Not to be confused with shift vinyl/color flip wraps, this new wrap from BMW actually changes color comletely. Revealed at CES 2022 on the 2022 BMW iX Flow, the wrap was created by a company called E Ink, this new technology uses digitization to change the color of the exterior of the vehicle to individual wishes in different situations.
Additionally, the ‘My Modes’ option allows the driver to change the atmosphere in the interior to their personal mood and driving experience.
The fluid color changes are made possible by the specially developed body wrap customized precisely to the contours of the all-electric SAV model. The electrophoretic technology delivers different color pigments to the surface when stimulated by electrical signals thus causing the body skin to take on desired coloration.
The exterior color change contributes to the wellness of the interior as well as the efficiency and durability of the vehicle. For example, a white surface reflects more sunlight than black which in return can prevent the dashboard from heating up too much whereas the black surface helps the vehicle absorb more warmth from the sun in cooler weather.
E Ink technology is extremely energy efficient, unlike projector and displays, current only flows during the short color changing phase and the electrophoretic technology requires no energy to keep the chosen color constant.
Electrophoretic coloring is based on technology developed by E Ink, the surface coating of the vehicle with E Ink consists of millions of microcapsules and each microcapsule contains negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. The diameter of the microcapsules are equivalent to the thickness of a human hair.
Achieving this effect on a vehicle involves the application of many precisely fitted ePaper segments.
