RFID: Thinking Outside of the Supply Chain

Wal-Mart and other large retailers use RFID as an effective alternative to bar codes, saving billions through reduced labor costs, out-of-stock expenses, theft, warehouse management costs and inventory levels. But RFID can turn any object (including people) into a node of a global network and offer lucrative opportunities beyond what today's mainstream applications achieve.

View Article »

READER FEEDBACK

Anonymous Tue, 2008-01-22 15:10

This is really interesting. I have heard about RFID technology but I thought it was only being used in large companies for inventory purposes. I had no idea of the many other simpler uses such as creating a "smart office". I want to use RFID technology to unlock my office, turn on the lights, log onto my computer...and especially make my coffee. I wonder if it can pick up my dry cleaning too?

Jeremy Garner Thu, 2008-01-24 08:03

Great Article. All of these ideas and more are entirely achievable with current capabilities. Perhaps the largest barrier will be the the cultural resistance to such offerings. The first outcry will be invasion of privacy concerns. While there are answers to those as well, in the end, it will come down to the customer deciding if they are willing to sacrifice a little privacy for more conveniences.

Vlad Krotov Thu, 2008-01-24 13:17

I think that privacy and security concerns will definitely create problems. However, they will also create opportunities for those who can develop solutions to these problems. While some of the privacy and security problems related to RFID are common to any type of IT application, some of them are rather unique to RFID. For example, one can block RF signal coming from a tag with a screen and steal an item from a store. One can also “jam” an RFID reader with repeated signals (similar to DoS attack). Other problems may surface once people actually start developing applications outside of the supply chain. These and possibly many other problems may create a market for RFID-specific security solutions.

Annie Mymokhod Sun, 2008-01-27 11:12

I think that if the RFID technology really has the potential to be utilized in so many different ways to enhance human lives then sooner or later it will be adopted and implemented, just like many other great inventions. It is only a matter of time... I also agree that privacy and security concerns have to be kept in mind, but in my mind if the potential of this technology is so promising, then the solutions of how to cope with these problems will also be found. And if this technology is deficient it might serve as a basis for development of other more sophisticated technologies to achieve similar goals. Altogether I really liked the article and I would like to see future development of RFID.

Kayo Thu, 2008-05-08 10:15

Interesting perspective that the author offers. I agree with the insight that RFID is just starting to see it's potential. There is another aspect of RFID to look at besides it's simple use as an identifier of something in space and time (which is the paradigm that the story projects). Consider RFID as a portable repository for information. In the former simple case, an RFID device is "pinged" with a radio wave and responds with a wireless signal in the form of a unique identifier. In the latter case, a bit of storage memory allows an RFID device to be encoded with information and solicited for that information as it moves and is pinged; not only identifying itself in space and time but giving other attributes. Arguably, this can be done less expensively with a keyed index database, but the ability to store information in the RFID device allows a device to be the ubiquitious agent of interface. Imagine such an RFID device in a shipping container, identifying itself where it has passed through in the world and when. Imagine the use in manufacturing, making a common RFID attached to an auto or engine act as the Bill of Material on that component. An RFID of such on a key box for realtors would store the access times for later study. One would argue that the unique identifier SIM chip in the cell phone is a sort of RFID device of this type...look how useful that is! Of course, such an RFID device repository has the baggage of expense and complexity over a simple ping-the-ID type of RFID chip, but to the point of this article, the opportunities abound for IT to exploit it.

RELATED BLOG

LATEST ON Mobile

RELATED BLOG

LATEST ON Mobile

RELATED BLOG

LATEST ON Mobile

Are you involved in setting the direction for your company's IT budget or strategy?

Reader Feedback

RFID: Thinking Outside of the Supply Chain

Anonymous Tue, 2008-01-22 15:10

Jeremy Garner Thu, 2008-01-24 08:03

Vlad Krotov Thu, 2008-01-24 13:17

Annie Mymokhod Sun, 2008-01-27 11:12

Kayo Thu, 2008-05-08 10:15

Post new comment

RELATED BLOG

LATEST ON Mobile