RFID Chips Everywhere

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the can't-get-away-from-'em dept

Roland Piquepaille writes “In “Hitachi develops RFID chip for bank notes, documents,” IDG News Service said this week that Hitachi has developed a new radio frequency identification (RFID) chip which doesn’t needed an external antenna.This opens the possibility to embed these chips into virtually anything, from bank notes to plane tickets. In “We Know What You’re Buying,” Slate looks at the possible implications of such devices which don’t require a battery. And even if Gillette or Wal-Mart have more or less abandoned their experiments with RFID tags, another company is using the technology to replace badges with bar codes. In “SAP to show off RFID’s potential,” IDG News Service says that at SAP’s TechEd conference, attendees’ badges will include RFID tags instead of bar codes. More details and quotes are available on my blog, including a picture of the new Hitachi RFID chips sitting close to grains of rice.” A note to correct Roland’s assertion: Wal-Mart has not abandoned their experiments with RFID. They’re still moving forward with using RFID for logistics purposes in the backend of their operations (which some are saying is a watershed moment for the technology). For the time being, however, they’ve set aside RFID on store shelves. Also, I’m getting less worried about the downsides of RFID after hearing about simple solutions to many of the problems, such as with an RFID blocker chip.