funsec mailing list archives
[privacy] Can RFID-Tagged Umbrellas Take Philly by Storm?
From: <rms () computerbytesman com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:53:20 -0400
June 14, 2007 Editor's Note Can RFID-Tagged Umbrellas Take Philly by Storm? Dutch Umbrella has launched a pilot using 300 RFID-tagged umbrellas to collect market research for Philadelphia merchants. Eight sponsors are taking part in the trial, including a coffee shop, hair salon, restaurant and real estate agent. A sponsor's logo and/or contact information is printed on each panel, with up to eight advertisers per umbrella. Six sponsors have also been supplied with RainDrops, umbrella stands at the door of each business, so that customers can borrow and return umbrellas when it rains. Each umbrella contains a Motorola passive EPC Gen 2 RFID inlay. During the pilot, company founders Joseph Carlson and Karen Rostmeyer visit each stand, using a handheld RFID reader to capture the IDs and redistribute any excess umbrellas to other sponsor sites. They then return to their office, place the reader in a PC cradle and download the data, associating the tag IDs with the RainDrop locations. Within a year, the company hopes to equip the stands with fixed Wi-Fi-based readers that will collect and store the data online for sponsors to access in real time. This will enable advertisers to determine where their customers are coming from. Eventually, Dutch Umbrella plans to reward patrons who return specific umbrellas to chosen RainDrops. Upon the pilot's conclusion, the vendor plans to offer RainDrops at hundreds of locations across Philly's Center City district, and ultimately to branch out to other cities in the United States. _______________________________________________ privacy mailing list privacy () whitestar linuxbox org http://www.whitestar.linuxbox.org/mailman/listinfo/privacy
Current thread:
- [privacy] Can RFID-Tagged Umbrellas Take Philly by Storm? rms (Jun 14)