Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is a digital license plate.
License plates have remained "virtually unchanged vestiges from the dawn of the automobile," said Eric Taub at The New York Times. No longer. The California company Reviver Auto is swapping out "old-fashioned stamped plates for digital screens." The plates, which are connected to a cellular network, have a screen that "can display anything," including vanity plates or a warning if a car is stolen. Businesses can also display ads on the plates when a car is parked, "even targeting a vehicle's particular location because the plate is connected to GPS."
The 2-pound unit uses electronic ink technology similar to that of eBook readers like Amazon's Kindle, but the dust-and-water–sealed screens used in the license plates can withstand wind and rain. Reviver has now begun a pilot program in California, though the first plates come with a hefty price of $699, plus an annual fee.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Aug. 12 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include ICE youth, the self-serving EPA, Vladimir Putin demanding Alaska back, and Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein
-
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir: making the personal politicalTalking Point Former Scottish first minister attempts to set record straight in 'Frankly' but does she leave more questions than answers?
-
Trump-Putin: would land swap deal end Ukraine war?Today's Big Question Ukraine ready to make 'painful but acceptable' territorial concessions – but it still might not be enough for Vladimir Putin
