--- title: "New Tech Can Switch Your Car’s Paint Job “Like a Chameleon”" description: "A team of researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have invented a “reprogrammable ink” that allows you to “paint” pretty much any pattern or image on a specially treated surface using a projector and UV light. By combining cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes that react to light, the team created a […]" date: "2019-09-10" modified: "2019-09-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mit-reprogrammable-ink-uv-chameleon" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "CSAIL" - "ink" - "mit" - "the digest" --- # New Tech Can Switch Your Car’s Paint Job “Like a Chameleon” ![Researchers at MIT invented a chameleon-like "reprogrammable ink" that allows you to "paint" colors onto a surface using a projector and UV light.]() *\Image: MIT/CSAIL\* ## Programming Ink Tired of owning a red car? In the future, you won't have to limit yourself to a boring monochrome finish — with the push of a button, your car could change colors like a chameleon. A team of researchers at MIT have invented a ["reprogrammable ink"]() that allows you to "paint" pretty much any pattern on a surface using a projector and UV light. https://youtu.be/fEdN1VciJx0 By combining cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes that react to light, the team created a special spray they call PhotoChromeleon, which can be applied to pretty much any surface, including shoes, toys and phone cases. Then, a UV projector can "program" combinations of colors onto the object's surface — a process that takes anywhere between 15 and 40 minutes. ## Reducing Waste UV light can also be used to erase the existing design and replace it with something different an infinite number of times, according to [a statement](). And that means a huge potential to reduce waste by simply changing the color or pattern of a phone case, a notebook, a pair of shoes — or even an entire car — instead of buying a new one. "This special type of dye could enable a whole myriad of customization options that could improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce overall waste," MIT postdoc and lead author of the [project's paper]() Yuhua Jin said in the statement. **READ MORE:** [MIT’s color-changing ink could let you customize your shoes]() \[*Engadget*\] **More on colors:** *[Color-Changing Tattoos Could Help Millions Monitor Their Health in Real Time]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()