WEBVTT - License Plates Go Digital

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<v Speaker 1>The license plate is going digital. What's going on? I'm

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<v Speaker 1>rich Demiro. This is rich on Tech. California is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the first states in the nation to allow new

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<v Speaker 1>digital license plates. Think of a kindle like display bolted

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<v Speaker 1>to your car's bumper. The digital plates are low energy

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<v Speaker 1>and display a basic image of your license plate number.

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<v Speaker 1>But there is more technology at work behind the scenes

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<v Speaker 1>that can help you pay tolls, broadcast emergency messages, and

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<v Speaker 1>even retrieve a stolen car. I talked to Josh Wendish,

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<v Speaker 1>a tech enthusiast and early adopter of the r plates.

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<v Speaker 1>He participated in a beta program so the company that

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<v Speaker 1>makes them, Reviver Auto, install them for free on his

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<v Speaker 1>car so he could test them out.

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<v Speaker 2>It's really hard to evaluate a technology that kind of

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<v Speaker 2>fades into the background, because once you have it installed,

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<v Speaker 2>it's basically your license plate. It is kind of neat

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<v Speaker 2>that you can change the little message on the bottom.

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<v Speaker 2>It's neat that you don't have to worry about tags

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<v Speaker 2>like it automatically does the registration over the air, so

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<v Speaker 2>you don't have to worry about getting something in the

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<v Speaker 2>mail if that could get lost, or going to the DMV.

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<v Speaker 1>Now the plates cost seven hundred dollars, but they function

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<v Speaker 1>like standard license plates, except they are thicker and they

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<v Speaker 1>do require a power connection, so installation on the car

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<v Speaker 1>takes about an hour or two. There's both a GPS

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<v Speaker 1>and cellular connection built in, as well as a battery.

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<v Speaker 1>The display normally just shows your typical license plate number

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<v Speaker 1>along with virtual stickers for your registration, and that registration

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<v Speaker 1>is handled electronically, so when you renew your registration, the

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<v Speaker 1>virtual stickers are applied right on your digital plate. There's

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<v Speaker 1>also a small message at the bottom of the plates.

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<v Speaker 1>This can be customized from a long list of choices

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<v Speaker 1>that go way beyond the typical California license plate slogans,

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<v Speaker 1>and they can say things like I'd rather be playing

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<v Speaker 1>golf or Merry Christmas. As you might expect, fully personalized

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<v Speaker 1>sayings as in something you would be able to type in,

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<v Speaker 1>are not allowed. You could probably understand why. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also change the look of the display from black on

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<v Speaker 1>white to white on black.

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<v Speaker 2>I do get some questions from people. In fact, I

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<v Speaker 2>took my car in to get the oil change. They

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<v Speaker 2>asked about it. They thought I heard about this plate,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, tell me about it, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>so I try to give them the benefits. But it's

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<v Speaker 2>funny because as an end user, just like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>it's just my license plate, So I mean, how much

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<v Speaker 2>is there to explain?

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<v Speaker 1>Now? Because these plates are digital, there are some security

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<v Speaker 1>concerns for starters. They could theoretically be hacked. This will

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<v Speaker 1>allow someone to track the plate's location or even change

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<v Speaker 1>what's displayed on the screen. The company that makes them,

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<v Speaker 1>Reviver Auto, says the information from the plates, including usage

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<v Speaker 1>and telematic info, is never shared with a DMV, law enforcement,

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<v Speaker 1>or other third parties. The company also says the plate

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<v Speaker 1>is locked down to deter and detect any breaches or hacking.

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<v Speaker 1>They also use the same encryption banks used to protect

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<v Speaker 1>our money and regularly conduct tests to make sure the

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<v Speaker 1>plates are secure. Still, these plates are basically a mini

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<v Speaker 1>computer on your car, and that means they can crash.

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<v Speaker 2>I ended up getting this plate as their beta testing

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<v Speaker 2>program early on because I'm a geek and I like

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<v Speaker 2>to get in on things early be an early adopter.

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<v Speaker 2>And when I got in on it, it's funny because

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<v Speaker 2>I only had one case when I came out and

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<v Speaker 2>the plate actually needed to be reset because it was

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<v Speaker 2>all scrambled and stuff. And I thought, oh great, now

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<v Speaker 2>I have to reboot my license plate. That's fun. But

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<v Speaker 2>other than that, other than that time during the beta program,

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't had any issues with it, so I think

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<v Speaker 2>it should be fine.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope now. As if the seven hundred dollars price

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<v Speaker 1>tag plus installation isn't enough, the plates also carry a

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<v Speaker 1>monthly fee of seven dollars. Sure, you never have to

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<v Speaker 1>worry about sticking registration decals on your plate, and you

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<v Speaker 1>never have to worry about those getting stolen because they

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<v Speaker 1>can't be scraped off, and the plates can even display

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<v Speaker 1>a message that your car is stolen. But the high

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<v Speaker 1>price tag will certainly prohibit mass adoption of these new plates,

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<v Speaker 1>at least for now. Adam Fliner runs an automotive shop

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<v Speaker 1>in Hollywood that installs them.

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<v Speaker 3>I do hope that the price comes down a little bit.

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<v Speaker 3>I think right now it's in this price point where

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<v Speaker 3>the first adapters do have to pay for the initial

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<v Speaker 3>the initial want of it, they have to pay for

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<v Speaker 3>some of the research and development of it all. But

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<v Speaker 3>I do see as more states adopted and more people

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<v Speaker 3>adopt it after this pilot program. For the beginning the

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<v Speaker 3>first couple of years that the price will come down,

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<v Speaker 3>I think a little bit. I do think that they've

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<v Speaker 3>kept the yearly fee fairly reasonable. When we do go

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<v Speaker 3>get plates from the DMV, not the regular plates, but

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<v Speaker 3>specialty plates, we do pay per year, so it's kind

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<v Speaker 3>of the same thing. You know, you're paying just a

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<v Speaker 3>slight price above that. But if you just get your

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<v Speaker 3>regular plates and have these instead, so the yearly fees

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<v Speaker 3>are about the same. But for the initial investment, it's

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<v Speaker 3>a little bit. It's a little bit of an investment.

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<v Speaker 3>But from what you do, you do own your plates,

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<v Speaker 3>So if you do get rid of your car, we

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<v Speaker 3>can't take your R plate off and install it on

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<v Speaker 3>your new cars. So once your initial investment is done,

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<v Speaker 3>if you sell your car, we just take your plate

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<v Speaker 3>off and install it on your new car.

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<v Speaker 1>So far, California the first state to fully adopt the

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<v Speaker 1>R plates, and Arizona seems to be next. Texas, Florida,

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<v Speaker 1>and Washington State have all passed programs to pilot or

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<v Speaker 1>test the digital plates, and like any technology, the price

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<v Speaker 1>of the plates is gotta come down. Remember how expensive

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<v Speaker 1>flat screen TVs were at the beginning. The tech benefits

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<v Speaker 1>are definitely there, but when it comes to privacy that

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<v Speaker 1>could be the toughest cell to consumers. Still, at a

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<v Speaker 1>time when cars themselves have a cellular connection and many

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<v Speaker 1>of the same features built in, it's not crazy to

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<v Speaker 1>imagine a time when cars are simply outfitted with a

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<v Speaker 1>similar digital display on the front and back bumpers that

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<v Speaker 1>can be programmed with appropriate information. Thanks so much for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to watch the TV version of this

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<v Speaker 1>segment and see these digital plates in action, just go

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<v Speaker 1>to my website it's Rich on tech dot tv, or

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<v Speaker 1>you can check the show notes. Thanks so much for

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<v Speaker 1>listening and putting up with my voice. Yes, I'm battling

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<v Speaker 1>a cold. I'm Rich sdimiro T. Talk to you, Wilson