Have you ever gone shopping for a new car and been stuck with the “what color” question? It can be difficult if you’re indecisive, tend to change your mind often, or just aren’t sure which one is best once you drive it every day.
Well, worry no more – BMW has a concept car that will let you change the color of your car with the touch of a button.
The cars are the iX Flow with E Ink and the i Vision Dee, and they’re unlike any other car or concept we’ve seen so far.
Image credit: YouTube
They use color changing technology that is a combination of a wrap and an advanced version of an e-reader screen like a Kindle or Nook.
The wrap is thin and laser-cut to fit each panel like a glove, according to BMW.
“The envelope contains many millions of microcapsules, with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a single human hair.”
When you apply electricity to change the pigment’s charges (negatively charged white and positively charged black), the pigments are swapped and so is the color.
They introduced the first version of the iX Flow at the Consumer Electronics Show last year and switched from black to white.
The new and Vision Dee is able to change to 32 different colors i individual panels can be individually controlled, which would also allow people to choose their own patterns.
These changes happen in seconds, so there’s no need to plan ahead.
What’s more is that BMW calls the technology “extremely energy efficient”, because it only uses energy while the change is taking place. Not only that, but they claim that E Ink technology can actually make the car month energy efficient because you can adjust the color to repel or absorb heat, depending on the season.
This could also save you money since you won’t have to run the heater or air conditioner as much.
Don’t get too excited, though: BMW says the color-changing feature is considered an internal project right now, though they’ve hinted that they’re working on making it available to the public one day.
This is certainly intriguing, but if nothing else, it’s still impressive what engineers and designers can do!
