Last year we reported on an electronic license plate, that can display messages supporting your sports team, or your favorite charity along with your actual license plate number. Called rPlate, it can also locate your car if stolen.
The rPlate by Reviver goes on sale in California today through about a half dozen car dealerships. Plans are underway to bring the plates to Nevada, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Additionally, Florida, Arizona and Texas should also see the plates on the road this year.
In California, up to 175,000 people can purchase the plate. Reviver CEO Neville Boston believes rPlate will get full authorization in California in the next year or so.
Through the digital plate, which is basically part of the “Internet of Things,” users can digitally update their vehicle registration and skip the lines at the DMV. And, “instead of one ’cause plate,’ specialty plate, you can have can have 10 or 15,” said Boston.
The plate’s messaging can be changed via a Verizon LTE connection so owners actually get a virtual bumper sticker. The plates cost $699 plus $7 per month, but Reviver says the cost will drop over time.
Additionally, the plates can display Amber alerts, road conditions and other information useful to drivers.
The distribution channel to consumers is limited to car dealerships, however, and Reviver said it is not planning to sell the plates through consumer electronics stores at this time.
Reviver hopes to see 100,000 of its rPlates on the road by this time next year.
Reviver is not a shoestring operation. It has heavyweights on its board of directors including the Chairman of Microsoft and a former CEO of Mercedes Benz.
The rPlate includes a GPS receiver, accelerometer, RF sensors, CAN bus access, and memory storage. It is built to withstand all weather conditions. It has an anti-glare screen that’s viewable in sunshine or foul weather and it measures the same size as a standard license plate.
I think I will stick to my 49,95 a year plate, $799 plus $7 a month is insane !!!!! JUST SAYING !!!
Is it just me or does this not just seem like one more distraction for drivers? I get the whole digital license plate idea and even like the idea, but the ’cause plate’ thing seems like a distraction. Or, the amber alert idea is also good, but I know several people that shouldn’t be driving around trying to read all that info from a license plate while their driving. Heck, some of them can barely read the regular plate info as it is.