I live in Michigan and I don’t see a problem with these being used on new vehicle. I work for one of the automotive manufactures and can assure you that if these made it in a standard production feature (which most likely it will) that the ePlate would meet very rigorous validation standards much like the cameras and heated mirrors already do.
Most new car already have telematics built into them that allow two communication between your car and the manufacture, not just voice communication like OnStar. Many models already have the capability of having software updated over the air much like cell phones do now and its going to become standard soon.
I would not be surprised to see this as a totally standard feature by 2030. By then I also expect to see cars talking to each other and conveying road condition information back and forth, so having your plate number available without a physical plate doesn’t strike me as being anymore difficult. It will not cost the consumer anywhere near $500 as it will be built into the standard cost of the vehicle. Generally new technology like this doesn’t impact the total cost of the car as there will be savings based upon scale of using it on millions of vehicles. Its called progress.
I agree with the posts here. Firstly, since the thing is connected online, you have 100% tracking of the vehicle. Not just location, but also speed. I am well aware that data privacy means different things in Europe and the USA, but how many 'Murricans realize how scary such a scheme is?
Secondly, what dipshit thought of displaying adverts when the car is parked? The car should display its number at all times. What is you are looking for the car in a car park? Or send someone else to find it? (I assume that this would work like keyless entry, and the plate goes back to displaying the number when you get close. Or maybe some cutsie welcome message?).
Thirdly, and as stated already in at least one post, it won’t take long for such a system to be hacked. Then what?
You don’t even have to hack their system. Just make a copy with a programmable screen. E-ink displays that size are a couple hundred bucks. An arduino and an evening’s worth of programming will give you a plate that can display anything you want.
Expect to see plans and completed versions on the black market if this becomes widespread.
Who says the actual final product will even be visible? The police will be able to read the “plate number” of all the cars in their area without having to visibly see them. What’s being proposed is a Gen 1 design, usually these get changed and cost reduced right away.
Well, license plates need to be visible for civilians. If, for example, a car is involved in a hit-and-run on the highway, it helps if I can report the license number. But a digital system like this could replace an electronic toll collection system like EZPass. You wouldn’t need the separate tag.
We will soon be getting to the point where cars talk to each other, its going to happen. Part of the reason for this is collision avoidance. Easy to add in vehicle ID info.
But until then they could easily do a digital plate. Pretty easy to do with existing technologies, could flash it on rear window.
If people do not like this information sharing they could opt out or ask for better privacy laws.
I’d like to be able to flash messages to other drivers. Like letting the dumbass behind me know that his headlights are off even though it’s 10pm and we’re on the highway.
What Are Connected Vehicles and Why Do We Need Them?
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) Connected Vehicle program is working with state and local transportation agencies, vehicle and device makers, and the public to test and evaluate technology that will enable cars, buses, trucks, trains, roads and other infrastructure, and our smartphones and other devices to “talk” to one another. Cars on the highway, for example, would use short-range radio signals to communicate with each other so every vehicle on the road would be aware of where other nearby vehicles are. Drivers would receive notifications and alerts of dangerous situations, such as someone about to run a red light as they’re nearing an intersection or an oncoming car, out of sight beyond a curve, swerving into their lane to avoid an object on the road.
OP says you have to change the battery every 5 years. No way that a device the size of a license plate with a 5-year battery can provide realtime position updates. So there are at least models that don’t track you.
I agree that this is a solution in search of a problem. We could already do away with registration stickers and nonsense if there were any will to do so. License plates are machine-readable, and cops have access to the registration database. All you need is a key into the database. Making the key display updatable almost certainly causes more problems than it solves (at any price, let alone at $500 instead of the, what, $10 it costs to make a stamped license plate).
The other suggested benefits are equally dumb. Amber alerts? We already get those on our cell phones. Advertising while the car is parked won’t even cover the monthly fee.
Connected vehicles are a privacy concern, but they also have legitimate benefits, like reducing collisions and improving traffic throughput. These license plates are just expensive and dumb. Eventually, they’ll be cheaper, but they’ll probably still be dumb.
Reading through this thread, the potential issues just keep piling up. In addition to the night visibility issue I mentioned earlier, someone else mentioned very cold weather. I remember having my Kindle with me at some outdoor event when the weather was cold but not extremely so (maybe just around or above freezing) and the screen was so dim and unresponsive as to be unusable. Has anyone even thought of that, or tested it in temperature extremes? Plus the things are going to be relatively fragile and subject to failure. What if someone is in an accident and then illegally leaves the scene, and the accident has conveniently damaged the electronic plate, so you can’t record a plate number?
This really does sound like a solution in search of a problem. Sometimes “we’re gonna do it because we can” is just not a good enough reason. Sometimes plain old technology is objectively better.
There are also already apps that provide some features that connected cars will have. I use WAZE maps for all of my driving now because other WAZE users input information on where the cops are at, vehicles disabled/parked on the side of the road ahead, traffic conditions and objects on the highway. It’s a strictly voluntary app but enough people use it to make it very worthwhile. In fact your user ID is tied into what you report and your position, so there is already a use case that proves that people like having these features and are willing to give up some privacy in order to get it.
Digital plates are not at all far fetched, in fact they based on old existing tech.
All vehicle parts are tested for extreme conditions already. The fact that Michigan is adopting first would not be a surprise since the auto industry is based here.
The display on my dash for GPS, clock, map, etc. doesn’t usually work for at least 10 minutes in the morning from early November to end of March, until the cabin has warmed up.
I know the rear sensors on my 2019 Jeep Cherokee (for backup & rear collision) don’t work well when it’s 20 degrees or so, or when a little ice is on them. I have to disable so I can back up out of the parking lot without it beeping and automatically applying the brakes.
You would think so, but the problem seems to be inherent in the technology. One might also think that Ontario would have thought about night visibility when they developed their new license plate design (that I mentioned upthread) – especially since it was designed in collaboration with 3M, a company that developed innovative reflective coatings for road signs. But the damn things were practically invisible at night. The solution was just to drop the new design and stick with the old one, with lots of money down the drain for a completely useless “innovation” that nobody wanted or needed.
Your plate can be obscured by mud, ice and snow as well. All systems have flaws but to wait and adopt until perfection is achieved is not always the best path. Look at seatbelts when they first came out, not nearly as safe as modern safety restraints. Should we have waited until shoulder harnesses and airbags were added? Seat belts were better than no seatbelts, you really only need to be as good as you are replacing and then advance from there.