BMW has revealed the iX Flow, a BMW iX that is able to change to colour of its exterior body panels, at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show.
The car utilises a specially developed body wrap, that sports innovative E Ink technology to achieve this feat.
The BMW iX Flow utilises the same technology found in eReaders to change the shade of its exterior panels Already well-known for its use in eReaders, the technology makes use of millions of microcapsules, each with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a human hair. These microcapsules contain negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments.
Unlike displays or projectors, the electrophoretic technology needs absolutely no energy to keep the chosen colour state constant. Current only flows during the short colour changing phase.
Stimulation of the body wrap via an electrical field thus causes either the white or the black pigments to collect at the surface of the microcapsule, giving the car body the desired shade.
BMW states the development of the technology could open up new facets for customers to customise future vehicles. Another possible application for the technology being explored is its use in the interior panels of a vehicle in order to change the amount of thermal radiation absorbed under sunlight, which could save on the energy required to heat or cool a vehicle's interior.
The car utilises a specially developed body wrap, that sports innovative E Ink technology to achieve this feat.
Unlike displays or projectors, the electrophoretic technology needs absolutely no energy to keep the chosen colour state constant. Current only flows during the short colour changing phase.
Stimulation of the body wrap via an electrical field thus causes either the white or the black pigments to collect at the surface of the microcapsule, giving the car body the desired shade.
BMW states the development of the technology could open up new facets for customers to customise future vehicles. Another possible application for the technology being explored is its use in the interior panels of a vehicle in order to change the amount of thermal radiation absorbed under sunlight, which could save on the energy required to heat or cool a vehicle's interior.
