Sydney becomes the first city in the world to use e-ink traffic signs

folarin okunola

July 27, 2015 1:52 PM

Like Kindle, the signs are easy to read during the day, and the signs are also powered by solar panels.

Some of the e-ink signs already in use

According to media reports, Sydney is now using the world's first outdoor e-ink traffic signs to guide motorists during special events.

According to a report in Engadget, the city's Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) agency was apparently fed up with the constant and expensive changing of signs, and developed the tech with a company called Visionect.

Like Kindle, the signs are easy to read during the day, and the signs are also powered by solar panels. The messages to be displayed on them can be updated remotely via a cell connection to an "internet of things" network.

The tech is pretty basic, but e-ink holds enormous potential for signage. Fancier outdoor displays will be everywhere one day, but for now the city's just hoping to save some money - Los Angeles spends up to $9.5 million putting up temporary parking restriction signs, for instance.

The group also developed anti-tampering and location detection tech to aid with protecting and monitoring the signs, because you just know that someone's going to try to steal or hack them.

folarin okunola