Researchers have developed technology that allows people to interact with labels on a product’s packaging. Could this lead to better customer communication?
Instead of reading a label, consumers could be interacting with an electronic screen on packaging in the future, thanks to work being done at the University of Sheffield.
The university 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.
In a paper published in the IEEE Journal of Display Technology, the team explained how a screen can be fixed onto packaging to display information. The process involved printing electronic tracks onto paper and then fixing low-cost electronics and a polymer LED display to the paper using a conductive adhesive.
University of Sheffield scientists and Novalia also designed and constructed a touch-pad keyboard on the paper that allows a user to selectively ‘drive’ the LEDs in the display.
Testing so far has taken place on paper, but the process could be printed on other surfaces. The team’s next steps are to create fully flexible organic displays on a plastic substrate that then fix onto the electronic tracks.
Labels on packaging are expected to become much more innovative, and allow customers to interact with and explore new products.