BMW Presents Car that Can Digitally Change Colors
2022-01-12
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1German automaker BMW has presented a new model that permits drivers to change the vehicle's colors.
2The concept car, called BMW iX Flow, was recently shown at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
3A concept vehicle is one that has been produced for demonstration purposes, but is still in development.
4The company says an electronic ink technology makes it possible to change the car's outside colors and add patterns.
5The same kind of technology, which BMW calls Electronic Paper Display, is used in electronic reading devices.
6A demonstration at CES showed the iX Flow model changing from white to gray.
7The changes are possible in each panel of the vehicle.
8This permits several possibilities for different color and pattern combinations all around the car.
9The demonstration included one setting that created racing stripes.
10BMW says the material that enables the technology contains differently charged white, black or colored particles.
11Different colors appear when an electrical field is activated.
12Signals to activate the changes can be sent by controls inside the car or by phone.
13The company said no energy is required to keep the color the driver chooses.
14"We took this material - it's kind of a thick paper - and our challenge was to get this onto a 3D object like our cars,"
15BMW research engineer Stella Clarke told Reuters.
16"My favorite use case is the use of color to influence sunlight reflections," Clarke said.
17"On a hot, sunny day like today, you could switch the color white to reflect sunlight," she explained.
18"On a cold day, you could switch it to black to absorb the heat."
19The vehicle shown at CES could only change between gray and white.
20But the automaker says the technology will be expanded to include a wide choice of colors.
21I'm Bryan Lynn.
1German automaker BMW has presented a new model that permits drivers to change the vehicle's colors. 2The concept car, called BMW iX Flow, was recently shown at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, Nevada. A concept vehicle is one that has been produced for demonstration purposes, but is still in development. 3The company says an electronic ink technology makes it possible to change the car's outside colors and add patterns. The same kind of technology, which BMW calls Electronic Paper Display, is used in electronic reading devices. 4A demonstration at CES showed the iX Flow model changing from white to gray. The changes are possible in each panel of the vehicle. This permits several possibilities for different color and pattern combinations all around the car. The demonstration included one setting that created racing stripes. 5BMW says the material that enables the technology contains differently charged white, black or colored particles. Different colors appear when an electrical field is activated. Signals to activate the changes can be sent by controls inside the car or by phone. 6The company said no energy is required to keep the color the driver chooses. 7"We took this material - it's kind of a thick paper - and our challenge was to get this onto a 3D object like our cars," BMW research engineer Stella Clarke told Reuters. 8"My favorite use case is the use of color to influence sunlight reflections," Clarke said. "On a hot, sunny day like today, you could switch the color white to reflect sunlight," she explained. "On a cold day, you could switch it to black to absorb the heat." 9The vehicle shown at CES could only change between gray and white. But the automaker says the technology will be expanded to include a wide choice of colors. 10I'm Bryan Lynn. 11Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 12We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 13___________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15ink - n. a liquid material used for writing and printing 16pattern - n. a design of lines, shapes, colors, etc. 17panel - n. a separate or distinct part of the surface of something 18stripe - n. a long, straight area of color 19challenge - n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do 203D (three-dimensional) - n. having or appearing to have length, depth and height 21reflect - v. to throw back light or sound 22absorb - v. to take in in a natural way