This BMW can change its appearance at the touch of a button thanks to the same technology used in e-readers.
Currently, altering the outside color of an automobile requires a standard painting procedure. What if you could accomplish that by pressing a button, though? With the aid of E Ink technology, BMW is researching this feature, and this week the German carmaker presented a color-changing prototype automobile to CES 2022.
This electric SUV concept, known as the iX Flow, changes the exterior color nearly instantly thanks to the electrophoretic technology used in E Ink. How does it work? A unique wrap on the iX stimulates pigments of various colors to rise to the top. The color-changing effect can appear in stripes, blotches, front-to-back, side-to-side, and other patterns. These adjustments are possible because to the E Ink wrap.
Playing now: See this:
Implementing E Ink offers two major advantages. First of all, it makes a whole new realm of personalization possible by enabling owners to alter the color and style of their vehicle in accordance with their mood, circumstances, or other factors. The vehicle “becomes a representation of various moods and circumstances in daily life,” according to Stella Clarke, project manager for the iX Flow. The only colors available at the moment, though, are black, white, and gray, which is OK if your “various moods and circumstances in daily life” included being depressed on a rainy day. (I can identify.)
The further advantage? a rise in effectiveness. White cars will stay cooler than black ones on hot, bright days because they reflect more sunlight. Similar to how dark exterior hues help a car absorb more sunlight and heat on chilly days. Even if the difference is modest, BMW claims that it can lessen the amount of heating or cooling required to condition the car on hot or cold days, improving its overall operating economy.
The iX Flow’s wrap is formed of segments of e-paper, and it uses the same E Ink technology as e-reader tablets. Because of this, the iX can only change colors in the grayscale; but, as E Ink technology advances to support more bright colors (ideally), the iX Flow will be able to do the same. Even while the concept is cool, it’s impossible to predict whether BMW will ever put color-changing body panels into production.
In This Article...
How can an automobile actually change colors?
The new color-changing technology from BMW takes the idea of cars as moving computers one step further. The color-changing technology is roughly akin to that seen on e-readers, according to Kelley Blue Book.
According to BMW, Kelley Blue Book “A human hair’s thickness in terms of diameter and number of microcapsules per square inch make up the surface coating of the BMW iX Flow with E Ink. These microcapsules each contain negatively and positively charged black and white pigments. The desired shade of the car body is produced by either the white or the black pigments accumulating at the surface of the microcapsule in response to electrical field stimulation, depending on the setting selected.”
Consequently, the microcapsules are effectively controlled and changed by electricity. According to BMW, this could help keep your car warm or cool. For instance, painting the car white will keep it cool in the summer and black will keep it warmer in the winter.
Color-changing E-Ink paint—is it really paint?
How does the color-changing paint on BMW function? It’s quite cool because the technology is comparable to that seen in modern e-readers.
“A human hair’s thickness in terms of width and number of microcapsules per square inch make up the surface coating of the BMW iX Flow with E Ink. These microcapsules each contain negatively and positively charged black and white pigments. The desired shade of the car body is produced by either the white or the black pigments accumulating at the surface of the microcapsule in response to electrical field stimulation, depending on the setting selected.”
This goes beyond simple color-changing paint that can change tint or shimmer depending on the direction you look at it from. Actually, this is a highly technical paint. However, there are numerous concerns about E-Ink’s cost and legality. That might keep the idea of a color-changing luxury car a pipe dream for a few more years.
Advertised Links
Since its introduction in 1997, E-Ink technology has demonstrated its value in a variety of contexts, including laptop screens, digital whiteboards, and even personal accessories. At CES 2022, BMW showcased an e-ink vehicle exterior that can change colors based on the weather and traffic conditions, or just the driver’s attitude. This technology has finally reached the automobile sector.
In response to your initial query, no, despite being displayed at the exhibition on a live demonstration vehicle known as the BMW iX Flow with E Ink, this future technology is not yet ready for mass production.
The electrophoretic coloring substance is used as a vehicle body wrap and functions similarly to how e-ink displays do in Kindles. Millions of microcapsules, each holding a negatively charged white pigment and a positively charged black pigment, are inserted throughout the wrap. Applying an electrical charge to the substance will, depending on the environment, induce either the white or the black pigments to rise to the top of the microcapsule, changing the color of the vehicle in a matter of seconds.
The palette could potentially be enlarged to show the whole spectrum of colors, even if the current version can only switch between a pair of hues. In a prepared statement, Stella Clarke, Head of Project for the BMW iX Flow incorporating E Ink, said, “This provides the driver the freedom to communicate different elements of their personality or even their appreciation of change outwardly, and to redefine this each time they sit into their car.” The vehicle then turns into an expression of many moods and situations in daily life, similar to fashion or the status updates on social media channels.
E-ink external displays may also be beneficial for more practical purposes, including changing colors in response to the temperature to extend a car’s battery life (and hence its range) in cold climates or lessen the need for air conditioning in hot climates.
With the touch of a button or, if you prefer, by tapping the screen of your smartphone, BMW’s iX Flow changes from white to black.
A automobile that changes colors was been unveiled by BMW, one of the most incredible innovations in the automotive industry. At the push of a button, the company’s electric iX SUV’s paint job changes from black to white.
Thanks to products like dual-tone pearlescent paints, we’ve already noticed some kind of color alteration. However, this is fully powered by electricity, and you can use your smartphone to control the adjustments. You can select from numerous automotive components like hoods, bumpers, even rims, as well as the overall paint scheme, which can change from black to white or vice versa.
The Kindle e-reader from Amazon uses essentially the same technology. Millions of microcapsules suspended in a liquid make up a specifically made body wrap. These capsules have colors inside of them that have variously charged particles. The colors will switch depending on whether an electric charge is applied to the wrap in a positive or negative direction.
Similar to the Kindle, the on-display iX had a body wrap made of white and black pigments. Whites have a negative charge while blacks have a positive one. As a result, when a positive charge is given to the wrap’s surface, the blacks recede and the whites rise, giving the car a white paint job. If there is a negative charge, the impact is the opposite, with the black pigments rising and the white pigments descending.
The segments of the E Ink-wrapped iX were also precisely carved to fit the contours of the vehicle, enabling extremely fine-grained control of the color patterns.
‘With the Touch of a Button,’ BMW’s New Car Changes Color
Self-expression and personalization are proving to be key CES 2022 themes.
The major statement made by BMW today, a system that allows a car’s color to be changed at the push of a button, demonstrates that the illustrious German automaker grasped the task. The technology was unveiled on the company’s new 100% electric iX Flow SUV concept. The iX Flow will soon have a production model, but it will be some time before cars with color-changing paint make their way to car dealership showroom floors, if they ever do. The chameleon-like façade is what BMW refers to as a “advanced research and design endeavor.”
The color-changing paint is a brand-new, eye-catching use of well-known technology. The paint BMW introduced today is powered by E Ink, the “electric paper” technology that fuels e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle. About the thickness of a human hair, microcapsules are infused into the ink. These microcapsules include negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. The electric field surrounding the capsules is altered by the user’s input, which pushes some of the pigments to the surface and alters the color of the paint. Currently, the technology comes in white, black, and a few other hues of grey.
Stella Clarke, who oversaw the project for the company, said that this technology “gives the driver the ability to communicate different elements of their personality or even their pleasure of change outwardly, and to redefine this each and every time they get into their car.” BMW also makes reference to further useful applications. White paint may keep interiors cooler in hot weather by reflecting light, which lowers the energy required for air conditioning. Contrarily, black absorbs light and may lower the amount of energy required to maintain a vehicle’s comfortable temperature.
This article has been updated, so please note that. The trademark for the color-changing paint’s technique is “E Ink,” not “E-Ink.”
Toyota updates the Corolla with a sporty turbocharger.
The feat is executed with specially shaped wrapping that has been trimmed to fit the SUV’s body panels rather than paint. Similar electronic ink technology as that seen in electronic readers is used in the wrapping. Electric wiring was then linked to each area after the colored panels were carefully cut to match the contour of the SUV’s body panels.
Millions of microscopic capsules, each carrying negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments, are embedded in the panel surfaces. The various hues are produced by electric currents bringing one pigment or another to the top. The panels maintain their tone once the color change is finished without needing any additional electrical charge.
The SUV’s color can be uniformly applied or applied in various areas in various colors. Even the wheels themselves can change hue.
The BMW iX Flow concept was referred as as “an advanced research and design project” by Adrian van Hooydonk, head of design at BMW.
No intentions to incorporate this technology into a production car have been made public by BMW. However, the automaker did list a few benefits of being able to instantly alter a vehicle’s tone.
According to a statement from BMW, Stella Clarke, project leader for the iX Flow, “this allows the driver the chance to convey different elements of their personality or even their pleasure of change outwardly, and to redefine this each time they sit in their car.”
Second, it can increase the car’s comfort and fuel efficiency. A white body might reflect heat on hot days, keeping the cabin cooler and reducing the need for air conditioning. On the other hand, a dark body absorbs more heat, keeping the cabin comfortable on chilly days with less need for heating and ventilation.
The cost of body damage repairs, however, might be just as dramatic as the color effects if it were to go into production.
How does paint that changes color work?
By interfering with light reflection and refraction from the painted object’s surface, the ChromaFlair effect is produced. One millimeter thick synthetic flakes are present in the paint. Aluminum covered with glass-like magnesium fluoride and semi-translucent chromium form the basis of the flakes. The paint has a bright metallic sheen from the aluminum and chrome, and the glass-like layer behaves like a refracting prism to alter the surface’s apparent hue as the observer moves.
The pigment used in ChromaFlair paints is a light interference pigment rather than a normal absorbing pigment. Similar to how rainbow colors are perceived in oil slicks, the color observed is entirely the result of the refractive characteristics of the flakes.
In order to counterfeit US cash, ChromaFlair paint has also been used as a substitute for optically variable ink. Forger Art Williams used green-silver ChromaFlair paint to imitate the color-changing ink on the $100 bill that was released in 1996.
There are countless color combinations for the ChromaFlair pigment. It is typically used for things where aesthetics matter, such cars, electric instruments, and customized computer cases.
In addition to paint, it can also be disseminated in a resin for injection molding or used as a coating, such as on synthetic polyurethane leather.