Interactive screens on the packages of the future

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have teamed up with technology company Novalia to create a new way of displaying information on packaging. Instead of reading a label, consumers could be interacting with an electronic screen.

The 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 — such as hair dye, a pregnancy test or a baked good — was ready using a ‘traffic lights’ system.

Writing in the Journal of Display Technology, 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 scientists also designed and constructed a touchpad keyboard on the paper that allows a user to selectively ‘drive’ the LEDs in the display.

“Labels on packaging could become much more innovative, and allow customers to interact with and explore new products,” said Professor David Lidzey, from the university’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. “The use of displays or light-emitting panels on packaging will also allow companies to communicate brand awareness in a more sophisticated manner.”

Testing has so far taken place on paper, but the process could potentially be printed on other surfaces. The team’s next goal is to create fully flexible organic displays on a plastic substrate that then fix onto the electronic tracks.