At the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), BMW showed off an EV concept that could literally change color thanks to an exterior coating powered by E Ink. It was great, but the monochromatic look — it could change from white to black to gray and that was it — left a lot to be desired. So it was very cool to see BMW come back to the 2023 CES with a similar concept that adds a whole new rainbow of color options.
According to The Verge, the i Vision Dee can shift between 32 different colors thanks to its E Ink surface, and each segment can be individually controlled to present a different color. This allows an almost infinite variety of patterns to be generated and varied within seconds,” BMW said in a statement.
Dee made her color-shifting debut during BMW’s CES keynote last Wednesday night, joined onstage by Knight Rider’s KITT, Herbie the Love Bug, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yep. The Terminator also starred in this short film that demonstrates how Dee’s advanced features work.
BMW’s concepts make use of technology developed by the US-based E Ink Corporation, which is behind e-readers and various smartwatches. A film coating on the car contains tiny microcapsules whose pigments change when electricity is applied. While E Ink has seen a number of applications over the years, BMW says it’s unique to the automotive sector, developed and programmed by in-house engineers.
There’s also an AR windshield and a talking digital assistant that can express different moods. Will all of this tech ever make it into a production car? Who knows. If BMW can go from black and white to dazzling rainbow displays in just a year, maybe E Ink could be the next must-have option for anyone wanting to really show off in their M3.
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