What if you could interact with your package’s label, instead of reading it? A team of scientists has developed a new way of attaching electronic screens to paper-based packaging that will be able to display simple messages to the customers.
The University of Sheffield scientists collaborated with technology company Novalia to create a new way of displaying information on packaging, a move that could revolutionise the packaging industry.
This technology could be used in greetings cards or products where a customer could receive a simple message. More complex developments could include a countdown timer on the side of a packet to indicate when a timed product was ready, such as hair-dye, pregnancy tests or home-baking using a ‘traffic lights’ system.
The team explained how a screen can be fixed onto packaging to display information. The process involves printing electronic tracks onto paper and then fixing low-cost electronics and a polymer LED display to the paper using an adhesive that conducts electricity.
The team also designed and constructed a touch-pad keyboard on the paper that allows a user to selectively ‘drive’ the LEDs in the display.
Researcher David Lidzey noted that the use of displays or light emitting panels on packaging will also allow companies to communicate brand awareness in a more sophisticated manner. This is definitely a concept that will be used in a widespread manner in the future. But for the now, all kinds of industries, even marijuana, have a number of options available to them. This list of marijuana packaging businesses will give you further insight on this.
Researcher Chris Jones added that this innovative system could give manufacturers a way to gain market share by being able to distinguish its products from competitors.
The study is published in the IEEE Journal of Display Technology.