CES Technik-Messe
BMW presents a car that changes color at the push of a button
The presented BMW model iX Flow, here with an optically two-part body: the lower part is dark, the upper part light.
© Andrej Sokolow / DPA
First white, then dark gray, then white again: BMW presented a car at the CES technology fair in Las Vegas that changes color at the push of a button. According to the car maker, the technology could also help save energy.
The electric car with the model name “iX Flow” has a special coating that works in a similar way to the e-ink display of an e-book reader. With the help of the attached film, the vehicle can change between the colors white and dark gray. This can be controlled using the app.
Other colors are also technically possible, explained Christoph Grote, BMW’s Senior Vice President Electronics, in a virtual roundtable. According to BMW, this is more difficult to implement. The tailor-made body trim consists of many millions of tiny paint capsules. The white pigments are negatively charged, the black ones are positively charged. Depending on the setting and request, white or dark particles can be brought to the surface of the capsules. This results in a flowing color change.
BWM spoke at the presentation of an “advanced research and design project”. It should not be long before the first model with the color change function comes onto the market, says Grote. Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG Development, announced: “In the future, digital experiences will no longer be limited to displays. Real and virtual will increasingly merge. With the BMW iX Flow we bring the body to life. “
BMW: Color change should help increase range
In fact, it shouldn’t just be about an aesthetic effect or even a gimmick. BMW states that such solutions will also help to save energy and, as a result, will increase the range of the vehicle. Because the driver can adapt the color to the weather conditions. The darker tone, for example, could ensure that the vehicle absorbs more heat from the sun in winter and its interior warms up as a result. In summer, on the other hand, the driver could choose a light color. Ultimately, the vehicle’s cooling and heating requirements should decrease. The technology itself is “extremely energy-efficient”. In order to keep the color state constant, no energy is required, electricity only flows during the color change.
The BMW development engineer, Stella Clarke, admits, however: “As far as the legal issues are concerned – that must of course be discussed. We only know that light must not be placed everywhere on the outside because it is too distracting. But the color change is more subtle than light. But it’s still a color change, and it’s still something that is unexpected. “
Sources: BMW, T3N, Spiegel, with material from dpa