RFID Lowdown

Cool Fridges From Samsung!

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

This is the perfect example that showcases the interdependence of technology. While plans are afoot at Samsung Electronics for a smart RFID-based refrigerator, the outcome of the proposal depends on a host of other consumables being tagged too.

Imagine a world where your fridge reminds you that you’re running low on essential groceries, tell your mobile phone that you need to stock up, warn you of items that are past their expiry dates, and even suggest recipes for dinner every night based on its contents. This is a very real possibility in the near future of RFID, and the folks at Samsung are hoping to get a head start on the competition.
But there is one major stumbling block along their way – all items that go into the smart fridge will have to be smart themselves, i.e., they have to be tagged with RFID chips too. Once this happens, the fridge talks to the phone, which in turn calls the store, and your grocery shopping is all done for you; you can either have it delivered at home or pick it up on your way home from work.

Spokesman for Samsung, Chae Hee-kook, says that item-level tagging for perishable items will decide the debut date for these refrigerators. While the years 2008 and 2009 are being bandied about, only time will tell when they become a reality.

RFID Deployment Terminated

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

Here’s one situation where RFID couldn’t hold its own – the implementation at the US-Canada border on Wellesley Island has been suspended following “strategic, operational and technical challenges,” according to a Government Accountability Office report.

The technology served to record the crossings of those who needed the I-94 visa as per the US Visit program. RFID tags in passports and readers at strategic locations expedited the week-long process to enable a real-time updation even as the passenger crossed the border. Information on the tags were picked up before the vehicles reached the check post, with photos and other details pulled up on computer screens for customs officials to peruse.

While a few people termed the termination of the program “disappointing,” the New York Times reports that cost-effective technology is not just around the corner; it’s a long way off, 10 to 15 years. Sad, when RFID is making rapid inroads in all other spheres of life!

Chasing Down the Chassis With RFID

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

This is item-level tagging on a large scale, albeit a different one, and the objects being tagged are chassis that hold 20 to 40-foot steel containers capable of holding nearly 53,000 lbs. Where? At the Canadian Railway Company (CN), whose management has embarked on this venture to save time and trouble in locating chassis and differentiating one from the many others in the Brampton yard.

The containers, which carry clients’ goods, are offloaded from the trains onto the chassis, which are then stored in the yard, CN’s largest intermodal terminal, where they stand till the load is claimed by its rightful owner. Staff at the terminal, who earlier had a difficult task in roaming the large yard searching for a chassis that held a particular client’s goods, now attest to the time-saving capabilities of the RFID tags that adorn the chassis.

No longer bogged down by clipboards that recorded the number of chassis stored at particular locations and by illegible and partially obscured numbers on the chassis themselves, the pilot RFID program launched a year ago is a roaring success. Symbol’s Cargo Tags, combined with Bell Canada’s XR400 fixed RFID readers, specially tailored to meet harsh weather conditions in Canada, and middleware from Shipcom Wireless, are allowing for real-time inventory management at CN, according to company spokesman Mark Hallman.

Cycle time is down to four days from seven, so it comes as no surprise that CN is toying with the idea of introducing RFID at its other intermodal facilities in Canada.

IMB Enters RFID Middleware Sphere

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

Information is wealth, especially if it’s harnessed in the right way at the right time. IBM is capitalizing on this fact to taste success with its WebSphere RFID Information Center. The software will allow the whole supply chain, right from manufacturers to distributors and wholesalers, to keep tabs on goods as they move through each part of the chain. Data collected from the tags on products will be collected, sorted, and stored in a meaningful manner, and accessible by all organizations integrated through the supply chain.

IBM’s middleware application cuts through bandwidth barriers by using the EPCIS standard, which uses the Electronic Product Code specification to code products, and so, does not have a problem in reading both UHF and HF radio tags. The pilot phase will see the solution being used by pharmaceutical companies AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, European Union e-customs outfit ITAID, the multinational firm Unilever and others.

IBM is not alone in promoting web-based solutions for RFID; the company will soon be facing competition from SAP and Oracle in this sphere, according to Michael J. Liard, research director at ABI Research.

Gamma-Proof RFID Tags

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

Item-level tags that serve a valuable function in special-purpose applications just took a step closer to reality, if claims by AdvantaPure are true. The company, which provides highly sterile products for the pharmaceutical, biomedical, food and cosmetic sectors, has come up with a tag that can tolerate the radiation from gamma rays that are used to sterilize products. GammaTag overrides RFID’s vulnerability to these rays, according to AdvantaPure’s CEO Ken Baker, allowing the process of sterilization without leading to a loss of data or the destruction of the tag itself. The process of decontamination is simplified since the tag permits gamma radiation for the entire unit. RFID Update reports:

The read-writable GammaTag is a high frequency (HF) tag with two kilobytes of storage and a read range of 50 millimeters. It can be used with all sorts of industrial containers and components, including sample and production bags, tanks, filters, manifolds, tubing and hose, storage vessels, and complete single-use systems.

Alien’s Asian RFID Efforts

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

There’s been a lot of talk about the paucity of skilled workers in the RFID sphere, especially when it comes to walking an organization through all the stages of a deployment. The Alien Technology Corporation, which is attempting to fill in the gaps through its Alien RFID Academy, has now turned its sights on the Asian RFID picture. The RFID provider has set up Alien Technology Asia in the Incheon Free Economic Zone in South Korea to support and augment its distribution network across the continent and thus offer better service to its customers.

Come the New Year, and the people of Korea will be able to sign up for RFID training courses on offer at the Alien RFID Academy established as part of Alien Technology Asia by leveraging the u-IT Cluster Center facilities in Songdo Incheon City. Both fundamental and advanced practical courses relating to RFID implementations will be taught at the academy, which has already graduated more than 1,800 students.

Alien has earmarked $10 million for its Asian sojourn, to be spent on sales, distribution, marketing, R&D, and manufacturing costs.

(Meat)ing Safety Needs with RFID

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

Push all negative RFID-related news about China out of your heads; the Asian country is embarking on a mission to prevent food poisoning-related illness and death, and is leveraging RFID for the purpose. Accordingly, the China Meat Research Center has tied up with technology and information provider Tsinghua Tongfang to ensure that the meat on your table is perfectly safe to be eaten.

Safety is being worked into all aspects of the meat chain, right from the breeding farms and butcher sites to the supermarket shelves and checkout counters. The companies will jointly develop and maintain software and infrastructure for the food safety technology program.

Slow, but sure steps for RFID in China?

Filling Up on RFID

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

Natural gas being the preferred method of cutting down on fuel costs in most parts of South East Asia, the PTT gas company in Thailand is turning to RFID in an attempt to enrich customers’ re-filling experience. If all goes according to plan during the pilots at three Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) stations, customers lining up to fill their gas tanks will receive personalized service. With or without wires, RFID tags are being leveraged to identify customers as soon as they pull up into the filling station, figure out how much gas they need, and also work out if their car engines are in need of a tune up.

In one scenario, the one-to-one wire line RFID, the tag is fitted on the car’s gas pipe with the reader on the nozzle of the pipeline; the car’s data, including license number, machine number, driver information, and price, is transferred to a central database as soon as the nozzle touches the pipe. In the second, one-to-many wireless RFID, the reader is embedded at the entrance to the gas station, and with the tag on the car’s windshield, customer data is gathered as soon as the car drives in.

The cost of modifying the cars will be subsidized by PTT, but those who accept this offer will have to pay more for a kilogram (app. 2.2 pounds) of gas – Bt12 instead of Bt8. PTT is banking on the increase in gas-operated vehicles to drive its pioneering endeavor, according to Nuttachat Charuchinda, its executive VP of Natural Gas Vehicles. By the time the technology is commercially launched early next year, PTT hopes to increase the number of filling stations from 76 to 120.

Reading Between Parking Lines

-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

It may be good news for the South Korean authorities who are trying to find a solution to the lack of parking and driving space in their overcrowded cities, but for those in violation of established rules, this joint offering from SkyeTek and Omnitech is sure to rain on their parades.

The space rationing program launched by the Korean government with the help of RFID is set to be a greater success with the new uWiz-4000 handheld RFID readers. With rules stating that cars with certain identifiers are allowed within city limits on certain days while others are not, if citizens think they can get away from the long arm of the law by venturing into forbidden territory on their days off, they’re sadly mistaken. The readers, with integrated wireless network connectivity, scan tags on parked cars and send information back to the network database if the vehicles are found to violate the law. SkyeTek reports:

Based on SkyeTek’s M9 UHF module, the uWiz-4000 provides tag support for EPC Class 1, Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6B standards. With power efficiency that enables the reader to last up to a week without recharging, the uWiz-4000 provides parking personnel with reliable reads at ranges up to one meter. The handheld device is the size of a small writing tablet, has a foldable antenna, and weighs just over half a kilogram, making it easy for officials to transport it for use across the city.

RFID Academic Events in 2007

There is a lot of action planned for 2007 in the world of RIFD. RIFD Academic Convocation Conference has already planned two mega events scheduled in the first four months of 2007. These events are the fourth and the fifth RIFD Academic convocations. The fourth Convocation will take place in Brussels, Belgium on March 13-14, 2007. This event is hosted by the European Commission Directorate-General Information Society and Media.

Orlando, Fla. Is the venue for the fifth convocation that will take place in the US on 30th April, 2007. The previous convocations and especially the third convocation that took place in Shanghai just a couple of months back have progressively been very successful. The RFID Academic Convocations offer a great opportunity for enthusiasts to follow the research happenings around the world. RFID Journal reports:

The convocations' objectives are to identify specific industry issues requiring a coordinated research response, define the underlying core technology research areas necessary to address these issues and continue the technology road-mapping process.”

Retail and RFID: Disappointment 2006?

Evan Schuman at Extreme RFID (who also writes at Storefront Backtalk) says that according to a report from IDTechEx, 2006 has been a disappointment for RFID and retail, with supplier frustration being a common problem, not to mention technical issues. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) RFID applications, then, have not done as well as expected.

On the other hand, contactless payment has been more successful via companies like 7-Eleven and Jack-in-the-Box. The latter recently decided to roll out contactless payment in all of their stores across the USA with a minimum of trials. Item-level parts tagging has also done better than expected in some applications including the airline industry.

The key thing to note is that there are so many niche applications of RFID, with some doing better than others. So it's not easy to say, in general, that RFID as a whole is or isn't doing well.

RFID Tags: To Stop A Car Thief

Can RFID tagging stop the theft of luxury cars in Malaysia? That's what the Road Transport Department (RTD) Director-General hopes. The tags that they plan to use will be attached to license plates and be capable of transmitting up to 100 meters. What's more, the battery is expected to last 10 years. Handheld scanners at roadblocks could then be used to identify stolen vehicles. [IHT via Slashdot]

This is a different approach for an automotive application than in South Korea where cars in certain areas will be tagged as a traffic control measure, to ensure that only authorized drivers are allowed in certain metro areas on specific days. RFID use in the automotive sector is expected to grow by 20% per year between 2006 and 2010.

Wal-Mart Website Wonky But RFID Program Moving Ahead

Wal-Mart, the company that some might say has been singlehandedly driving enterprise supply chain RFID applications, recently suffered a 10-hour outage on their eCommerce website, for which Information Week Editor Rob Preston laid into them. The problem is that it happened on so called Black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving, which is said to be the best retail shopping day of the year (which puts some retailers "in the black" with profit, hence the name). The company actually spent 13 months to redesign their website, which relaunched in October and crashed in late November - due to getting seven times the web traffic the previous Black Friday.

Website problems aside, Wal-Mart is at least keeping itself on track with its RFID mandate, possibly ready to add another 700 retailers compliant, which would push the total number to over 1200 with radio frequency technology either already implemented or about to be. Following on the heels of Wal-Mart's push, grocery retailer Kroger might be ready to have its big suppliers use RFID tags. Another grocery retailer, Ahold USA, is already using RFID and will expand that use in 2007.

RFID Applications: Forestry Asset Management

[This post is part of a short series aimed at giving a quick overview of existing and future applications of RFID - radio frequency identification - technology.] Asset Management (AM) is one of the more common applications of RFID technology. Within this umbrella application are many specialized apps targeted at a particular use which typically requires customized techniques as well as equipment.

For example, in forestry applications of AM, such as that developed by TU Munich (Technical University of Munich), a method of applying RFID tags to logs has been devised. In this case, logs that have already fallen are tagged by the harvester. This allows a more refined process and the ability to track a log through several steps. It's much easier for everyone involved in the log harvesting process to determine what stage a log is currently at.

What's unique about the TU Munich application is that the passive tags are stapled into the side of a log by the harvester, compared to other similar apps that use nail-shaped tags that have to be manually hammered by a lumberjack. The harvester collects information about each log and stores it tied to a unique id. RFID Journal provides more detail.

High-Performance RFID Products from Elektrobit launched

Elektrobit, a technology company specializing in embedded software and hardware solutions for selected automotive and wireless environments has recently launched two products in the RFID market. The two products are - Elektrobit RFID Reader and the Elektrobit WLAN Node. With the launch of the first two products in the RIFD category, the company has made its presence felt in the market. It aims to become a leading global open RFID reader system provider.

The two products from the company have been packaged into what they call the ‘Elektrobit Identification Network Architecture’. This launch has been a product of their 10 year experience in radio channel propagation and air interface technologies with world leading companies. Elektrobit is also a member of several global bodies like ETSI and EPCglobal. This further strengthens their image as a committed player in the RFID arena. RFID Solutions online reports:

The Elektrobit RFID Reader works at UHF frequencies, and it is EPC Gen2 and ISO 18000-6C compatible. It provides rugged modern mechanical design and high reading performance with single static antenna. The product is a CE marked and ETSI compliant high-quality reader.”

RFID-enabled ID cards may not be a very good idea says The Smart Card Alliance

In October this year the US Department of state announced its plans to use RIFD chips for a proposed card that would be issued as part of the Western Sphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Under this initiative it is planned that all Americans traveling to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda will have to show some form of personal identification from now on. This identification would necessarily have to be approved by Department of Homeland Security. This ID proof will be required by those individuals who do not have passports for verifying their identity at land and sea border crossings.

However a non profit industry body representing several large vendors of smart-card and RFID technologies, the Smart Card Alliance, has urged the department to reconsider its proposal. The body has indicated that long-range RFID technologies are vulnerable to snooping and forgery. As such they feel that it may pose great security and privacy concerns.  Computer World reports:

In its notice, the State Department said it would use "vicinity read" RFID technology in the cards rather than the "proximity read" contactless smart-card technology being incorporated into new ePassports.”

Nissan and WhereNet automating the auto maker’s supply chain by deploying RFID system

Auto maker Nissan North America Inc. is in the process of deploying RIFD technology to help automate its inbound supply chain and outbound delivery chain. For this it has tied up with California based WhereNet Corp. The active RIFD system is being deployed at its 4 million-square-foot assembly plant in Canton, Miss. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2007.

A single wireless architecture is being planned to run multiple WhereNet applications. The applications being put into place are - WhereSoft Yard Management System and Vehicle Tracking and Management System (VTMS). This deployment is expected to help Nissan to improve its productivity as well as vehicle quality. For instance, the check-in and checkout procedures of hundreds of truckloads and thousands of components arriving at the assembly facility every day itself will save Nissan several hours per day in processing deliveries apart from providing higher velocity and throughput in the yard. Computer World reports:

Latham said Nissan will use the vehicle tracking system to manage post assembly verification and test processes. The system includes a business rules engine that manages the processing of every vehicle in accordance with its assigned status so that critical orders are processed before lower-priority units, he said.”

UPM Raflatac Gen2 RFID inlays selected by METRO Group for path breaking pilot study.

UPM Raflatac, has recently been selected by retail giant METRO Group as a vendor for its pilot scheme for tracking supply chain from China to Germany. UPM Raflatac is a leading RFID tag and inlay manufacturer that will be supplying its Rafsec G2 ShortDipole RFID inlays for the innovative pilot scheme. The pioneer project from METRO is called “Advanced Logistics Asia”. The objective of the project is to see if the company can successfully track its packages after they are RIFD tagged and shipped from the consolidation center in China to METRO operations in Germany.

The team understandably is quite excited with the way the project is being planned. UPM Raflatac knows that though the current task at hand is small but is one that has bigger gains in store if successful. Their selection by the group is in itself commendable and speaks volumes about their capability to handle big projects. More RIFD reports:

This is a very exciting time for us," comments Edward Lu, UPM Raflatac's Business Development Director, Asia. "Although only at the pilot stage, the potential of this project for us as a company is clearly evident. Being chosen by METRO Group emphasizes both our expertise in supporting large-scale projects and the undeniable quality of our RFID inlays."

Cool, Surprising and just Plain Scary: 51 Futuristic Uses for RFID

Wal-Mart swears by it, CASPIAN thinks it’s the devil in disguise, the government hopes to profit from it, and the common man is confused by all the hype surrounding it – love it or hate it, there’s no turning back the clock on RFID folks, this is one technology that’s here to stay and go places. It’s being used in numerous applications, from tracking items along the supply chain to monitoring the whereabouts of kids and the elderly. It’s been kicking up a storm of privacy issues, and the FDA approval for VeriChip to implant human beings in the name of medical advances hasn’t done anything to settle the dust.

Even as the controversies rage on about the lack of unifying frequency standards, the high cost of supporting infrastructure and the perceived threat to individual privacy, RFID is making rapid inroads into each of our lives, visibly or stealthily. Stealing a march on the technology, we look a few years ahead, and unveil for you a list of 51 applications, some of which are in pilot phases, a few that are just brilliant ideas, and others that are actually in the RFID pipeline.

Are they cool? No, they’re piping hot!

Driving into the future…

1. The Road Beacon System: A system where the tags are embedded on roads or along the pavement with readers being fitted on the bodies of automobiles. Drivers will be provided with speed limit and position information besides being warned of possible accidents. Word on the street is that this technology will cause a significant drain in the government exchequer, so this is one application that will take time to gain popularity.
2. Electronic car security: Thieves will think twice about breaking into your car with this application in which car keys are connected wirelessly to the onboard management device that controls all aspects of the engine. On an unauthenticated entry, the complete system shuts down. Afraid the crooks will get hold of your keys? Then imitate this couple  – they got themselves implanted with RFID tags that act as keys to their cars, houses and computers.
3. Tracking car assemblies: Alien Technologies is working on a solution that uses RFID to track the work-in-progress during an automobile manufacture cycle. A tag is first affixed on a car’s chassis, and as the part traverses the assembly line, new information is added to the tag so that it displays a sub-assembly or a finished product.

Adding the spice of freshness to meat…

4. Tracking the food chain: Health-conscious non-vegetarians will appreciate this one – RFID tags are already being used in certain parts of the world to bring about a transparency in the food supply chain. The threats posed by mad-cow disease and bird flu have brought about drastic changes in the way meat is handled, from the time it is grown in farms and fished in seas, till the time it ends up on your dining table. In the near future, tags will be used as a matter of course to verify that produce is fresh, that it hasn’t been subject to unusual heat or cold, and to get rid of items that are prone to spoilage.

Leading the blind…

5. RFID-assisted indoor navigation: Vladimir Kulyukin, assistant professor in the department of computer science at the Utah State University has ambitious plans to help the blind navigate the aisles of supermarkets and department stores – an RFID-enabled robot mounted on the shopping cart. The device will, at the push of a button, steer the person behind the cart to different parts of the store.
6. Floors that guide the disabled: This innovation is all set to stage an appearance at the University of Florida, courtesy, a doctoral student who’s using RFID grids in carpets, hallway baseboards, and outdoor walkways to help blind and other disabled students navigate around campus.

Posting profits with RFID…

7. Replacement for the postage stamp: The humble postage stamp is all set to get a facelift; it will contain a transponder that postal officials can use to rout it to its destination and cancel after it’s been used. 

Catching kleptomaniacs red-handed…

8. Item-level tagging: Tags on every item in every store. With numerous advances being made in item-level tagging, this scenario is almost around the corner. While privacy advocates would have a field day detailing the “big brother is watching you” options, this application also holds a number of benefits. Stores can automate self-checkout and payment and also cut back considerably on shrinkage. For the consumer, payment can be made with RFID-enabled cards that deduct the amount on the tags, and returns and refunds can be effected without scrambling to find that lost or scrunched up receipt. And for the privacy aficionados, the “kill” and “clip” options on the tag should silence them for a while. 

No peeking, keep out, PRIVATE…

9. Computer access through remote controls: It’s not that you’re working on something top secret, it’s just that you value your privacy. So how do you keep snoops away from the information on your computer screen the moment you get up, just to get those kinks out of your back or to answer the call of nature? Of course, that’s where software locks and passwords come in, but an easier way would be to hide an RFID transponder on your being. Voila! Your system locks up as soon as you leave your workspace, and opens only when you take your seat.

Life doesn’t stop because you grow old…

10. Digital Family Portrait: Worried about the well-being of your parents and loved ones who live far away? Then the digital family portrait is just the thing for you. Similar to an ordinary photograph, the application holds an image that is updated everyday with the help of RFID or other technologies to reflect on the state of well-being of the subject.
11. Monitoring geriatrics: Can the number of cups of tea/coffee you make everyday reveal anything about your general health? According to Richard Curry, visiting industrial associate at Imperial College, they can. The expert, in his address at the RFID Futures Conference held last month, outlined how RFID could be used to collect and analyze such seemingly insignificant information to find out how old people who live alone are coping on a day to day basis.    
12. Smart medicine cabinet: Aging comes with its share of memory loss, and RFID-enabled medicine cabinets can be a godsend for those who depend on medication for their lives. Reminding users to take their medicine, checking if they’ve completed a course, warning them against combining certain drugs, and even ordering refills from the doctor’s office are just a few possibilities that could be turn out to become real features.
13. Wander-proof bands: RFID-enabled wristbands could prevent those affected by Alzheimer’s disease from wandering off beyond certain boundaries. VeriChip has such a system already in place. The technology can also be used to make sure you don’t lose your kids in the crowds in an amusement park. Legoland is already offering parents tags for their children along with their admission tickets.

Stop those medical mix-ups...

14. SurgiChip: Chips that will prevent doctors from performing the wrong surgery on you; they’re being developed right now by SurgiChip Inc. in Florida, affixed to your arm, and scanned several times before the operation. Unless you’re unconscious, you have to confirm that the information is correct.
15. Administering medicine levels: The wrong drugs or even the wrong dosage could kill you. This is where RFID is stepping in at the Klinikum Saarbrücken Hospital in Germany to check if patients are getting the right medication in the right amount at the right time. The tag also ensures that the right blood is administered to the right patient.
16. Monitoring critically ill patients: With RFID tags affixed to patients in a hospital, heart rates are measured and sent to an RFID clock which sends the data to the concerned doctors. Antennas around the hospital help locate the patients to within two meters of their actual locations, thus enabling quick treatment if they start becoming seriously ill.
17. Quarantining in hospitals: Patients with contagious diseases can be prevented from wandering out of their quarantine zones with tags and appropriate readers.

Strengthening the supply chain links…

18. Improving Logistics and Communication: Columnist Michael Fitzgerald sums up the RFID effect, as he calls it, in the supply chain industry, with these words, “Someday in the not-so-distant future, when you buy a box of Kleenex at the local pharmacy, it will trigger a chain reaction of events that will result, ultimately, in a tree being harvested in Canada.” Web-based RFID is becoming more tangible by the day; the physical flow of goods and the related flow of information in IT systems are allowing supply chain partners to share logistics information in real-time, thus leading to better planning and inventory control.

Around the Future Store in Rheinberg… “a preview of the global retail experience, circa 2013”

19. Personal Shopping Assistants: The Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany, is bursting at the seams with RFID technology. Can’t find what you want on the shelf near you? Just type it into your shopping trolley’s screen, and you’re presented with a complete floor map and directions to where your product is stocked. Any shopping list you type out online is immediately downloaded to your PSA, when activated with your loyalty card.
20. Cart-top computing: Your cart will suggest purchases based on your previous buying behavior. It will also lead you to the shelves that hold these products.
21. Smart shelves: Shelves that can actually “think” – they warn of products past expiry dates and alert personnel to replenish them when they run short.
22. Dynamic Pricing: Wireless electronic price buttons can be updated at the push of a single button to update prices every night as they change in the real world.
23. Self-scan checkout carts: Shopping trolleys hold an integrated scanner that add up your total as you shop, and as you cross the checkout line, deduct the amount from your RFID-enabled credit card. Similar technology is also on trial at Caen in France; the only difference is that the mobile phone is used to pay for goods and to open cars. 

We care about our environment…

24. Studying genetically-modified trees: RFID and trees? Do you see the connection? Apparently a few graduate students at the University of Washington can; they’re using the technology to study genetically modified trees by embedding chips in the trees, and then monitoring them throughout their lives to improve conservation techniques.

And about our natural resources too…

25. Preventing water wastage: AquaOne Technologies is marketing an RFID-enabled device that uses a chip attached to a toilet to shut off the water when there’s a leak or an overflow.

Packing tips and chips…

26. Tracking plastic containers: Another environment-friendly application on the anvil from Alien Technologies – RFID-tagged reusable plastic containers, pallets or shipping containers that can be tracked at distribution centers that perform pick-and-pack operations.

Surprises galore! What RFID holds in store!

Your home gets smart, your brains take a back seat…

27. Robots that organize clutter: This one was heard from Kevin Ashton, he of the Auto-ID Center and the RFID standards. A pickup robot that first learns where things are stored in your home, then fetches things that are out of place, and finally restores them to their rightful places. In other words, “mom” to any messy teenager? And yeah, this technology depends on every item in your house being RFID-tagged.
28. Smart washing machines: No more scenarios where you end up turning your whites into multi-colors. Based on the premise that your clothes are all tagged with RFID chips, your washing machine will read them for appropriate wash instructions, set the temperature, wash cycles, and even alert you when washing mix-ups are about to happen.
29. Intelligent refrigerators: From alerting you to spoilage of food, to even ordering your food from a supermarket, RFID scientists have grand plans for the once-simple icebox. An intelligent refrigerator will be able to suggest recipes based on its contents, browse the Internet for the cheapest shopping locations, and place your order.
30. Fashionable closets: Imagine taking fashion advice from your closet; that’s a very real aspect of the future of RFID. Your wardrobe can also tell you what clothes it contains, what’s gone to the cleaners, what’s in the washtub, and with help from the Internet, the latest fashions in vogue.
31. Clever microwaves: Tags on any uncooked food item will be read to enable automatic temperature and time settings.
32. Gate devices: Ever left the house and remembered after an hour that you forgot your wallet or mobile phone? Well, gate devices placed over entrances and exits to your house can check your person or bags to see if you are carrying all the things that you normally do when you leave the house.
33. Thinking objects: We’ve heard of thinking caps, but this invention gives a whole new twist to the phrase. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come up with computerized fabric patches that can be worn as a belt one day, a handbag the next, and a scarf on the third. These can be programmed with RFID to make sure you don’t forget your essentials when you leave the house; they can also be hooked up to the Internet via Bluetooth devices – so don’t be surprised if your scarf tells you after scanning the day’s weather forecast that it’s likely to rain, so you’d better carry an umbrella or stay indoors.

Talk to me, teach me stuff…

34. Application of cosmetics: Nervous about that first date, and it shows by those trembling fingers that just won’t get your makeup right? RFID-tagged lipstick tubes and compact cases that trigger displays on your mobile phone so that you can learn how to apply makeup perfectly…
35. Cooking recipes: Dinner party for 10? Tags on cookbooks that automatically show an experienced chef preparing the same recipe on a screen in your kitchen…
36. Baby care: A boon for first-time moms - RFID-enabled baby changing tables and cribs that show you how to take care of newborns and toddlers…
37. Memory mirror: Assuming that most objects in your home are tagged with RFID chips, the mirror senses when they have moved, and places digital photos on the mirror showing where they were in the past 24 hours. A great gadget for those with short-term amnesia, in the pipeline at Georgia Tech.
38. Memory jogger: Another mnemonic – especially handy for those who forget when their credit card bills, library books and other payments are due. You can also set your mobile phone to alert you when you’ve lent a book or CD to a friend.

Searching high and low on the green…

39. Finding golf balls: Innovative transponders and radar corner reflectors in golf balls can save your precious golfing time. Lost balls are detected by the reflection of the radiation search beam over a short distance.

Hey, that’s my style…

40. Personalized shopping: With an RFID tag that stores data on your likes and dislikes, you can walk into a store and set alight LEDs that show where your favorites are, in the size that fits you and the colors you prefer.

Chaos theory anyone???

41. Location-relaxed storage: The brainchild of Stephen Ho, a Ph. D from MIT, this is one idea that sounds preposterous. Ho claims to be able to prove mathematically that it’s faster to find items stored in random order or in a chaos, provided they are tagged with RFID chips. 

Garbage in, recyclables out…

42. Sorting garbage: Garbage facilities that don’t require you to sort your rubbish – the trucks pick up your refuse, dump it on conveyor belts at the garbage facility, and a reader automatically picks up the information on the tagged items to redirect them to suitable recycling bins.

Traveling light…

43. Travel applications: Vacations just got that much easier with this future concept from Philips and Visa. Travelers can book and pay for plane tickets and hotel rooms using their computers, and an RFID-enabled mouse and credit card. The card holds information related to tickets, airlines and hotels. The key to your hotel room can also be transferred to your mobile phone for the duration of your stay, as can your hotel receipt. Back home, you can transfer the ticket to your computer, and your accounts are updated.

Playing with balls…

44. Chips in soccer balls: Remember those ugly brawls that broke out on the soccer field over the ball crossing or not crossing the goal line? FIFA, Adidas-Solomon AG, the Fraunhofer Institute, and software company Cairos Technologies have developed an RFID-embedded soccer ball to put an effective end to these skirmishes. Still under testing for that perfect goal.
45. Tagged soccer players: Managers who like to orchestrate the way players move and tackle will love this one. Alex Ferguson of Manchester United is considering tagging his soccer team so that their movements during matches and training can be studied.

Consumer is king…

46. Sharing consumer views: Remember browsing through online stores and reading user reviews of various products? Well, if these products are tagged, the reviews will be delivered directly to your mobile phone. And it doesn’t stop there. You can also get product-related information, technical tips, and interesting usage details – all from fellow users.
47. Sharing information: Blank RFID chips are being touted as the next sharing device – store information on writable chips and share it with friends and family.

Plain scary – Got any skeletons in the closet?

Put those sleazy detective agencies out of work…

48. Tagging spouses: I know it sounds straight out of a B-grade novel, but this just may be possible, according to Dr. Avi Rubin of the Johns Hopkins University. If you manage to tag your supposedly adulterous spouse surreptitiously, you can monitor her/his movements and confirm or dismiss your suspicions.

License to track and trail…

49. RFID number plates: Developed by e-plate, this technology may possibly be adopted by the UK government for its study of micro-chipped license plates. Powerful RFID tags that can “reliably identify any vehicle, anywhere, whether stationary or mobile, and - most importantly - in all weather conditions” are raising privacy hackles all over the world. The plates are permanently fixed, and will probably be used to prevent toll fraud.

Currency troubles…

50. Chips in Euro notes: The announcement in 2003 that euro notes would be tagged with RFID chips according to a deal between the European Central Bank (ECB) and Hitachi in a bid to prevent counterfeiting raised more than an eyebrow or two. The proposal obviously didn’t go through, but if applied in the future, could be used to “follow the money in any transaction. The anonymity that cash affords in consumer transactions would be eliminated.”

Elephantine memory…

51. Tags that never forget your past: An RFID tag that is embedded in your skin or in any article of your clothing can be used to store and remember forever every small misdemeanor. According to the Technology Horizons series of memos on the Public Concerns and the Near Future of RFID, “individuals will lose the ability to grow beyond their own pasts.”

There’s no denying the positive potential of RFID as a nascent technology. Bill Allen, Director of Texas Instrument’s (TI) strategic alliances, and erstwhile marketing communications manager, RFID Systems, TI, said of RFID, “Until the Wal Mart announcement, RFID had been pushing a snowball up the hill….Now Wal-Mart has it at the top of the hill, and it will be rolling downhill and gaining momentum from now on.” Attention must be paid so that the snowball does not cause an avalanche of problems for the world at large.

Retail segment ready to adopt RIFD in a big way in 2007

Several reports are doing rounds in the retail segment regarding the stepping up of RIFD adoption in 2007. Reports suggest that retail giant Wal-Mart is all set to extend its RIFD program to approximately another 700 suppliers. If this is true then it would mean that by the end of 2007 there would be close to 1200 Wal-Mart suppliers who would be using RIFD. This means that by 2007 more than 1200 suppliers would either be shipping products with RIFD tags or would be getting ready to do so. All this is expected to be stream lined by 2007 holiday season.

Apart from this grocery retailer Kroger also seems to be readying itself for adopting the technology in the coming year. It is sending out feelers to its big suppliers to find out if they are ready to adopt the technology. And recently the global head of RIFD strategy at Ahold USA, confirmed that its grocery operation is already geared to expand its use of RIFD technology in 2007. DC Velocity reports:

I know Wal-Mart is getting aggressive," says the CEO of a vendor close to the retail sector. "I don't know if they've told 700 more suppliers or not, but there is nothing to indicate that Wal-Mart has slowed down its desire and intent to make this work. I wouldn't be surprised if they are teeing up another set [of suppliers]."

RFID Training + Education Options Increasing

Of late, it appears that the number of radio frequency technology training options has boomed in just the past couple of weeks alone. Academia announced RFID training programs across Canada, IDTechEx is hosting a series of short masterclasses scheduled for Feb 2007, and the University of Kansas (KU) is offering 3 programs at three locations, Jan through Mar 2007 [via RFIDUpdate e-newsletter].

The KU courses include RFID: Deploying Your Item-Level Tracking (Jan 22-24, 2007, Kansas), RFID in the Cold Chain: Justifying and Deploying Your Cold Chain Solution (Feb 8-9, 2007, Las Vegas, NV), RFID for Intelligent Asset Management (Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2007, Kansas City, Mo).

These courses and workshops are a blessing as both technologists and end users are encompassed. With the expected shortage of skilled workers in RFID, training programs go a long way towards alleviating that lack.