Just when you thought that digital screen technology is limited at homes and offices, think again. Introducing “smart bins,” the newest digital screen network invades the streets of London in time before the Olympics 2012. Smart bins are more than just instalments slapped on the sidewalks. These futuristic, multi-functional recycling stations come equipped with a couple of massive LCD screens attached to every side, making them interesting for pedestrians as well as advertisers.
Its screens display impressive stock market infographics, current news from the Economist, and London underground service conditions and weather. It may sound quite costly but seems to be promising if its maker, Renew plans to pump up its features such as being Wifi-equipped as well as for notifying emergencies.
I’m not sure how most people including myself would consider this application in terms of usefulness versus cost. Let’s just hope this technology as seen on the Smart Bins is a smart investment. While 25 of these Smart Bins fetch a total cost of $47,000, the cost to actually maintain them in one piece both physically and internally is another story.
I mean putting out a form of technology out in the streets calls far more extensive measures to keep this application safe. If this Smart Bin happens to be in a corner at New York City where riots are rampant, it sure has a higher rate of mortality of either being peed on or totally annihilated.
Another 75 bins are set to be deployed as soon as the 2012 Olympics starts.
It will be interesting to see if and how fast these smart bins spread across other cities and how high the real maintenance costs will be. Also this might be great for advertisers with some sort of self-booking mechanism in place, extending the typical multimedia billboards.
[Image credit: Getty]