The E Ink technology that makes the Amazon Kindle work. It’s the same tech BMW has used to make an iX that can change from white to black in moments — both the exterior paint and the interior surfaces. Now, Porsche has filed a patent that hints that the German automaker has actually found something useful to do with the tech.
Instead of using it for cosmetics, the patent filed with the World Intellectual Property Office indicates that Porsche wants to use it to do something useful. To not just change the color of the vehicle, but to give a warning or message to the other vehicles around it.
Color-Change Tech Could Revolutionize Vehicle Communication
Imagine if, instead of a vague warning with hazard flashers, you could post a sign with a more helpful message. “I’m OK,” “Get Help,” “Call An Ambulance.” That’s just a start for the potential of using the body of your vehicle as a warning signal. We know some of our readers will already be thinking of other uses, but let’s not get distracted just yet.
It could also be used to display alerts of upcoming conditions. A slow sign, a sign alerting of a road blockage, pothole, or even just a heads-up that there are animals near the roadway just up ahead. Dynamic warnings could help the owners of other cars avoid a crash, or inform them that another car is coming the other way. Or, since this is Porsche, avoid the friendly law enforcement officer’s LiDAR device that’s set up in the trees just around a bend.
The company proposes to do this by effectively turning each panel of the vehicle into an E Ink display. A panel, or a section of a panel, would become the “sign.”
Tech Would Allow Real Colors, Not Just Black And White
In the patent, Porsche engineers describe the invention as a body panel surface that is covered in “liquid-filled microcapsules.” Unlike present E Ink displays, which use black and “not-black” (usually white or beige), the microcapsules would be filled with paint. They would be available in different colors, so the car would look like any other. This seems close to BMW’s tech, so we’re not sure exactly how it varies.
Positively charged contrast particles in a second color are arranged in the car. When electricity is applied, the second color turns off or on as requested. On a tiny scale, small enough for text on an e-reader, or in this case for a warning sign on a car.
It wouldn’t use the tech on all of the panels, though it hints that Porsche could. Instead, it would be one or more of the main panels for the greatest effect.
To control the new tech, Porsche would install an e-reader in the cabin. Why not the center display? We’re not sure. Since this would have to be integrated into a new vehicle very early in the design process, a more integrated solution seems like a better choice.
It’s always cool to see automakers trying to do something new. Even if that new thing is probably expensive, having a two-color car, and one that could display signs to other road users, sounds pretty awesome.
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