Future+Potentials

__Future Potentials__ You can imagine nightmare legal scenarios that don't involve the cops. Future divorce cases could involve one party seeking a subpoena for RFID logs--to prove that a spouse was in a certain location at a certain time. Future burglars could canvass alleys with RFID detectors, looking for RFID tags on discarded packaging that indicates expensive electronic gear is nearby. In all of these scenarios, the ability to remain anonymous is eroded.

They permit retailers to slim inventory levels and reduce theft, which one industry group estimates at $50 billion a year. With RFID tags providing economic efficiencies for businesses, consumers likely will end up with more choices and lower prices. Besides, wouldn't it be handy to grab a few items from store shelves and simply walk out, with the purchase automatically debited from your (hopefully secure) RFID'd credit card?

The privacy threat comes when RFID tags remain active once you leave a store. That's the scenario that should raise alarms--and currently the RFID industry seems to be giving mixed signals about whether the tags will be disabled or left enabled by default.

As a result, public education will be necessary to explain to people that the tags simply identify items and there are ways of removing or disabling them.

The RFID Ecosystem can alert users when they have left something behind. Here is how the //Seattle Times// describes how the project started. “The technology, radio frequency identification, or RFID, is rapidly moving into the real world through a wide variety of applications: Washington state driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, clothing, payment cards, car keys and more. The objects all have a tiny tag with a unique number that can be read from a distance. Many experts predict that the radio tags, as an enhanced replacement for bar codes, will soon become ubiquitous. Leaders of the UW’s RFID Ecosystem project wanted to understand the implications of that shift before it happens. They’re conducting one of the largest experiments using wireless tags in a social setting.”

RFID technology is already helping businesses run their supply chains more efficiently - reducing costs, uncertainty and risk while increasing visibility, speed and accuracy. RFID combined with other technologies has the potential to help businesses certify product delivery, runt heir data centers more efficiently and even reduce the growing problems of counterfeit and warranty fraud. In the future, RFID will be combined with other sensors into a wireless, secure, self-configuring and self-healing network. Customers will reap incredible visibility, flexibility and efficiency into their operations.

Businesses can gain the ability to automatically track and trace products, a tool that helps them keep counterfeit goods out of the supply chain. RFID could also help businesses more confidently prove delivery of products - an essential part of trading between the shipper and customer.

Among the most talked about potential applications are the ability to automate the checkout process and eliminate lines. Experts envision people putting items into a shopping cart equipped with a computer, small display and RFID reader. Say they put steak into the cart, then they might get an ad for steak sauce, be told about wine that's on sale, or they may get information on the steak itself, such as its origins. When checking out, consumers walk through a tunnel reader, has all the items in the cart read automatically and pays with the swipe of a contact-less credit card. These applications will require tags to be on all items in the store. RFID can be linked to food safety. If tainted material is found, all companies can accurately and quickly locate, quarantine, recall and destroy all affected materials.

Tracking apparel: the makers can embed retail items with RFID tags. The implanted devices would enable the maker to track individuals and inventory their belongings by linking a consumer's name and credit card information with the serial number in an item of clothing. But this would potentially lead to privacy issues and abuses of the system.

Payment system: using RFID wireless payment systems. A RFID system that will enable RFID communication between between PCs, hand held computers, and other electronic devices. The companies envision that consumers will log on to their personal online portal by swiping their smart card, embedded with an RFID, which will be read by a RFID reader plugged into the USB port on the computer. Next, consumers would shop online, say, for tickets to an event. The consumer would pay for tickets online, download them onto their PC and then transmit them to an RFID tag in their mobile phone. Then, at the event, consumers wave their cell phone near a reader in the turnstile, and be automatically admitted.

"RFID is such an intriguing concept to businesses because it can cut inventory and supply chain costs. The ultimate goal is for RFID to replace barcodes. RFID allows for individual product identification, not for product line identification like barcodes. If this takes place, individual products can be read letting stores locate those items if needed. Stores can also track when items leave the store allowing them to easily replace items when one is purchased. One example of such a use is in a grocery store. The store can identify individual foods that are going to spoil, allowing it to locate the items and either put them on sale or dispose of them. Furthermore, shipments can be easily and quickly sorted and accepted by the receivables department. With the reader, products can be received without even opening the pallet cutting logistical needs. Obviously RFID is a great tool for the supply chain and companies wishing to better track their products and inventory. As a result, I don't see it disappearing. I think it will definitely become a requirement for all suppliers to use RFID tags when the tags become affordable in the very near term."

Bibliography:

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Big Brother in small packages. 13 January 2006. Declan McCullagh. 22 April 2008. http://www.news.com/2010-1069-980325.html

Heim, Kristi. "UW Team Researches a Future Filled with RFID Chips." The Seattle Times. 31 Mar. 2008. 23 Apr. 2008 <[|http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004316708_rfid31.html>.]

How does it help business? 15 July 2005. Stephen Withers. 22 April 2008. http://asia.cnet.com/zd/insight/communications/0,39044835,39242630-6,00.htm

Every move you make tracked by RFID tags. 5 April 2008. Roland Piquepaille. 22 April 2008. http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=883

Printed polymer electronics – the future of RFID. 22 April 2008. Brian Holliday. 22 April 2008. http://www.engineerlive.com/features/16406/printed-polymer-electronics-the-future-of-rfid.thtml

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