NVIDIA Drive CX (CES 2015)

Earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NVIDIA unveiled its DRIVE CX and PX automotive platforms to the world. The response from the automotive industry and the greater public has been great and our team at NVIDIA looks forward to developing this concept further. I had the pleasure of designing the NVIDIA DRIVE CX reference instrument cluster gauges as well as the Renovo EV coupe instrument cluster and IVI.

The Renovo coupe is a beautiful car and it really feels like a step in the right direction for futuristic electric 'muscle' cars.

RENOVO COUPE

Credit: Slashgear (Renovo EV coupe instrument cluster)

The total amount of time to deliver the proof of concept Renovo cluster was about three weeks and, truth be told, I had to complete it in my free time since during the working hours I was swamped with developing the DRIVE CX cluster content.  Developing the Renovo cluster was a wonderfully technical and artistic endeavor for both teams and I want to thank the guys at Renovo (Chris, Mike, Jason) for letting me have the opportunity to develop something as a concept and have fun with it.

NVIDIA DRIVE CX

When designing an instrument cluster for NVIDIA, one has to sometimes abandon a few design principles while at the same time taking into account what the general public will think of your design.  When designing a 3D instrument cluster for NVIDIA, it cannot simply be a plain pair of gauges with minimalist sensibilities (think Apple). On the contrary, it has to scream complexity. The tech blog The Verge has claimed the cluster to be 'bombastically overdecorated'. I'll take that as a compliment!  

Here is a glimpse at the design from its inspirational early stages to the finished design.  Not before seen by the public, here is the style sheet I referenced for the design as well as an early render of the design from many iterations ago.

Lux stylesheet

The inspiration behind Lux concept is to evoke a feeling of high class luxury through complex surfaces and rich material selection.

For luxury vehicles, like BMW, the instrument cluster should feel as expensive as the car.  Further, I believe the driver should be able to customize the look and feel of the materials and lighting to their taste.

Concept Lux is inspired by ancient architecture, the dress of a dancer in motion, and the classic London black and gold motif.

Early Lux concept rendering

Our team at NVIDIA also produced a material showroom application which shows how this gauge can take on several different virtual material options that mimic their real world counterparts.  Some examples are carbon fiber (pictured below), bamboo, aluminum, powdercoat, car paint and even leather.

Credit: The Verge (NVIDIA material showroom)

This style of gauge works well for a demo because of its layered construction, repetition, movement and its unapologetic and bold appearance.

I have read some very positive comments on forums regarding the design and there are a few people who stated that I should be 'severely beaten' for this design.  Well, that's art I suppose!

I have to say though, not bad for a model I initially created in three days. : )

Stephen