August 02, 2006
RFID Can Track Mundane Information Too
Is it just me, or have you seen TV commercials depicting something like the shopping scene that Sophia Chua writes about at Ferret: A guy walks into a store and starts shoving items into his pockets. As he's leaving, a security guard stops him to give him his forgotten receipt. Seems everything in the store is RFID-tagged and there's no need to checkout, as RFID readers have done that for him, billing the smartcard in his pocket.
The closest I've experienced to this is at a large supermarket, where I could checkout my own items in the fancy new self-checkout lane. By waving the items in front of a barcode reader, I'd get a tally, then paying for everything with my ATM or credit card. It beat having to wait in line, and the store/ credit card company didn't collect any extra information from me than if I'd gone through a clerk-assisted checkout.
But had it been RFID, the items purchased would be tagged. And this is what troubles some people. No one is lurking around corners waiting with barcode readers to waiting to figure out what you purchased. But with RFID-tagging, what if someone has a wireless mesh grid set up with RFID readers, and they can figure out that I eat Count Chocula for breakfast instead of Mueslix? Or that I just finished shaving with those cheap plastic razors instead of a million-blade expensive razor? Or that I take my vibrating tootbrush for overnight romantic trysts with my secretary?
Okay, not so dire. At least, not yet, for shopping anyway.
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