Audi Develops Revolutionary Color-Changing Paint Tech
Editorial Credit: medvedsky_kz / stock.adobe.com
A car that changes color? Yes, way!
As I’ve mentioned many times before, I’m a car fanatic. I follow all the latest trends and advancements in the industry, and here’s one that really gets me excited.
In the automobile aftermarket industry, color-converting paints are very popular, and manufacturers occasionally offer them, too. Nissan, for example, offers Millennium Jade and Midnight Purple in their GT-R (New Nissan GT-R Arrives With Special Colors And Nismo Toys | CarBuzz). These types of paint finishes look different depending on how light is bouncing off them. Another kind of special paint changes color with heat, but to see this change happen requires throwing hot or cold water over the car to see the alternative look. Take a look at this video for a dramatic and really cool demonstration of what I’m talking about.
No matter how the effect is achieved, there isn't much point to it except for the aesthetic appeal and obvious coolness factor. But are you really going to pour hot or cold water on your car, making sure you cover every square inch of it for an even effect? C’mon!
Now, if you could change the color of your car at the touch of a button, that would be different. Better. Something I could go for. And that's exactly what Audi plans to do, at least according to patents filed with the German patent office.
Like nearly every other car manufacturer, Audi is planning to become cleaner than ever before, with an environmentally conscious electric future (plans for an electric future). Reducing energy consumption in any way would help get it to that goal.
Audi’s revolutionary “adaptive color invention” is one of the ways they plan to achieve this. Research has shown that "black vehicles consume 1-2% more energy than white vehicles in midsummer." To lower this consumption, Audi wants to use a display film that includes a graphic film layer having a displayable image and a background color. In other words, a switchable film layer and a color coat layer. The film layer changes between a clear state and a dark state. When this film layer is energized, either A) the displayable graphic is displayed on a top side of the display film against the background color, or B) only the background color is displayed on top of the display film. This is similar to what BMW and Rolls-Royce have attempted with the Privacy Suite function in the Phantom.
One of the ways to make this work is with polymer-dispersed liquid crystal particles (PDLC) based on a polymer liquid crystal film. Apply an electrical voltage, controlled from within the cabin, and the liquid crystal molecules rearrange themselves in the electrical field, making the previously opaque film transparent to the eye. When you want to revert to a dark car, simply deactivate the electrical charge and the molecules will rearrange to form an opaque finish!
Photo Source: carbuzz.com
Less energy would be consumed on cooling, making the car more efficient. Please note, this could be very expensive and may never make it to mass production. But if it someday does, electric vehicles like the Audi e-tron GT could become more efficient – and more stylish – simply by touching a button!