In what can be called the world’s first “colour-changing” car, a German carmaker BMW has unveiled an innovative concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
The concept car, which is called the BMW iX Flow, utilises the electronic ink technology found in e-readers to transform the car’s exterior into different patterns in gray and white.
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BMW research engineer Stella Clarke, said, “This is really energy efficient colour change using the technology E Ink. So, we took this material – it’s kind of a thick paper – and our challenge was to get this on a 3D object like our cars.”
The car’s colour change can be controlled by a phone app. When the electrical signals are stimulated, the material comes up with different pigments to the surface resulting in the change in shade or design of the car. It can be racing stripes or anything else.
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As per the BMW, no energy is required to maintain the colour the driver selects.
“My favourite use case is the use of colour to influence sunlight reflections. On a hot, sunny day like today, you could switch the colour white to reflect sunlight. On a cold day, you could switch it black to absorb the heat,” said Clarke.
(With inputs from agencies)
