FC: RFID tags: The new way to track everyday objects

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[I'm not sure if we should be alarmed. Don't like RFID tags sewn into your 
clothing? Take them out after you buy it. Or don't buy RFIDwear. --Declan]

---

From: "Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>
To: "'Declan McCullagh'" <declan () well com>,
   "Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>
Subject: RFID tags: Cookies for everyday objects
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 21:39:04 -0500

Hi Declan,

The low-cost RFID tag business is an up and coming technology.  The Holy
Grail of this business is to produce an ID tag that costs only 5 cents
to manufacture and therefore can be embedded in almost any consumer
product.  RFID tags are kind of like Web browser cookies for everyday
objects.  They allow individual products to be tracked during their
entire life time from their birth at a factory all the way to their
death at the local landfill.  RFID readers work up to a distance of 5
feet and don't require any special efforts for tags to be read.

The Auto-ID center of Cambridge, Mass. has some interesting diagrams of
how RFID readers will use the Internet to connect to a centralized
tracking database:

   http://www.autoidcenter.org/technology.asp

Once RFID readers are deployed in most of the stores here in the US,
there will some really amazing tracking systems that can be put into
place.  For example, just by embedding RFID tags into clothing, stores
can recognize returning customers a la "Minority Report".  Also stores
can send out "all-points bulletins" for clothing items that have gone
missing.  Shoplifters won't be able to hide. ;-)

Attached are summaries of two recent RFID tag stories at the RFID
Journal, an industry trade rag, about how this technology might get
rolled out.

Richard M. Smith
http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com

========================================================

Gillette to Purchase 500 Million EPC Tags
http://www.rfidjournal.com/news/nov02/gillette111502.html

Exclusive: Gillette plans to purchase 500 million RFID tags from startup
Alien Technology,
according to sources attending an Auto-ID Center board meeting on Nov.
14. The deal
marks a major milestone in the commercialization of low-cost RFID tags
based on the
Auto-ID Center's specifications.

New Direct-To-Textile Washable RFID Tag
http://www.rfidjournal.com/news/nov02/washable111104.html

KSW-Microtec, a Germany company that makes RFID tags and labels, has
unveiled a new
washable RFID label that can be attached directly to fabrics. The
company is targeting the
untapped uniform market in the United States.
Full Story




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