May I sniff your chip?

2008-11-28 11:17

Alistair Fairweather

We humans are naturally a lazy bunch. Few of us approach routine chores with much relish. Ironically this instinct to avoid doing the dishes has driven some of our greatest innovations.

Just look at radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags - a technology that promises that we will never need to stand in a supermarket queue ever again.

What are RFID tags? They're tiny electronic circuits that receive and transmit info via radio waves. If that doesn't sound very exciting, then imagine this: you're at a supermarket till with a month's worth of groceries.

The teller presses a button which "asks" your trolley "How much do all these items cost?" Since all the items have RFID tags, they "answer" with their prices. Bingo - you have a total in under a second.

But surely putting transmitters on everything will be expensive? That's part of the genius of RFID - they are already cheap and getting much cheaper. And what if they run out of batteries? No problem - they collect the radio waves from the detector and use that to power their reply.

And RFID tags are much more than just electronic barcodes. The more complex versions can record all kinds of info - everything from where they are (via GPS), to what speed they are travelling, to what other RFID tags or electronic devices they are near.

A somewhat bizarre example of this in action is SNIF Tags - the high-tech dog collar that, and I quote, "expands your circle of friends".

It works like this: your pup, equipped with SNIF collar, meets a similarly equipped furry friend at the park. Both collars automatically record the encounter, and when they both get home, the data is uploaded to the home computer.

Practical uses

Likeminded owners can then choose to become online "friends". They can then arrange group walkies, flea dips and grooming sessions (possibly including their dogs).

I'm not convinced about the commercial merits of such a scheme. "Your dog sniffed my dog's butt - let's get together for snacks!" doesn't really jump off the page.

But there are other, more practical uses, like being alerted when Brutus has jumped the fence again so you can phone your neighbour to apologise.

Jokes aside, RFID really has the potential to change the world utterly. Imagine running a chain of stores and being able to do a countrywide stock take by pushing a single button. "Are the white peasant blouses selling well?" Click. "Yes they are - better order some more from the factory."

And when literally everything we own is tagged, it will be nearly impossible to lose anything. Just grab your detector and ask: "Where is little Johnny?s left shoe?" Of course this begs the question - what happens when you lose the detector? SMS it of course! Now where is that cellphone?

As with any monumental change, introducing RFID will take time. The tags are still too expensive for use in high volume consumer products like milk, and the standards still aren't quite settled. But when the biggest company in the world - Wallmart - throws its weight behind a technology, it's usually a one way bet.

Until then we're going to have to content ourselves with standing in supermarket queues. I tell you one thing though, if I were a supermarket teller I would be blowing up RFID factories as hard as I could go.

Send your comments to Alistair.

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