BMW has rolled out the world's first "color-changing" automobile that can be activated at the push of a button. It is being displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The car's exterior is coated with a material dubbed "E Ink," which allows it to change color from white to black to many shades of gray.
E Ink is the same technology used in Amazon's Kindle e-book readers, and it can now be utilized to cover the entire surface of a vehicle.
"This is an extremely energy-efficient color shift utilizing the E Ink technology," BMW research engineer Stella Clarke told Reuters.
By activating electronic ink in the wrap-around shell, a driver can alter the hue of the car's exterior at the touch of a button, allowing the color to transition between black and white or even bright and dark stripes.
"You get to choose the appearance of your car," Clarke explained.
CES is gradually becoming a venue for automakers to advertise alongside manufacturers of cellphones, electrical devices, and television screens.
In the future, Clarke added, the color shift may also be controlled by a button on the dashboard or even with hand gestures.
When electrical signals are used to trigger the electrophoretic technology, different color pigments are brought to the surface, causing the body skin to take on the desired color scheme.
No energy is required to retain the hue selected by the driver, she explained.
The futuristic car is not for sale to the general public.
While the vehicle on display at CES could only switch between white and gray, BMW stated the technology will be expanded to support a wider range of colors.
However, BMW is still evaluating how the improvements function with black and white. The company has tested it in a variety of weather conditions and determined that it functions well.
BMW offers a means to modify the outside of a car to varied settings and individual preferences with the BMW iX Flow incorporating E Ink. The electronic ink's surface can change color in response to the driver's commands.
Digital experiences will no longer be restricted to displays in the future, according to Frank Weber, a member of BMW AG's board of management.
Samsung unveiled a portable Smart TV projector at CES this week, LG displayed a self-operating home on wheels, and Sony featured the official name for its new virtual reality (VR) goggles, which will be dubbed PlayStationVR2.
