The BMW iX that swaps shades | FOS Future Lab

So how does it work? Well, it’s all thanks to a specially developed wrap with electrophoretic technology in it that can change pigmentation when stimulated with an electrical signal. Millions of microcapsules coat the car, each the diameter of a human hair, each with negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments.

If you want to be reductive, the outside of this iX is like a giant Kindle eReader. It’s highly manipulable, meaning you’re not just fading from black to white. You can program patterns, various geometric shapes, even text. It’s on the wheels as well.

The other question, of course, is why? For the most part, it’s about customisation and expression. 

"This gives the driver the freedom to express different facets of their personality or even their enjoyment of change outwardly, and to redefine this each time they sit into their car," said Stella Clarke, Head of Project for the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink. 

"Similar to fashion or the status ads on social media channels, the vehicle then becomes an expression of different moods and circumstances in daily life."

There are some practical uses too. The thermodynamic properties of black paint are why your black car feels like an oven getting in it after a day in the sun. Imagine if you could just decide your car is white for the summer? On the flip side, a black car in the winter will soak up as much thermal energy as possible. 

The same is achievable on the inside, too, with interiors that could switch to white to stop them from heating up on a hot day. All this in turn then means you don’t crank the air conditioning as much, reducing energy usage. Practical!

Welcome to FOS Future Lab where we report on the latest visions of future technology. We'll be boldly covering flying cars, hoverboards, jetpacks and spaceships with plenty of down to earth topics in between.