Mercedes officials acknowledged that the company is considering the the adaptation of the dimming technology to the rear and rear-side windows of vehicles like the S-Class (pictured below), allowing the automaker to eliminate pop-up mesh screens and sliding curtains. If feasible, it would allow occupants to dim the windows with the touch of a button. Similar technology recently debuted on the windows of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner airliner and in the sunroofs of Mercedes-Benz SLK- and SL-Class vehicles, plus the newly unveiled Mercedes-Benz Viano Vision Diamond concept car from the Beijing auto show.
Company officials cautioned, however, that the technology won’t be on the market anytime soon. In addition to the engineering necessary to adapt the technology to a window that rolls up and down, must fit into a door, and must be safe during a crash, there are also considerable legal hurdles to be cleared. Laws on window tinting vary by state and country, which could make it too expensive or difficult to certify the technology with all the various regulatory agencies around the world. The automaker did not give a timeline for real-world applications. If and when it does come to market, we expect it will debut in the company’s more expensive models first and trickle down as costs are amortized.
Mercedes-Benz Magic Sky Control is a sunroof fitted to SLK- and SL-Class cars that changes transparency at the touch of a button. The technology consists of two pieces of glass with a film between them called a matrix polymer. Within the polymer are oblong-shaped nano particles that line up in a uniform pattern when a small electrical current is applied. This allows light to pass through nearly uninhibited. When the electrical current is turned off, the particles spread out randomly, blocking up to 80 percent of the sun’s rays. In effect, the roof goes from nearly transparent to a dark blue tint at the push of a button.
