E Paper License Plates Now Street-Legal in California

Update 14 Oct. 2022: The “Kindle” of license plates—Reviver’s connected, electronic RPlate—is now authorized for use by any California automobile-operator, following a 10,000-car pilot that started out in 2018. The California Motor Motor vehicle Electronic Number Plates invoice that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed this thirty day period authorizes digital replacements for standard license plates, stickers, tabs, and registration cards, together with the very first-to-market place Reviver product.
Outside of California, the product has been approved for use by industrial fleet vehicles in Michigan, Arizona, and Texas, and 10 further U.S. states are thinking of authorization.
The battery-operated RPlate for buyers at this time sells as a membership assistance for $19.95 for every thirty day period for 48 months a difficult-wired edition for professional vehicles sells for $24.95 per thirty day period.
In the tale underneath (initially released 18 June 2018), we explain the RPlate and its likely makes use of most of these details—other than the pricing structure—haven’t altered.
That license plate frame sporting a dealership identify, sports workforce logo, or your favorite superhero? That’s so final 12 months.
This 12 months, car sellers in California will be equipped to go beyond individualized license plate frames to sell “Kindle-ized” license plates, in which the full plate can display screen personalized text and graphics working with e-paper know-how. These shows can be current remotely, with this kind of updates replacing the small day stickers that should be reapplied every 12 months when registration is renewed.
And, when the car is stopped, motorists will also be in a position to lessen the license selection to a smaller window and use the relaxation of the display screen for a distinctive graphic. (While I’m not guaranteed the persons stopped powering a customized-plate-bearing auto will discover so several individuals acquire that chance to surreptitiously verify their mobile phones.)
Reviver Car is building the so-referred to as Rplates, and they are not cheap—the plates are mentioned at US $700, furthermore an $8 a thirty day period subscription rate. [See updated pricing above. –Ed.] The business is in the beginning focused on marketing them to fleet professionals, who are expected to use the shows for advertising and marketing messages, but expects early adopters to speedily bounce on the engineering, and other buyers to occur on board as the firm proves out the plates’ usefulness.
The project commenced in 2008, Reviver founder and CEO Neville Boston states, with a plan to do away with those date stickers—it was time, he thought, to get registration renewals out of snail mail and into the wi-fi world. In the midst of an economic downturn, he claims, he was also looking to get concerned with something that exists in superior situations and bad—and the DMV is certainly that.
Then, he states, he begun thinking about what else e-paper plates could do. His record of choices includes:
- Paying for tolls and parking
- Figuring out cars as lawful for vacation in high-occupancy car lanes
- Changing special hangtags and license plates for people today with disabilities
- Assisting an Uber driver locate a passenger by displaying the passenger’s identify
- Indicating that a car is in autonomous manner
- Displaying a QR code that could operate with an app for keyless entry
- Celebrating holidays with greetings, like “Happy Father’s Day”
- Switching amongst many exclusive curiosity plates motorists won’t have to commit to supporting, say, Lake Tahoe, at the cost of Yosemite or the California coastline
Not a undesirable record. But when these changeable plates are out in the wild, it appears like it’ll be just moments right before another person builds an app to shoot them messages like “Back off, tailgater!”—or perhaps show the driver’s Twitter feed.
Boston states he’s thought of that—any concept will have to be permitted by the DMV ahead of it is included to the library, and only messages from that library may go to the plate.
One particular of the earliest adopters will be the city of Sacramento town administrators are ordering the plates for new town-owned motor vehicles and anticipate to use the plates to exhibit community support bulletins and Amber Alerts.
Picture: Reviver Auto
These plates are also trackable—another boon to fleet owners, and it’s possible to moms and dads of teenagers—but that characteristic raises evident privateness worries, though Reviver gives a host of assurances about its cybersecurity techniques. If all those problems are settled, trackability could be a helpful way to thwart intruders: A stolen car could display screen its have SOS message.
California was the first state to officially approve the digital plates Arizona could be future, as it’s conducting a pilot exam of the know-how. Boston mentioned a few extra U.S. states will introduce the gizmos this calendar year, and his corporation is “in conversation” with 10 a lot more.
Reviver has also signed a evidence-of-thought arrangement with the government of Dubai, who, Boston suggests, is considering about the plates a minimal in a different way than DMV officers in the United States. “They want to know who is driving around in their place,” he claims.