Stay in touch: Connected Print transmits information to your mobile device by using your body as the conductor.
Imagine a small piece of paper the size of a business card having the potential to revolutionise the retail industry.
In the supermarket of the future, all you have to do is touch a product’s printed label to know more about it, as the information will be transmitted to your handphone through your body, says Ericsson Malaysia and Sri Lanka president Todd Ashton.
The company calls the technology Connected Print and it has many more uses – for instance, the label on clothes could transmit washing instructions to the user when he or she touches it.
Connected Print uses the human body’s natural connectivity to send the signal and it’s safe. Multiple independent studies have been conducted to ensure that the energy level used is low and not harmful to humans, he says.
Ericsson says the ultra-thin circuitry allows a sensor, battery and chipset in the Connected Print to be as flat as normal printed text and they can be applied to any surface.
The demonstration was part of Ericsson’s Sweden’s National Day celebration held in Kuala Lumpur. It also marked the 50th anniversary of Ericsson’s presence in Malaysia.
Ericsson also demonstrated its Remote Control Excavator over Mobile Network, which allows drivers to operate heavy machinery from a distance using a controller and Oculus Rift VR headset.
Humans do not need to control the machinery at risky locations such as deep in mines or highly radioactive areas, says Ashton.
Another tech it showed off was Remote Patient Monitoring which provides basic health monitoring. The system, which resides on the Cloud, is accessible via Android devices and works by gathering data from Bluetooth-connected devices such as weighing scales and blood pressure monitors.
