Jun 2018
Digital License Plates – The Next Innovation in the Auto Industry?
From their humble beginnings as homemade leather or iron plates in New York in 1901 to the modern-day plates with holograms and state slogans, the license plate has taken the journey through the years along with the automobile.
And the next step in the license plates journey may be here, as a company called Reviver Auto is releasing digital license plates. No, you won’t be able to stream shows for the car stuck in traffic behind you, but these new plates will offer some unique capabilities that could benefit society.
The Rplate utilizes a sharp, reflective digital screen that makes it easily viewable in any weather condition. The digital screen makes it possible to customize the banner, display messages, and eliminates the need for changing out metal plates and registration stickers.
Reviver Auto has presented numerous applications for these plates, including warning for adverse driving conditions such as flash floods. During these warning, the plate number would shift to the top right corner while the warning message is displayed where the number had been. They also noted that these can be used in amber alert situations in which the suspect’s vehicle description can be displayed on the plate.
Another application is in helping to track down a stolen vehicle. They’ve released images of a plate reading STOLEN across the top, which would obviously be displayed in the event that your vehicle was stolen.
They’ve even floated the idea of enabling business to advertise on these plates. How that will sit with law enforcement as they battle distracted driving will be interesting. There’s also the possibility of integrating parking data into the platform in which your public parking information (time and date it expires) is displayed on the plate.
The company has also announced that these plates can act as a sort of telematics device for fleets, as they have the ability to track vehicles and log trips. Reviver Auto claims that drivers should rest assured that user data is never shared with any third parties such as law enforcement or the DMV.
As with anything, there are different service plans, so all of these awesome features won’t be on all plates. Sacramento is currently testing the plates and debuts in Arizona, Florida and Texas are in the works for later this year. All you need to do now if hope that your state approves these plates, and then then fork over the $699 plus installation costs and you can be an early adopter in the next generation of license plates!
