a sudden industry-wide shift. Major manufacturers like BMW, Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha, and even smaller companies like Energica, outfit their bikes with a TFT.

All of us who have been riding for many years are used to analog dials and gauges. Some of us are concerned about the longevity of the TFT, and in my opinion, those concerns are valid. Certainly, we’ve all seen our smartphone screens give up the ghost after only a few years of use. Some of us have an affinity for older motorcycles and have repaired or restored those old analog speedometers and gauges. We know that they often work flawlessly for decades. When they need repair, it’s a question of fixing or replacing internal mechanical parts. Not so with the futuristic TFT screens.

Those of us who are not hopeless luddites tend to sing the praises of a screen that can and does change to show machine and engine speed, a navigation display, the state of the motorcycle’s electronic suspension, tire pressure, the traction control setting, and a whole host of other information. The versatility of a TFT over traditional analog gauges is unquestionable: we might soon be able to program them ourselves with our preferred screen settings, just like our smartphones.

From a manufacturing point of view, TFTs simplify the process. The same TFT can be used on every motorcycle in a manufacturer’s lineup, with only a change of software to make the screen bike-specific. Does that mean a TFT will eventually be extremely inexpensive and easy to replace, should it ever go bad? Right now they’re too new to know for sure, but manufacturers are installing them everywhere, so we will all find out soon enough!

Gauge cluster design is a dying art. Speedometers and tachometers used to sit at the front of motorcycles like single-handed mechanical watches, projecting only the most pertinent information to the rider: vehicle speed, engine speed and the odometer. Then, like most analog things, digital became the preference and, for the most part, still is the preferred way to display even more information to riders like time, temperature, ride modes, traction control and any other minute pieces data the manufacturer deems necessary.

No one is saying having access to all that data is unnecessary or overbearing — quite the opposite. The more you can know about what’s going on with your bike the better, but, on a modern bike, all that information is more than an analog gauge can handle. So digital displays are a necessary evil, but their principal downside is they lack style, character and they all seem to look the same. However, it seems like the motorcycle industry is at a crossroads and the opportunity for unique, yet modern design is on its way back.

Thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal — or full-color TFT displays — are gaining popularity in the motorcycle industry. TFT is merely a more refined version of the well-known liquid crystal display (LCD), whose potential is already on display in the Lexus LFAand Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. And now, motorcycle manufacturers like Ducati are bringing that technology to the two-wheeled universe to exploit the benefits of a TFT display even further.

Ducati Monster Line Product Manager Stephano Trabusi explained, “TFT is more visible during the day, even in direct sunlight, the resolution is much higher than normal LCD so that you can have much more information on a display.” Given that the cockpit of a motorcycle doesn’t have the benefit of shade from a roof, more common digital and LCDs fall victim to severe glare. The Bosch system Ducati runs even goes one step further with a night mode that can tell if it’s night time, if you’re in a tunnel or a low light environment and flips the display background to black and the font white, so it’s easier to read.

Night vision is just the tip of the TFT iceberg, though. The complex levels of traction control and ride modes that come along with the Bosch system mean the screen has to be able to cycle through numerous menus and pages and display the traction control, engine modes and ABS settings once programmed. “Given that the bikes are so much more complex nowadays, they have more and more functions and more electronics; we need that higher resolution to display all that information.” And not only that but Trabusi justifies Ducati’s use of the display in the most modern way possible, “you always see the display when you’re riding, and it has to have a premium feel for a premium ride. Today, we are so used to our smartphones with color displays — it has become just so familiar. And to have this level of resolution and color on our bikes — it was common sense.”

Therein lies the problem with the Bosch system. Because it’s from a third party electronics and software company, and because it’s so close to a complete plug-and-play package, a handful of other manufacturers — BMW, KTM, Aprilia — use similar if not identical systems. So we wind up with cookie cutter displays no better than the uninspired digital systems they replaced. But thumbing through, pages, levels, toggling ride modes and taking calls via Bluetooth, it’s undoubtedly intuitive, but there’s an overwhelming sense that no one is exploiting the display for all it can do. It’s the same as getting an iPhone X and only using it for dim-lit selfies and tri-color wallpaper.

There’s no reason Ducati couldn’t create its own version of Audi’s Virtual Cockpit — between the maps, different gauge cluster layouts and creative displays, it would be like nothing else on two wheels. The creative potential is there, but until someone unlocks it, we’re stuck in this dull purgatory of right angles and primary colors.

We have thousands of standard products that are in stock and available from our Seattle, WA and Hong Kong warehouses to support fast product development and preproduction without MOQ. The stock covers TN, STN LCD display panels, COB, COG character LCD display, graphic LCD display, PMOLED, AMOLED display, TFT display, IPS display, high brightness and transflective, blanview sunlight readable display, super high contrast ratio display, lightning fast response displays, efficient low power consumption display, extreme temperature range display, HMI display, HDMI display, Raspberry Pi Display, Arduino display, embedded display, capacitive touch screen, LED backlight etc.  Customers can easily purchase samples directly from our website to avoid time delays with setting up accounts and credit terms and shipping within 24 hours.

Many of our customers require customized OEM display solutions.  With over two decades of experience, we apply our understanding of available display solutions to meet our customer’s requirements and assist from project concept to mass production. Using your ideas and requirements as a foundation, we work side by side with you to develop ideas/concepts into drawings, build prototypes and to final production seamlessly. In order to meet the fast changing world, we can provide the fastest turnaround in the industry, it takes only 3-4 weeks to produce LCD panels samples and 4-6 weeks for LCD display module, TFT LCD, IPS LCD display, and touch screen samples. The production time is only 4-5 weeks for LCD panels and 5-8 weeks for LCD display module, TFT LCD, IPS LCD display, and touch screen.

To offer better display of information to the rider, BMW Motorrad will now offer a new Connectivity option featuring a 6.5 inch full-colour TFT display. The aim of the new, optional display is to offer fast and safe information with the least possible distraction from the traffic situation.

The rider can access motorcycle and connectivity functions quickly with the BMW Motorrad multi-controller and the integrated approach. In addition the new TFT display combines the familiar “classic” display of data such as rpm and speed with new technology thereby providing an enormous range of features.

Using the phone and listening to music in comfort while riding. If the rider for example connects a smartphone and a helmet equipped with BMW Motorrad communication system using the TFT display, he can access the media playback and phone functions. These phone and media functions can be used without having to install an app.

If a Bluetooth connection has been established with any standard smartphone, the rider can enjoy listening to music while riding. The rider can see all his smartphone contacts in the TFT display and can select and call contacts using the multi-controller. If there is an incoming call while on the road, the rider can quickly take or reject the call with a single tip of the controller.

Moreover, the free BMW Motorrad Connected App is claimed to offer everyday-suitable and practice-oriented arrow navigation directly via the TFT display. Both the navigation itself and the ability to access the app functions directly on the motorcycle represent a real stand-alone feature. The BMW Motorrad Connected App also offers further features such as recording your ridden routes or displaying ride statistics and information.

The arrow navigation in the form of turn-by-turn arrow directions directly in the TFT display and provides very precise turn indications including lane guiding. Last destinations or points of interest can also be called up directly using the TFT display.

Apart from these Connectivity functions, the new TFT display also displays ride-relevant information. The new TFT display also features the On-board Computer PRO with numerous display and setting options.

The new TFT display also offers access to the motorcycle settings and information. Rider can, for example, read the tyre pressure settings at the front and rear very simply without being distracted from the traffic situation.

A: You really didn"t read the manual did you? Fine. From the home screen on the TFT, hold up on the menu button. You"ll see an icon in the top left corner of the display light up that says "Nav". That means you"re currently controlling the Nav device in the cradle. Press down once on the menu button, and you should see the icon flip back to "TFT".

The new BMW Motorrad Connected display will offer a built-in navigation system via the Connectivity App installed on the smartphone, according to an official sneak peek of the new product. This will replace the turn-by-turn navigation currently used on the BMW TFT Dash.

This new product will make the standard GPS obsolete, thanks to the offline maps and to the user-friendly nature of the smartphone app. The sneak peek was revealed in the “RideAndTalk” BMW Motorrad podcast.

Looking at the size and the shape of the new BMW TFT Display, we think that it will debut on the touring segment, and not on the GS. The R1250RT and K1600GT series are featuring some old-school analog dashes, and BMW will probably introduce this new one pretty soon. More than that, it looks too wide to fit other models such as the R1250GS, R1250R/RS or S1000XR, F900 series, and so on.

Moreover, the whole BMW range excepting the G310GS/R and the touring series are already fitted with the first generation of the BMW Motorrad Connectivity Dash, which offers the turn-by-turn navigation.

How does it work? You have to download the free smartphone app, tho connect via Bluetooth, and to set up the destination on the smartphone. The TFT Dash is taking over the information and shows you the guidance (it also features audio guidance). Of course, you can also listen to music and make calls.