Flexible and printed electronics manufacturers developed some interesting products during the past year, either reaching or nearing commercialization. Here is Printed Electronics Now’s list of Most Intriguing Flexible and Printed Electronics Products of 2023.

In alphabetical order:

• ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions: VingCard Novel

Hotel and resort guests are now used to room cards that are programmed at the front desk, whether it is simply no longer required to carry a key or adding payment functions. ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions’ VingCard Novel electronic door lock solution adds further capabilities, including RFID, NFC, digital key service compatibility, and compatibility with Apple Wallet. The VingCard Novel earned a prestigious 2023 Red Dot Award in the Product Design category.

• Canatu: LiDAR Deicing Technology

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems are essential to autonomous driving, as harsh weather, whether it is snow, ice or fog, can adversely affect LiDAR range and resolution. Canatu has adapted its wire-free carbon nanotube film heater technology, which is used to de-ice the windshield and headlight lens. Canatu is working with numerous Tier 1 manufacturers, including DENSO, Minth and Webasto, and is currently in the mass development phase with leading customers.

• Epishine: MClimate’s CO2 Display LoRaWAN

Eliminating batteries from the waste stream would be a benefit to the environment, but an alternate source of power is required, particularly for indoor products. MClimate’s CO2 Display LoRaWAN is a wireless carbon dioxide display powered by Epishine’s indoor solar cell technology. Epishine produces its solar cells through roll-to-roll printed organic photovoltaics (OPV) to harvest ambient light in indoor settings.

• Schreiner MediPharm: Smart Blister Card

Schreiner MediPharm’s new Smart Blister Card utilizes conductive lines combined with an electronic unit, enabling digital medication adherence monitoring. Once the patient pushes tablets out of a cavity, data is generated in real time, including the exact time the pill was removed, the cavity it came out of, and its dosage. The data is stored in the Smart Blister Card and sent to a database, either by a smartphone app or reader using NFC or Bluetooth. The European Association of the Self-Adhesive Label Industry (FINAT) presented the Smart Blister Card with the award in the “Innovation & Electronic Printing – Electronic Devices” category in 2023.

• Wiliot: Ambient IoT Pixels

Wiliot’s ambient IoT Pixels and Wiliot Cloud platform is quickly growing in the Internet of Things (IoT) industry. Its IoT Pixels are either powered by harvesting radio frequency energy or using a thin printed battery. All of the data is sent to the Wiliot Cloud, where users can process the information. Wiliot’s ambient IoT Pixels was recently named to TIME’s list of the Best Inventions of 2023.