Wireless Electricity Enables Next Generation Of Annoying Packaging

Yep, these cereal boxes light up. They’re using a new branded-technology called eCoupling that provides electricity via induction, which means the shelves have a coil with AC power running through it. The “printed coils” on the boxes allow inventory control and data exchange presumably thanks to a low-power microcontroller. But in the video after the break you can see that the printed lighting on the boxes lets them flash parts of the box art as a way to attract customers’ attention. We’d bet that they’re using electroluminescent materials but we weren’t able to get find specifics on how this is done. We just hope advertisers don’t start rolling noise-makers into their packaging.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7oMIM6Vjtg

[Crave via Laughing Squid]

88 thoughts on “Wireless Electricity Enables Next Generation Of Annoying Packaging

  1. It’s all very nice watching sci-fi where there’s tv advertising on trains (Total Recall) or talking tattoos (Futurama) or video billboards that can identify you for personal targeted advertising (Minority Report) but when this shit becomes real it’s actually somewhat invasive and horrible.

  2. i can not add anything to the comments already here, im sure its all been said already
    but….
    i am going to buy a few
    and i am going to put atleast 1 of them in the microwave, bet it turns glowey and melty

  3. HaD is becoming more and more like a reddit post. Interesting technology post followed by a ton of complaints. Yes I can see how this could turn bad and we could have glowing landfills, but could you think outside the box?(pardon the pun)
    You can also complain that double packaging is killing the world. Well I can be snobby too, single packaging is killing the world. If you really cared you would go to the store and scoop cereal out of a big bucket with your bare hands… Not trying to rant but this is a common problem I see on here and other sites. Anything anyone does is slammed by others (I program in C, oh well asm is the only real way/ I use windows, oh well real mean use linux/ i buy cereal, oh well I buy the single bag cheap stuff)
    tk;dr cookie crisps are still the best cereal ever.

  4. @mccoywm
    yeah because discussion of real serious problems such as e-waste, pollution, health risks (e.g. epilepsy), and world hunger are exactly the same as your example of pointless wankery about programming languages

    and to respond to your ignorant sarcasm — yes, there are stores that offer bulk bins of various cereals that you can scoop into whatever container you want to bring. many chain stores are now implementing this kind of system, and grocery co-ops have had this for years.

    DIAF

  5. I am disgusted by…all you fricken twenty something and younger green nuts that not only drank the kool aid but asked for more. Apparently you dimwits are to busy with WOW and other complete wastes of energy to actually read the research and examine the science. The other thing you idiots aren’t willing to recognize is FACT that all new technological endeavors need to be PROFITABLE or they will NEVER make it into something worthwhile.

  6. well said Hacksaw. They all seem jealous that they aren’t the one who thought of it. if “green” crap is so important to all of you, why don’t we see more “green” hacks on HAD? pukes.

  7. @IceBrain
    Greetings from Portugal. Regarding the paper based transistors, I heard the researchers signed a contract with a big company to start using the technology in their products. Let’s see what they come up with..

  8. No more need for a kitchen light. Everything in my cupboards will be glowing cereal boxes!

    I do like the idea of knowing what is in your cupboard. I cant wait for the iphone app, to inventory your food, comes out.

    Plus my kids school projects will be great after we use a glowing cereal box.

  9. Haha, this crap will NEVER catch on. Why? Because even if they mass-produced these “labels” by the millions they would cost 5–10 times more than the existing packaging which is roll fed off of a flex-o press. EL (electroluminescent) has to be screen printed and because of the materials used (i.e.: Phosphor, highly conductive inks usually made from precious metals, etc.) the corp account manager’s heads will ass’plode at the cost for an entire packaging run. Not to mention the infrastructure needed to put in the AC powered (read: hooked up to mains power) bases for all of these boxes to sit on to work. Grocery stores aren’t going to pay for that shit and that would make this packaging even MORE expensive.

    Do a search on “electroluminescent display” or “EL sign” on youtube and you’ll find tons of videos of stuff just like this. It’s been around for 30+ years (same stuff that makes the dashboard in your car glow) but has anyone ever seen it outside in the real world? No, because it’s too expensive and while it immediately gets the “WOW factor” of marketing execs all hot and bothered the actual cost to manufacture it fmakes it impossible to ever use for low end consumer product advertising.

    This company (e-coupled; Fulton Innovation) will be bankrupt in a year or two if they keep trying to peddle this snake oil.

  10. Damn! I bet that 100 years from now during the second dark ages somebody is going to find this in a landfill and wonder why the fuck we wasted so many resources making this shit.

  11. The first thing I thought of when I saw this was the TV-B-Gone. Since the cereal boxes use induction, I’m sure someone will come up with a handheld/portable device that lets you opt out of the colorful breakfast experience portrayed in the video.

  12. i think this could have very good and very bad repercussions on one hand this tech could eliminate power lines. on the other people will missuse it and create more waste. this tech problem started with fire. fire= warm warm= comfort fire=ash ash= work/ discomfort

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