BMW Ready To Mass-Produce Color-Changing Cars

Jul. 09, 2023 12:16 PM ET byGerhard Horn Technology /5 Comments

Get ready for some pretty radical exteriors.

BMW has filed two separate patents suggesting that it may soon offer flexible customization and personalization options for the exterior and interior of a car. And by flexible, we literally mean a decorative film that can be adapted to any three-dimensional surface.CarBuzzdiscovered the patent filed with theWorld Intellectual Property Organizationthat indicates BMW's incredible E Ink technology from the iX Flow concept may soon become a factory option.

Thus far, BMW has only been able to customize cars using individual paintwork, alloy wheels, and applying a decorative film or foiling on the outer skin of the bodywork.

But now, the German carmaker wants to give customers the option of applying a decorative film to any vehicle surface. That's wherethe second patentcomes in. It's the latest in a series of patents BMW has filed to give customers moreaesthetic options.

First, the decorative film. BMW says the decorative layer will preferably be a smart glass LCD layer that can be switched between transparent and opaque. It can also be an e-paper layer that can switch between two colors. BMW is not limiting itself, however. It also mentions a wood veneer for old-school Bimmer fans.

显示层由成千上万的显示balls in either white or black or whatever color combination a customer opts for. When a positive or negative field is applied, the black and white pigments move to opposite sides. This gives a customer the desired color, which will be activated via a switch in the cabin. The same technology can also be applied to interior design elements.

Because the decorative film can be applied to any three-dimensional object, a BMW owner can decorate the oversized grille in the same or contrasting color. Imagine a blackBMW M3that can change the color of its controversial grille.

To make a seemingly stiff layer fit over a three-dimensional object, BMW came up with a film that has thousands of star or diamond-shaped elements. These elements make it easier to wrap the decorative film around a compression zone or expansion area. The slitting on the surface is done via laser beams, a cutting plotter, or other knives so they're not visible when the decorative layer is flat. But when applied, the film can be stretched in transverse and longitudinal directions without the owner noticing a gap in the paint.

Just think of the newBMW M2and all of the contrasting design elements it has; from the round curve of the power dome to the sharper lines of the lower grille. Both these surfaces can be covered in this film while retaining a high-quality standard.

BMW's second patent is for the method used to apply this decorative layer on a non-plane surface. It's as easy as adding a sticky coating to the bottom of the film so it can be pasted to the vehicle. BMW has yet to decide whether the film will be supplied in what will be a roll or a predetermined pattern, but that's not important right now.

The main objective is to produce a pliable decorative film that can be glued to the car and layered with an additional film on top for protection. BMW calls this the carrier film and says it's similar to wrapping a vehicle. After all of this has been sandwiched together, BMW adds another protective layer or a clear lacquer to protect it all.

As you can imagine, the customization options are endless. What we have here is effectively BMW taking itscolor-changing technologymainstream. It took thecutting-edge E Inkand found a way to mass produce it.

BMW Ready To Mass-Produce Color-Changing Cars

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BMW Ready To Mass-Produce Color-Changing Cars

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