A 12 months in the past at CES, BMW’s iX Move idea was launched as “the world’s first colour altering automobile”. On the time, the particular model of the iX electrical crossover was in a position to swap its numerous panels between white, black and grey.

Now, meet the improve for 2023: true colours.

For this 12 months’s CES, BMW showcased the i Imaginative and prescient Dee, an electrical sports activities sedan idea that previews a number of applied sciences we might even see within the close to future, akin to AI-powered digital assistants and full windshield head-up shows. However it additionally included a full-color model of the E Ink know-how first seen in final 12 months’s idea.

Because of this the i Imaginative and prescient Dee, which seems to be like a form of cross between an previous BMW and a Tesla, can change colour on command. As an alternative of simply black, white and grey, 32 colours at the moment are accessible. Not solely that, the i Imaginative and prescient Dee consists of 240 E Ink e-paper segments, all individually controllable. This implies the i Imaginative and prescient Dee can swap to a single colour or placed on an superior gentle present.

Dee made her color-changing debut Wednesday evening at BMW’s CES keynote and on stage Knight Rider KITT, Love Bug Herbie and Arnold Schwarzenegger. (You needed to be there someway.) Schwarzenegger additionally starred on this brief movie that reveals how Dee’s superior options work:

BMW’s ideas use know-how developed by the US-based E Ink Company, which is behind e-readers and numerous smartwatches. A movie coating on a automobile accommodates tiny microcapsules whose pigment adjustments when electrical energy is utilized. Whereas E Ink has seen a variety of functions through the years, BMW says it is distinctive to the automotive {industry}, developed and programmed by in-house engineers.

Furthermore, this idea makes use of the most recent know-how from E Ink referred to as Prism 3 movie, which is totally programmable and means low energy consumption for sustainability. Prism 3 can be manufactured in any form, making industrial design functions appear infinite.

“E Ink’s imaging know-how is ultra-low energy as a result of it is bi-state,” stated E Ink. in a newsletter. “Mixed with the industry-leading power effectivity of digital paper, E Ink permits its companions to disrupt industries by way of sustainable applied sciences and are built-in into every thing from eReaders to cell phones, medical wearables, logistics labels and digital signage.”

E-paper sections had been additionally used on the wheels and grille of the idea; second, the AI ​​assistant created “facial expressions” because it reacted to numerous inputs.

Will color-changing BMWs see manufacturing? For now, it is an in-house R&D mission, but it surely has garnered a variety of consideration each inside the automaker and within the wider world. SlashGear notes The brains behind the mission, Australian engineer Stella Clarke and her staff have been working to develop and enhance e-paper since final 12 months’s CES.

They’re at present engaged on making e-paper panels more durable and in a position to stand up to issues like flying bugs and automobile washes. Because it stands now, extreme highway harm renders the panels dysfunctional, as with the black-and-white iX Move. The staff’s final objective is to make a twig that may be utilized to physique panels extra simply, however that is removed from it. Prices aren’t clear both, however Clarke hinted they could possibly be decrease than you suppose.

Who is aware of. If BMW can transfer from black and white to dazzling rainbow shows in only a 12 months, maybe the E Ink could possibly be the following must-have possibility for anybody who actually desires to point out off on their M3.