Copyright Ian Pearson, BT Futurologist
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Future markets for RFID Tags
March 2004
Radio frequency identity (RFID) tags are
already commonplace. Typical current uses are in the distribution chain. A
package can be scanned at a handling centre and its status immediately updated
on a tracking database, while information about it is given to the handler.
This enables greater information on the relative performance of different parts
of the chain. It also can reduce theft, since it is easier to determine
whereabouts a package went missing. Similarly in industry, RFIS tags can be
used for asset control - sticking one on a machine easily identifies it and
makes it easier to access related data.
Systems can be constructed that use
combinations of tags. Only when a particular combination occurs does a function
become apparent. This will open up new marketing opportunities. Imagine the
scope for special offers that are announced by the goods themselves as you put
them in your trolley. You put in a pizza, the trolley tells you that you can
now get 25% off on garlic bread.
RFID can also be used in museums,
galleries, garden centres and so on to convey extra information about exhibits
to browsers or shoppers. The shopper's RFID card conveys information about
their preferences and interests, so that they might be give the right
marketing, but a museum visitor's card could also include data on their
language, origin, age, gender and educational level. When they look at an
exhibit, they can be given information in the appropriate form and at the right
level for them.
RFID is also likely to be used around the
home. A tag could contain registration data for a new appliance, allowing it to
be swiftly integrated with other home and networked systems, even disabling it
if it is stolen. On-line manuals could also be easily accessed via a tag. And
in children's bedrooms, tags recycled from cereal packets could be reprogrammed
to protect belongings from unauthorised borrowing by brothers and sisters