RFID Print
Tuesday, 26 June 2007 05:20
What is RFID? Let"s ask the one who knows the most - Wikipedia!


Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is an object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radio waves. increases the speed and accuracy with which inventory can be tracked and managed thereby saving money for the business.

Over the last 6 months or so, I have been reading feeds from RFID Weblog religiously and was thinking about letting my blog readers know about the amazing stuffs they are doing with RFID. Every day when I check my Google Reader, it amazes me with yet another innovative usage of RFID. Besides, my infrequent google searches also gave me some unique usages of RFID. Not to mention, my interaction with students and professor in the MBA module "Managing Process Technology" was also a good source to disseminate and gather information. Here are some of the things which particularly caught my attention.

  • UK-based Edexcel examination board is implementing RFID for arresting incidents of cheating during exams and for this purpose RFID tags would be attached to GCSE and A-level exam papers. It would now become extremely difficult to tamper with the examination papers packets since the RFID tags attached will be able to detect whether some kind of tampering has been done with the packets or not. (Source)
  • A team of professor and students at UMASS Amherst have been working for developing an RFID system aimed at helping visually challenged people (Source)
  • RFID smart Refrigerator has got some brains and it is aware about what it holds and whether it"s worth consuming or not and even informs about the depleting inventory (Source)
  • Media Cart Holdings has come up with a RFID shopping cart which informs users about the products as they go past them in the store (Source)

Apart from these, RFID Weblog published its Best of 2006 list. Here are the links..Worth a read!

Top 10 RFID Trends of 2006, Part 3

Top 10 RFID Trends of 2006, Part 2

Top 10 RFID Trends of 2006, Part 1

There are some more interesting usage of RFID in place:

  • In passport (Malaysia already has it) to record the travel history (time, date, and place) of entries and exits from the country

  • Singapore uses RFID in EZ Link Cards and Cash Cards, Even the Road Tax called ERP is orchestrated by RFID active tagging.

  • Animal Identification has been in use for quite some time now.
I was reading the Freakonomics Blog this evening and there is a Q&A with surgeon Atul Gawande posted here. The surgeon remarks, "to me the most depressing are the failures to consistently use discoveries we’ve already made — and leading my list are our failures to wash our hands consistently and prevent the rampant spread of hospital infections (which kill an estimated 90,000 Americans each year)".

Well, here is the solution:

CleanTech IC line of automated hand-washing systems are being unveiled by Resurgent Health and Medical which uses RFID tags and interrogators to keep a track on people washing their hands and the duration for which they wash them (Source)
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3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."