The RFID Reader

Consumers Want Reliability

Instead of new RFID readers, more consumers would like to have RFID technology that is more reliable, as stated in an article by Robert Malone on Forbes.com.

Malone continued to say that ‘users mainly want them (RFID boxes) to talk straight’. Omron RFID’s chief strategist Bill Arnold, stated that his company has a “95%-98% yield rate on quality inlay performance”.

However, Malone states that this percentage would mean that “5,000 out of 100,000 units are unreliable”.

With RFID tags that are unable to provide reliable data, the question that arises is how safe is the data being used for military or other purposes.

NATO and Savi Technology Sign Agreement

A contract has been signed by Savi Technology and NATO. This contract awards Savi Technology the ability to help NATO track the number of multi-national defense consignments using RFID. The defense consignments exist between Europe and Afghanistan.

According to Brent Bingham of NATO summed up why this decision was made: “NATO has concluded that this type of system can greatly contribute to the Commander’s situational awareness in the logistics arena. The RFID air-bridge built last year by Savi Technology from Central Europe into the theatre of operations confirmed that this technology meets the general requirements to operate on a multinational basis,” he stated.

Bingham went on to say, “Our objective now is to upgrade the network so that member nations can use their own tracking systems for national consignments while also enabling them to be interoperable with NATO’s RF network for multi-national, joint force operations.”

New RFID based Food Dispenser

Colder Products has designed a device that uses RFID technology to dispense many food products such as syrup, dairy, and condiments.

This new device is called the Disposable Universal Dispensing Coupler. It is a bag-and-box fitting, and according to Colder Products, it gives the user such as a beverage company, the ability to ensure safe and reliable processing of their product:

"Manufacturers can use this feature to ensure brand integrity, improve quality control and automatically calibrate dispensing equipment for the fluid being dispensed," Colder Products stated.

RFID Technology Used In Avian Flu

For anyone who has been following the current bird flu epidemic in Asia, they will be relieved to know that a US company called Digital Angel Corporation has invented a biothermal chip that can let farmers know that the bird has the flu.

According to Kevin McGrath, the CEO of Digital Angel CEO: “We believe that our proprietary technology should be made available to vulnerable countries and researchers working to control the spread of avian flu. We have had two lakh bio-thermo chips manufactured for this and companion pet applications. We are prepared to work with research institutions and government entities on any further research necessary to control avian flu.”

Further information can be obtained by visiting the Business-Standard.com website.

RFID World 2006

RFID enthusiasts can now have something to look forward to. The RFID World 2006 conference is scheduled to be held in the winter between February 27^th to March 1^st in Dallas.

Timothy Downs, President of ShoreCliff Communications, a trade exhibitions company, felt the event would beneficial to everyone. He stated that, "Attendees to RFID World benefit not only from the exhibiting companies' solutions, but also from the combined experience and knowledge of many of the industry's most innovative thinkers. This event is the one place every year that any user of RFID and EPC technology can learn first-hand about the many different solutions provided by these inventive technology companies."

This fourth annual event has already had its booths sold out, and features well known sponsors such as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and ADT/Tyco.

Pay For Parking Using RFID Technology

According to Laurie Sullivan of TechWeb News, a company based in Vancouver called Digital Payment Technologies Corporation is in the process of implementing RFID technology into its pay-by-cellular phone service:

“The pay-by-cellular phone service running on IBM Corp. technology put Digital Payment Technologies on the radar of many cities and universities nationwide by letting drivers dial a toll-free telephone number to initiate an account, and provide their parking stall numbers to pay by phone with an ATM card, MasterCard, or Visa. With so many banks issuing cards with embedded RFID chips, Digital Payment Technologies is adding the ability to wave cards before an RFID reader rather than to swipe its magnetic strip”.

This pay by phone service is has being tested in many cities across the United States such as San Francisco and West Hollywood. For more information about the pay by cellular phone service, visit this website.

Is RFID the Next Big Thing?

Tom Yager wrote a scathing piece calling RFID technology overrated. Essentially he believes anything that is a passive technology is useless because it can't learn. He also believes that other active technology devices can have more features than their RFID counterparts:

A passive RFID tag is incapable of learning, logging, or sensing the world around it, or doing anything on its own. If the tag is separated from the reader, or the reader is separated from the back end, the system is going to miss something. Active RFID, which can incorporate sensor-like capabilities, requires a battery or other source of power. When you cross that line, you’re not in RFID-land anymore. You’re just sending and receiving wireless data, the cost rises and smarter solutions are within reach.

Just because something can have more features does not mean more features is better. Tom couldn't be more wrong in comparing RFID to sensors, as Anita Campbell writes:

It does not matter whether RFID has the capability to pick up and sense environmental detail, like a sensor. That has nothing to do with the nature of its power to increase business productivity. RFID is about "identifying" not about "sensing."