Toronto, Ontario – Porsche has filed a patent application with the World Intellectual Property Office for automotive colour-changing technology that aims to have safety and communication potential.
Notably, the proposed vehicle technology would rely on the same colour-changing functions used by Amazon Kindle and BMW’s iX. However, rather than just serving a cosmetic purpose, Porsche envisions the technology functioning like a hazard flasher.
Specifically, the patent application describes the potential for a vehicle to change colours in order to communicate issues such as medical emergencies and upcoming road conditions like blockages or potholes.
In order to achieve this outcome, Porsche describes turning the panels of a vehicle into an E ink display, effectively transforming the vehicle into a variety of colour-changing signs.
While traditionally, technology like E ink displays have been performed in black and white, Porsche further describes relying on “liquid-filled microcapsules” that would be filled with paint to allow for colour.
To control the technology—which would rely on electricity to positively charge the paint particles—Porsche concludes in the application that an e-reader device could be installed in the cabin.
While there is no guarantee that this technology will ever make it to the manufacturing stage, Porsche’s patent is perhaps one way to push the applications of colour-changing technology outside of aesthetics.
