BMW Unveils Its New Color Changing Car

January 6, 2022

BMW unveiled a car that can change exterior color at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

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The German automaker showed off its new color-changing paint technology that can be triggered at the touch of a button.

How does it work?

The iX Flow is wrapped in what is basically a form of e-paper, which BMW developed in cooperation with E Ink. It's the same electronic paper technology used in e-readers.

And just like a Kindle's screen doesn't use any energy after the content has changed, this technology doesn't use any energy after you've selected your preferred color.

"The surface coating of the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink contains many millions of microcapsules, with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a human hair. Each of these microcapsules contains negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. Depending on the chosen setting, stimulation by means of an electrical field causes either the white or the black pigments to collect at the surface of the microcapsule, giving the car body the desired shade."

Check out the color-changing car below in this interview with Dr. Stella Clarke, the project lead for the BMW iX Flow.