IDTechEx report on Intellipak conference held 5 November - Part two

Several speakers at the Intellipak conference described imaginative mechanical features in packaging. Carl Ola Danielsson of Stora Enso Karlstad Research Centre described Stora's controlled delamination product that was originally developed by the US Air Force for attaching cameras to helicopters. This uses electricity to open a package and it is attracting great interest as a way of reducing the amount of packaging needed in consumer goods.

Another aspect of the subject is the compelling attraction of paper electronics for biodegradability, low cost and compatibility. Through the conference, it became clear that most of the work on this takes place in Sweden, Finland and Portugal plus some in Israel. Those in other continents remain largest oblivious to the opportunity.

 

Goran Gustafsson of ACREO took up the theme of products on supermarket shelves being boring and indistinguishable and how animated images on packaging and many other printed electronic features are coming along to radically change the situation. He said, "The evolution of electronics is taking a new direction. Traditional paper based objects will be filled with electronics in order to enhance communication and entertainment as well as to provide new functionality. This puts new demands on electronic components. They need to be thin, flexible, environmental and more cost efficient than ever. ACREO has spent the last ten years developing technology for that purpose. Acreo can provide the packaging entertainment and media industries with products and solutions that enhance interaction, visualization and communication.

Enhancing packaged products' attractiveness is becoming more and more important. This applies to supermarkets as well as to consumer electronics megastores. Eye ball attention can be significantly increased when packaging incorporates animating display technology from Acreo.

 

Advertizing, billboards and marketing material can have increased impact if Printed Electronics is implemented to enhance interaction, communication and visualization.

 

Toys, games and other novel applications can be created in new innovative ways when based on technology from Acreo. One of the first products in this segment will be an interactive lottery ticket.

 

 

ACREO has a remarkable repertoire of electronic devices it prints onto paper, including manganese dioxide zinc batteries, electrochromic displays based on PEDOT PSS and an electrolyte, metal conductors and actuators. Shrewdly, it is not only funded by major companies and government but it has partnerships with organisations such as Stora Enso, Fuji-Sericol, Agfa and Nilpeter that can be routes to market.

 

VINNOVA is a Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (governmental funding agency) and as such they will not be "a route to the market" but will assist in getting the technology to the market.

 

ACREO is currently prioritising animated lottery ticket games and animated self adhesive labels that make consumer products stand out. Some of its concepts are shown here:

 

For more on these subjects, attend Printed Electronics USA 2008  and Printed Electronics Europe 2009 .

 

Also read Inorganic and Composite Printed Electronics  and Printed Photovoltaics and Batteries 2008-2018 .