Losing your car for a while because you want to change the color of your car? If it is up to BMW, that will soon be a thing of the past. The German car brand wants you to be able to change the color of your car with just the push of a button.
Text: Noa Verseveldt
Online editing: Patrick Stoffer
Image: BMW
At CES 2022 in Las Vegas, BMW showed the feature for the first time, and it was on the BMW iX Flow. The wrap is an E-ink-based paint, it consists of millions of human hair-sized microcapsules. The E Ink is the same technology used in e-readers. Electrical signals can be used to control the microcapsules with negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. As a result, the pigments show up on the surface in varying amounts and fire different shades or patterns.
The colors possible with the technology change between white, gray and black. It is also possible to apply racing stripes, for example, because the wrap consists of different parts.
Photo: BMW.COM
The innovative feature is not just to please the eye. According to BMW, it is also efficient and energy-saving. By making the car white in summer, it helps with the reflection of the sun's rays. So you need less energy to cool the car with air conditioning. Ditto with black in winter to retain heat. Plus the color changes are energy efficient, according to BMW only a very small amount of power is consumed.
Right now the feature is still in the preliminary stages, but in the future BMW wants to make the innovation accessible to consumers. So just a little more patience before you can choose your color at the touch of a button.
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