BMW iX Flow included in Time’s Best Inventions for 2022

MANILA: Time has unveiled its list of the Best Inventions for 2022, featuring 200 remarkable inventions that changed the world this year. Time gathered nominations from its editors and correspondents worldwide and through an online application process, paying special attention to developing industries including the metaverse, green energy, and the electric vehicle sector. Time assessed each nominee according to a number of  key factors, such as originality, effectiveness, purpose, and impact.

The BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink, a unique vehicle with the ability to instantly change its entire body color at a touch of a button, is included in this year’s list.

BMW unveiled the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 in Nevada, USA. The E Ink technology uses digitization to modify the exterior look of the vehicle based on various situations and personal preferences.

The fluid color changes are made possible by specially developed body wrap that is fitted perfectly to the contours of the all-electric Sports Activity Vehicle. Electrophoretic technology brings different color pigments to the surface when activated by electrical signals, allowing the body skin to take on the desired coloration.

The revolutionary E Ink technology allows for completely new ways to customize the vehicle’s appearance based on the driver’s aesthetic preferences, environmental conditions, or even functional needs. As a result, the technology allows for unprecedented personalization in the field of exterior design. The BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink exemplifies this potential to great use. In this context, the BMW Group is driving technological advancements so that future production vehicles can enjoy a new level of customization both on the outside and inside.

The color of a vehicle is already an expression of the driver’s personality. The range of exterior paint colors available for current BMW models is extensive. The desire for a highly expressive, extravagant, or sporty appearance on the outside, as well as the desire for a modest or elegant appearance, can be taken into account in this way. Each year, new variants that represent the qualities of the model in question are offered, allowing the brand to continue to establish trends in the field of exterior design.

Variable exterior color can also help in maintaining the wellness in the interior and the efficiency of the vehicle. This is achieved by taking into account the varied abilities of light and dark colors in terms of reflecting sunlight and the absorption of thermal energy. A white surface reflects significantly more light than a black surface.  By implication, the heating of the vehicle and passenger compartment as a result of bright strong sunlight and high outside temperatures can be lowered by transforming the exterior color to a light one. A dark outer skin will help the vehicle absorb substantially more heat from the sun in cooler weather.

In both circumstances, the selective color changes can help reduce the required amount of cooling and heating produced by the vehicle’s air conditioning. This lowers the amount of energy needed by the vehicle’s electrical system, as well as its fuel or electricity consumption. In an all-electric vehicle, changing the color to match the weather can also help extend the range. In the interior, for example, the technology may protect the dashboard from overheating.

E Ink technology itself is very energy efficient. Unlike displays or projectors, electrophoretic technology does not require energy to maintain the desired color state. Only during the brief color changing phase does current flow.

Electrophoretic coloring is based on an E Ink technology that is best known for its application in eReader displays. Many millions of microcapsules with a diameter equal to the thickness of a human are embedded in the surface coating of the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink. Negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments are found in each of these microcapsules. Depending on the setting, stimulation by means of an electrical field causes either white or black pigments to gather at the surface of the microcapsule, giving the car body the desired hue.

The application of several precisely fitted ePaper segments to a car body is required to achieve this result. To ensure that the segments represent the vehicle’s characteristic contours, generative design approaches are used. These techniques provide the formability and flexibility required to precisely customize the ePaper to the vehicle’s design lines.

The use of laser cutting technology ensures that each segment is produced with extreme precision. The entire body is warmed and sealed after the segments are applied and the power supply for stimulating the electrical field is connected to provide optimum and consistent color reproduction throughout every color change.

Aside from its color-changing feature, the BMW iX Flow also delivers a fuel-efficient drive with the fifth-generation BMW eDrive that features the BMW xDrive all-wheel drive system, single-speed automatic transmission, and an electric motor that produces 326hp and 630Nm of torque. The BMW iX has a range of 372km to 425km.

Photos from BMW

Also read: BMW invests $1.7-B for EV production in US