The smart BOTTLE that 'talks' to drinkers: Sensors on label send targeted adverts with the help of a phone
- Prototype ‘smart bottle’ is on show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
- It’s a partnership between UK drinks firm Diageo and Thin Film Electronics
- Label has sensors in it to show if the bottle is open or sealed
- It uses phone’s NFC capabilities to show adverts and recipes, for example
- Designed to be engaging for customers and provide market intelligence
The answer to life’s questions may not lie at the bottom of a bottle of whisky, but a smart label on its side could offer some words of 'wisdom'.
Soon smart labels could grace the sides of Johnnie Walker whisky bottles, which would send advertising messages to consumers who scan them with their phones.
The labels can also detect when the bottle is sealed and when it is opened.
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Soon smart labels could grace the sides of Johnnie Walker whisky bottles, which would send advertising messages to consumers who scan them with their phones (illustrated). A prototype bottle has gone on show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
The prototype ‘smart bottle’ has gone on show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
It is the brainchild of drinks giant Diageo and ThinFilm Electronics, which develops printed electronics.
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The bottle has sensor tags using ThinFilm's OpenSense technology on its labels that allow the transmission of adverts either when consumers are looking to buy whisky, or afterwards.
It uses a smartphone’s near field communication (NFC) capabilities so that a handset can be hovered over the label to unlock its digital secrets.
The bottle has sensor tags using ThinFilm's OpenSense technology on its label that allows the transmission of adverts either when consumers are looking to buy whisky, or afterwards. It also tells a user that the bottle was properly sealed and when it is open (illustrated by the prototype)
Scanning the label could, for example, give consumers special offers, cocktail recipes or film content.
The technology could also be useful for the London-based drinks firm in tracking the movement of drinks from shops to homes.
The sensor tags will remain readable after the factory seal has been broken so that they provide ‘an additional layer of security in protecting the authenticity of the product,’ Diageo says.
This is because unlike static QR codes, which are easy to copy and don’t include sensors, the new labels will be permanently encoded in the factory do they can’t be copied or electronically modified.
Scanning the label (pictured) with a phone could, for example, give consumers special offers, cocktail recipes or film content. The technology could also be useful for the London-based drinks firm in tracking the movement of drinks from shops to homes
The cloud-based software behind the integration is powered by a company called Evrything, which is delivering the mobile experience activated through the product label.
‘Mobile technology is changing the way we live and as a consumer brands company we want to embrace its power to deliver amazing new consumer experiences in the future,’ said Helen Michels, global innovation driver, at Diageo.
‘Our collaboration with Thinfilm allows us to explore all the amazing new possibilities enabled by smart-bottles for consumers, retailers and our own business and it sets the bar for technology innovation in the drinks industry.’
Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm, said: ‘Today's conventional NFC mobile marketing solutions are not technologically advanced enough to create immersive or customisable consumer experiences.’
But he says that the ‘smart bottle’ technology will provide Diageo with intelligence as well as creating ‘engaging experiences for its customers’.
THE STICK THAT CLAIMS TO MAKE CHEAP WHISKY TASTE GOOD
Rare, vintage bottles of whisky can cost anywhere up to $1.4 million (£874,150) and can be aged in oak barrels stored in cellars for years.
But there's a wooden tool that saves time and money called ‘Whiskey Element,’ which claims to be able to make cheap liquor taste expensive in just 24 hours.
The oak sticks are specially designed to ‘age’ the drink by filtering out impurities and infusing the whisky with a more woody flavour similar to pricier tipples.
Whiskey Element claims to make cheap alcohol taste like expensive whiskey by infusing it with a woody flavour when placed in a decanter (pictured)
The sticks have lots of grooves cut in them to increase the overall-surface area touching the liquid.
They are intended to be placed in a bottle or decanter of cheap whisky to replicate the taste of a more expensive tipple.
They do this via ‘accelerated transpiration through capillary action,’ according to the Portland, Oregon-based company’s Kickstarter page, which means the liquid travels through tiny tubes in the wood.
Tony Peniche explained that wood barrels are used for containing whisky because the wood is cut vertically so that capillaries are not exposed to the liquid, meaning that it doesn't slowly seep out of the sides of the wood.
The sticks are made by cutting the wood horizontally to provide a ‘shorter distance for whisky to travel through its repetitive exposure to the capillaries, so it matures much faster and becomes of a much higher quality.’
To test the product, the inventors put their sticks through their paces in the lab, where they compared top shelf whiskey costing over $100 a bottle that had been aged for over 10 years, with cheaper versions treated with a Whiskey Element.
They analysed the chemicals found in expensive and cheap whisky.
Researchers found that the cheap bottles contained high levels of Methoxy-phenyl-Oxime – found in pig and mouse faeces – and Acetaldehyde, a compound blamed for hangovers.
In comparison, the expensive aged bottles contained almost none of either.
The researchers then added the oak sticks to the cheap liquor and waited 24 hours before testing them again.
Mr Peniche said: ‘The results were amazing. They showed characteristics found in top-shelf aged whiskeys with notably higher levels of the chemicals responsible for good flavours and smells, as well as a significant reduction in Methoxy-phenyl-Oxime and Acetaldehyde.’
A two pack of the sticks cost $12 (£7.50).
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