Food could be sold in interactive ‘smart packaging’ made of electronic cardboard

Engineers behind self-powered technology say it could also be used to control a music player or let people sign for parcels, reports Chris Baynes

Engineers have developed a printing process that can render any paper or cardboard packaging into a keyboard (Purdue University/Ramses Martinez)

The food of the future could be sold in interactive packaging after engineers developed technology which can transform paper and cardboard into an electronic interface.

The inventors of the self-powered electronic paper said it could also be used to control a music player or let people sign for parcels.

The technology uses vertical pressure sensors which do not require a battery as they harvest energy from contact with a user.

Engineers at Indiana’s Purdue University said their creation was compatible with conventional printing processes and would enable a shift towards smart packaging.

"I envision this technology to facilitate the user interaction with food packaging, to verify if the food is safe to be consumed, or enabling users to sign the package that arrives at home by dragging their finger over the box to proper identify themselves as the owner of the package," said Ramses Martinez, an assistant professor at the university’s School of Industrial Engineering.

He said the technology was the first time “a self-powered paper-based electronic device” had been developed.

To make the paper interactive, the engineers first coated it with highly fluorinated molecules to render it repellent to water, oil and dust.

“This omniphobic coating allows us to print multiple layers of circuits onto paper without getting the ink to smear from one layer to the next one,” Prof Martinez said.

As well as the potential for smart packaging, the engineers have trialled using the technology to transform sheets of paper from a notebook into music player interfaces capable to selecting songs and changing the volume.

Details of the technology have been published in the journal Nano Energy.