Chief Innovation Officer, Senior VP E Ink, MA, United States
The use of electronics and software in automotive applications continues to increase such that their contribution will soon exceed 50% of the value of the entire vehicle. With sight as our most important sense in driving a car, the increase in size and complexity of electronic displays on dashboards and improvements in interior and exterior lighting is not surprising. On the other hand, the visual appearance of most of the rest of the car is static and fixed at the factory. With flexible, reflective, bistable, electrophoretic display technology (EPD) that no longer has to be true. BMW has utilized E Ink “electronic paint” films to create the “color changing” concept car that was shown at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. While the fun and aesthetics of such a car are self-evident, there are also other safety and energy implications for future color changing cars. Integration of EPD technology with other flexible printed and hybrid electronics and sensors could potentially reduce the complexity and cost of integrating EPD into automobiles and expand the practicality of color changing surfaces for both inside and outside transportation vehicles. These and other implications will be discussed.
