All the Corollas of the Rainbow

September 12, 2024

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Toyota has reportedly filed a patent application for a colour-changing paint that changes colour when exposed to specific temperatures and light sources.

This technique involves painting the car with an original colour and a chosen secondary colour. Once bought, the new owner can stop at a local workshop that has the correct equipment and change the colour as desired. Using specific wavelengths of light that are applied to the paint, different visible colours can be reflected.

The car would also be equipped with temperature sensors to ensure that the right colour is achieved. Since the conditions to change the colour of the car are so specific, ordinary changes in temperature are unlikely to cause the car to change colour unprompted.

Toyota’s development is a response to the customization needs of its consumers and the limited options to change the colour of their cars. Companies such as BMW, Tesla, and Mercedes have taken recent technological steps to provide customization options to their customers.

This is a step toward increasing a vehicle owner’s ability to personalize their vehicles.

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Authors: Josephine Hu and Kasia Donovan