Stronger than the black and white of the iX Flow, the i Vision Dee concept was presented by BMW at CES 2023. It is covered in E Ink panels that change colors at will. How it works ? We were able to witness the first tests.
At CES 2022 in Las Vegas, BMW created a sensation with the iX Flow, which went from white to black in an instant. As Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BMW AG, pointed out during his presentation at CES 2023, our environment is in color, not black and white. BMW’s iX Flow project teams therefore worked on a concept car that could change color at will. Successful bet, the new i Vision Dee in her chameleon dress was able to do her show in Las Vegas.
Behind these few minutes perfectly executed on the stage of the CES in Las Vegas hides the hard work of the project teams, with Stella Clarke at the helm. There are also a lot of tests and unsuccessful attempts, which the teams told us about during our visit. We had a glimpse of it in the BMW workshops, two months before the event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX10XBwpJ6M
The i Vision Dee concept changes color: how does it work?
The i Vision Dee concept uses the same principle as the BMW iX Flow presented in 2023. Dee’s body is covered with numerous panels using E Ink technology. This is the same technology found in e-readers for one of its best-known applications.
We tend to think that E Ink only handles black and white, but this is not the case. This technology also exists in color. The pigments are encapsulated and are activated according to the intensity of the current traveled. This is what prompted BMW to attempt a new adventure with this material.
Depending on the intensity of the current sent through the material, the color changes in a few seconds. This provides a fairly large number of possibilities, although some colors will be more difficult to obtain than others. It is therefore on this principle that the chameleon or multicolored “Dee” concept was able to appear on stage.
Meticulous work to achieve the visible result
During our meeting with the teams in charge of this project, we were already able to observe in detail one of the first prototypes of the iX Flow of 2022. Up close, we can quickly observe the difficulties encountered in cutting the material so that it adapts to the 3D body of a car, as imposing as a BMW iX. This first experience with the iX Flow was crucial for the team to develop the i Vision Dee featuring E Ink concept in less than a year.
Additional challenge with colored E Ink: in addition to having to manage the cutouts and the power supply of the different panels, you also have to find the right electrical dosage to display one or the other color uniformly. It was at this level that things got complicated to carry out the demonstration which was broadcast live in Las Vegas.
We were able to observe the project teams as the work of cutting out the various elements to cover the bodywork was running at full speed. When the vehicle is on the white color during the show, we have an overview of the various assembled parts. A meticulous work that we could compare to the realization of stained glass in a cathedral. At the slightest error, a new sheet of E Ink is sent directly to the trash.
Cutting, cabling, gluing, then computer programming to make the color changes in the established rhythm and order. Stella Clarke, in charge of the project, told us that the realization was far from simple. The same intensity sent in different sections does not always give exactly the same color. If the gradient can be welcome for certain effects, the E Ink sometimes seems to do as it pleases.
The result remains stunning and applies particularly well to the i Vision Dee concept. The demonstration in Las Vegas allows BMW’s concept car to express a whole range of expressions through its color changes.
