Wired News reports on Siemen’s E-Paper, coming soon to packages near you to turn the “cereal aisle at your local supermarket [into] the Las Vegas strip” with flashing digital films covering the mundane cardboard. As if shopping at the market wasn’t annoying enough already, right?
I’d really like to know more about the energy consumption of this material. The article says that the display has limited animation capabilities, meaning an ongoing power draw, though I’m guessing perhaps with a switch so that it doesn’t use any until reaching the store shelf. Hell, maybe they’ll build in RFID so all the boxes can be switched off when the store closes. Still, this stuff has to use more energy just in manufacturing than current packaging and you’ll have to work pretty hard to convince me that selling more sugar and cornstarch crap to kids justifies it.
Seriously people, this is the best use of the R&D capability of a powerhouse like Siemens?
BillSaysThis 