Why Self-Driving Cars Will Likely Be Light-Colored
Don鈥檛 tell Henry Ford, but getting a car in black may soon get harder.
That鈥檚 because self-driving cars are safer and more efficient when they鈥檙e light-colored, industry suppliers say.
The reason isn鈥檛 to simplify assembly lines, as was the case more than a century ago when Ford reportedly told customers 鈥測ou can have any color as long as it鈥檚 black.鈥
Rather, it鈥檚 because of how self-driving cars, which are poised to become every bit as revolutionary as Ford鈥檚 Model T was then, are going to operate. One of their key sensors, the laser light-mapping systems called LiDAR, can more easily detect light-colored vehicles. A self-driving car needs to 鈥渟ee鈥 other cars in order to avoid them.
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鈥淲hen we test colors ... we know that highly reflective colors are more easily detectable by LiDAR systems,鈥 said Nancy Lockhart, global color marketing manager for Axalta Coating Systems, an automotive paint supplier.
Although auto suppliers are actively pursuing new technologies to preserve dark colors, they鈥檙e also seeking an edge in the global race to deliver self-driving cars.
That doesn鈥檛 mean dark-colored vehicles will disappear from the scene altogether. There are systems to detect them, too. But a car requires more sensors to do it.
So in these early days of self-driving cars, automakers may favor light colors, such as white and silver, to make vehicles safer and more affordable.
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It鈥檚 all going to come into play soon. Multiple automakers are about to start tests of driverless cars in which there is no one behind the steering wheel waiting to take over in case the car fouls up. The cars, and their passengers, will be largely on their own. General Motors announced it wants to test Chevrolet Bolts in which there鈥檚 no wheel at all.
In addition to color considerations, paint companies must also adapt their products to help vehicles avoid dirt buildup, which can clutter sensors and give false signals to self-driving cars.
The issue involving something as simple as choice of paint color underscores the sweeping effects of self-driving cars for automotive engineering, said Samit Ghosh, CEO of automotive consulting and engineering firm P3 North America.
鈥淭he whole design of the vehicle needs to be fundamentally different,鈥 Ghosh said.
Paint companies are working to adapt.
Axalta, spun off of DuPont in 2013, is experimenting with the insertion of flakes into dark-colored paints to make them more reflective while maintaining their fundamental aesthetic character.
鈥淐olor sells,鈥 Lockhart said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to come into this world blanketed by plain-Jane colors.鈥
At Axalta competitor PPG Industries, engineers are applying experience gleaned from the development of high-tech coatings for airplane fuselages to the advanced new paint technologies.
David Bem, PPG鈥檚 chief technology officer, said the company has technology in the pipeline that can make black 20% to 30% more reflective by venturing beyond the visible color spectrum.
Since 鈥減eople buy cars based on how they look,鈥 it鈥檚 critical to preserve dark-colored vehicles, he said.
Bem said that if self-driving cars end up being largely light-colored in the early days, it will largely be a function of a desire for safety.
But he also noted that light-colored vehicles could reduce self-driving car technology costs because they may require fewer sensors.
Henry Ford will just have to adapt.
