The BMW iX Flow changes from white to black thanks to the technology developed by E ink. This is not a video trick, but an innovation tested in real conditions at the scale of a car, and presented at CES Las Vegas.
Those nostalgic for chameleon painting have better beware. The technology now allows you to control the color of your car with the reach of a click or rather that of an electric field.
The BMW iX Flow has been coated with electrophoretic technology which, when stimulated by an electric current, will allow the color change segment by segment, and even pixel by pixel.
BMW iX Flow featured E Ink: the new generation of personalization
From white to black, through a whole range of customization between the two, we can see new possibilities to personalize the exterior as well as the interior of future vehicles. This could be the new generation of covering fashionable in a few years, thus pushing personalization to a new level, since it would then be scalable according to the desires or moods of the day.
To adapt to the environment
But behind the very “show off” effect of this experiment, technology could also have an impact on the efficiency of cars, especially electric ones. By adapting the body color to the weather conditions, we can then imagine switching the body to a light color, when the sun is at its zenith so as not to overheat the passenger compartment, but switch it to a dark color when precisely we are trying to capture the heat of the sun’s rays.
This could have an impact on air conditioning and heating consumption depending on the season.
But how does it work ?
To understand a little more how it works, you should know that the surface of the BMW iX Flow is covered with millions of microcapsules no larger than a human hair, in which are negatively charged white pigments and positively black pigments. The electric current which then runs through these capsules will activate the desired color.
The various elements covering the body have been laser cut, then heated and sealed to ensure the proper functioning of the E ink technology.
You can imagine that at the moment we are not talking about the price or the date of commercialization of such a technology. And even less of all the questions related to after-sales service in the event of your bodywork being snagged.
Other new products unveiled by BMW at CES Las Vegas
Less spectacular than the vehicle that changes color, the German manufacturer is taking advantage of the CES Las Vegas show to introduce other technological innovations for customers of its electric models.
With the new iDrive system integrated into the BMW iX, the driver will have access to two new driving modes: My Modes Expressive and My Mode Relax. A way to offer new driving experiences with settings adapted to the mood of the moment.
BMW has also decided to bring some digital art displayed on the curved screen available on the all new iX M60. If you are more cinema than digital art, it is more towards the My Mode Theater that you should look.
With this configuration, the rear seats have a 31-inch screen that deploys from the ceiling, much like it was found in some airplanes. You will then have access to your entertainment with its surround in your new private 100% electric cinema.
Finally, BMW is continuing its quest for the perfect sound to accompany traffic behind the wheel of the brand’s electric vehicles. It is always in partnership with the brilliant Hans Zimmer that BMW produced the BMW IconicSounds Electric, also to be discovered on the all new iX M60.