RFID Gazette

RFID is arguably a very efficient technology, made for multiple purposes, useful for private and public sectors. The benefits of RFID are far too numerous to mention in a single article, as the potential applications are seemingly endless. Many in the industry and elsewhere feel that the technology will become ubiquitous and replace older technologies because of its efficiencies and extra functionality. The problem is, it is also a very controversial technology for many reasons, which are thus a barrier to widespread adoption of RFID.

Six large vending machine companies in the United States plan to outfit their vending machines with  contactless payment technology. The technology will accept MasterCard PayPass cards and key fobs.

An announcement earlier this month from MasterCard and USA Technologies stated that 6,000+ vending machines in the US would allow for contactless payments using NFC-enabled cell phones. Late last year, USA Technologies had announced plans to install contactless card readers on 10,000 vending machines.

Contactless payment technology vendors are hoping to capture the sub-$25.00 per transaction market of vending machines and convenience stores. While there are the two types of contactless payment (card/fob and cell phone), the cell phone method is at a disadvantage since there are currently few NFC-enabled phones in the United States and Canada. Contactless keyfobs and credit cards, on the other hand, have the distinct advantage of being easily distributed.

The use of RFID, particularly NFC (Near Field Communication) at sporting events has been so functionally successful that it's really seems to be catching on. In addition to being used for preventing counterfeit ticket use and for crowd management (seating, gates, etc.), RFID is also being used for payment at concession stands and souvenir shops, either with keyfobs or contactless payment/credit cards. Several sports teams in the NHL and the NBA will now be allowing fans to use the contactless MasterCard PayPass cards to speed up concession stand payments. If you've ever been to a sporting event, you know how long you might wait in line, meanwhile missing the action.

RFID seems to be enjoying a lot of hybrid use lately, combined with other technologies. Some are actually in use, others are still at the theoretical or testing stage. One such hybridization will combine RFID and nanotechnology to protect homes from earthquake damage. A group of British researchers are working on a self-healing house [via ETechTrends].

The nanotech is applied to the house walls, which can liquify under pressure, then re-harden, thus reducing the chances of crumbling during an earthquake. The RFID is used in conjunction with wireless sensors to warn residents.

RFID hybridization is something that I think we'll see a lot of over the next few years, especially with sensor technology, and as nanotechnology matures.

More Hybrid RFID Technologies
A number of companies have spent the last few years creating hybrid technologies that combine RFID and something else. HAMMER is a system that goes further by combining not two but multiple technologies: RFID, GPS, mapping, and sensors. It also combines a digital camera and PDA. The system helps map archeological sites as well as helps track bar-coded artifacts, amongst other uses. [via RFID Journal]

China To Use RFID For 2008 Olympics
Given the success of RFID implementations in sports stadiums and events in the past couple of years, it's not surprising that RFID will be used by China in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Usage will include security and anti-fraud, such as ensuring that tickets are legitimate. [SDA Asia via RFID News] This is how the 2006 FIFA World Cup (Soccer) event used RFID.

Spanish Reebok Sports Club Using RFID
Sports clubs, too, are implementing RFID technology. A 6,000 member club in Madrid, Spain, uses RFID for a variety of purposes: entry, access to facilities, and payment for various purchases. The club says that over two years, they've been saving the equivalen in Euros of nearly US$100K per year. This is partly due to the fact that memberships are getting updated more often. [via RFID Journal]

To date, two states - Wisconsin and now North Dakota -  have banned forced human RFID implants. Except that there's no way that'll stop determined employers. Jeremy Duffy offers an explanation of how organizations might circumvent such laws. One way is by suggesting that implantation is voluntary but to then either punish those that don't "volunteer" or reward those that do. I've worked for enough bad bosses in my life to know the tactics companies use to make you do what they want, or to conoct ways to make you quit if you don't comply. There's no reason why the same sort of emotional blackmail will not happen in regards to RFID implantation.

In California, the issue is more about the use of RFID in certain ways by public entities. An elementary school there has tried to implement an RFID program to monitor the whereabouts of students. To deter this sort of use, the California Senate passed a bill 28-5 to prevent public schools from mandatory RFID systems for monitoring students. The bill must still be passed by the State Assembly.

New Scientist/Space talks about using currently theoretical shape-shifting smart dust for exploring alien worlds. They describe the functionality of the motes, which is to actually float over a surface, carried by inconstant winds. They have wireless sensors that allow them to communicate with each other.

While there's no mention of RFID in the article, the fact is, these motes could likely be built with RFID technology. Consider the powder RFID chips that Hitachi just came up with. They're not quite nanotechnology, but they're close. Make them smaller, then add a small array of environmental sensors, then have the chips communicate as part of a sensor network. This would probably require some sort of base station, but that could be the space vechicle sent to the alien world.

[Commentary] Apparently, all you need to do to skim data from a certain type of RFID chip used in e-passports and credit cards is $20 worth of equipment available on eBay and the know how. Except that security researcher Chris Paget isn't allowed to say how the flaw works, due to a claim by a chip maker that he'd be infringing on various rights. They stopped Paget from talking at the Black Hat conference in February, and they're still trying to do so now.

Very interesting way of trying to defeat detractors, but instead helping, those who feel consumers should be aware of such security flaws will probably mistrust the manufacturer now. (I unfortunately do not know who this is - see below.) Alienating more people is not what the RFID industry needs; it's about awareness. It might be time get new lawyers and PR people.

[UPDATE: I mistakenly indicated that IOActive is the chipmaker in the above article. Correction made, and my sincere apologies for the error.]

Printed RFID circuits may be here sooner than expected. And all it takes is a regular desktop printer. And a special solution containing Vitamin C and silver nitrate. A PhD student at Leeds University in the UK ran a test on a Hewlett-Packard inkjet printer. The result of using this is the ability to produce mobile phone antennas, RFID chips, and other circuits. Each circuit is reprinted several times to increase conductivity, in case ink dots are not touching.

There's no indication of what this costs, and the use of silver nitrate might raise environmental issues. (Silver nitrate is used to create silver halide, which is then used to process black and white photographs.) However, if the compound is safe and the cost feasible, it might be a better solution than other methods of producing printed RFID chips.

The Boston Marathon has announced that they'll be using RFID technology that allows monitoring of athletes' whereabouts. This is partly for the purposes of sending wireless or email alerts to friends and family of runners. [via PC World]

They are not the first race to use RFID, but it wouldn't suprise me if more marathons converted to this. (Many sports - such as baseball, golf, soccer, car racing, parkour - are finding interesting ways to use RFID.) Marathon fans often want to watch but cannot be at the event. RFID allows for near real-time monitoring, as well as ensuring that only registered athletes are participating. For the Boston Marathon, RFID tags are slipped over shoelaces before they're tied.