Thinfilm prints embedded NFC electronics
BARCELONA, Spain – Do you like delicious whiskey? Do you like knowing that your delicious whiskey is fresh? Well, Thinfilm and Johnnie Walker have partnered to equip bottles with smart labels designed to detect whether your whiskey has been unsealed or stored in unappropriate environmental conditions.
Jennifer Ernst, CSO of Thinfilm, showcased the new technology during Mobile World Congress 2015.
Ernst explained how Thinfilm uses an innovative method to print near-field communication sensors onto labels and other flat surfaces.
When a Thinfilm label is placed on a product, a consumer can scan it with a smartphone and receive different sorts of data and content.
Ernst demonstrated with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue: “This particular label is closed, and when I scan it you can assume I’m probably making a buying decision. This bottle, the seal has been broken. You can probably assume I’ve actually selected the product and am at home consuming it. We’ll serve up different kinds of content that will deepen your experience of the product.”
The technology also enables a shipper, in this case Diageo, to track bottle movement and detect product authenticity.
“Mobile technology is changing the way we live, and as a consumer brands company we want to embrace its power to deliver amazing new customer experiences in the future,” Helen Michels, global innovation director of Diageo’s futures team said in a statement.
“Our collaboration with Thinfilm allows us to explore all the amazing new possibilities enabled by smart bottles for consumers, retailers and our own business, and it sets the bar for technology innovation in the drinks industry.”
Ernst described smart bottles as part of the massive deployment scale presented by “Internet of Things” technology.
“All of this is really about creating, using the NFC technology and creating dynamic intelligence that’s low cost enough, and then a form factor that you can pretty much use it on any object,” Ernst said. “Now our handhelds become gateways to the 99% of the world that isn’t connected to the Internet.”
