What They Say
The state of Michigan in the US has passed legislation that allows the use of digital licence plates for cars that are available from Reviver, which is already selling plates in California and Arizona.
- The plates, called RPlate, come in two models:
- A battery-powered version is self-installed and comes with a replaceable five-year battery. A subscription costs $19.95 a month.
- A hard-wired plate ($24.95 per month) includes GPS, a backlit display, and integrated telematics features. It requires professional installation.
- Michigan now allows the legal sale and registration of the plate line, which also allows registration renewal through the smartphone app.
- Reviver previously began selling the plates in California and Arizona and says 10+ other states are in “various stages of adoption.”
- It plans to make them available nationwide.
There’s a video showing the features here. (I like the idea that it can be re-programmed to show ‘Stolen’!)
What We Think
I wrote about some of the challenges of licence plate manufacture earlier this year when we spoke to New Vision Displays. I met with the group from that company that is working, still, on the ZBD bistable technology and I’m planning to write that up shortly. NVD told us at the time that ‘OCA combined with heat and vibration starts to act like WD40’ and so it was not a fun experience, even though its plates were approved for automotive use! (BR) 
