New Ford changes colour - and glows
2003-04-25 10:19
GloCar gets brighter if you get too close!
Called the GloCar, it is on display at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and features a lightweight aluminium frame clad in injection-moulded translucent plastic panels that change colour, intensity and frequency by light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
GloCar drivers can customise their vehicles and express their mood by varying the colour and intensity of the LEDs, whose mix of red, green and blue light offers a palette of almost 17-million colours.
The panels also increase safety by making the car more visible at night. And when another car comes too close, sensors automatically intensify the brightness of the panels, warning other drivers to move away.
GloCar is eco-friendly, the panels being made from renewable soya-based plastic that don't need to be painted.
The car's "smart parts" perform multiple functions: the rear panel acts as a car-sized brake light, and the side panels double as blinkers, thus reducing the number of parts used.
The concept car is the only motor vehicle on display at the show, dubbed "National Design Triennial: Inside Design Now," which runs until January 25, 2004.