BMW wants to bring the paint color of cars to life by making it computer-controlled. Yes. The company has today unveiled a prototype, where it is possible. With the new technology, drivers will be able to give their car a different paint color at any time.
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Nick Schenk
Latest update:
16:33
Source:
AD.nl
Not only does it become possible to change the color super fast, the paint can also move to show other patterns or even animations. As if a draftsman goes over the car from front to back and paints happily.
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E-readers
The secret of the astonishing innovation lies in the technology known from e-readers. These electronic books, designed as tablets, use digital ink and that ink also forms the basis of the technology developed by BMW. The engineers have succeeded in combining the principle of car paint with electronics. The paint moves automatically, which the driver can program in a menu, or it starts moving after you simply touch it with your finger.
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The idea came from a two-wheeler
The creators came up with the idea of the living paint after having previously worked on a prototype of an electric two-wheeler from BMW that can serve as both an e-bike and a motorcycle. To make the two-wheeler recognizable as a bicycle or motorcycle, this prototype was equipped with an electronic number plate. When the function changed, the license plate changed.
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“This has inspired us to investigate whether we could also realize this kind of change in car paint,” Stella Clarke, the leader of the ‘BMW iX Flow and E Ink’ project, told AD. “Using laser technology, among other things, a kind of wafer-thin, maximally bendable screen has been developed, which replaces the traditional car paint. The electronic ink is applied to the car as a coating, as it were.” The technology makes grateful use of so-called electrophoresis: particles of color pigment move under the influence of an electric field.
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A prototype of such a car has already been made: the BMW iX Flow. Its colors can change continuously. “Ideal for customizing the car to your personal taste,” says Stella Clarke. “And although the prototype still works with shades of gray, all colors are indeed possible.”
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Really, the extra cost will not be too bad.
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Clarke emphasizes that the consumer does not have to worry that the electronic paint will become outrageously expensive: “Really, the extra cost will be not too bad.” According to her, you also do not have to be afraid of extra expensive damage repair. “I admit: the electronics make the paint even more vulnerable than regular paint. But if the paint is damaged, you just see a scratch. However, it is annoying if the electrodes present in the paint are cut through that scratch. Then the paint in that spot won’t be able to change.”
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Electronic ink also helps reduce power consumption
BMW wants motorists to use this technology to enhance their emotions and the personal appearance of their car in the coming years. Just like with fashionable clothes. They can even adjust the paint color to suit their mood (happy, sad or sporty, for example).
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By making smart use of light and dark colors during the day, the electronic paint can also be functional. This involves, for example, reflecting or absorbing sunlight, making it warmer or cooler in the car.
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BMW even thinks that the new technology can make a contribution to the energy consumption of the car. The E Ink technology is extremely economical when it comes to power consumption. While in other cars energy-guzzling screens or projectors (eg for the head-up display) are used, electricity is only needed for a short time when changing color or pattern. BMW cannot yet say when the first car with electronic paint will be on the market.
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