BMW

iX Flow: the chameleon car

The idea of ​​customizing a car is all the rage in the industry right now, but while most manufacturers have focused on the interior of the car, adding more customizable features, BMW is customizing the look of the car.

A BMW iX Flow display case was coated with a compound containing millions of microcapsules the size of a human hair. Inside each of them is a negatively charged white pigment and a positively charged black pigment. Depending on the settings selected, electric fields cause certain pigments to rise to the surface of the microcapsules, giving the car the desired hue, writes Verge.

So far, only white, black and grayscale are available. True, even they differ favorably from ordinary ink. On a hot day, the owner can change the color at the touch of a button to cool the cabin. And in winter, a dark color is more suitable.

BMW's engineering team had to work hard to first convert the 3D iX Flow model into 2D shapes and then use generative design to break them down into polygons. After that, a paper prototype was created, and only then did the developers cut out pieces of electronic paper with a laser and glued them to the car.

Representatives of the company immediately cooled the public's ardor, stating that the technology is still in the research phase and will not appear on sale anytime soon. It is also not known to what extent this paint is weather and wear resistant.

Last year, Swedish scientists developed a new e-paper whose colors remain vivid even in bright sunlight. This type of screen promises great color reproduction with natural light and minimal power consumption.

Mundoquatrorodas