RFID tags: Big Brother in small packages

dahamsta

I actually wanted to discuss this one, so...

CNET News.com

Could we be constantly tracked through our clothes, shoes or even our cash in the future?

I'm not talking about having a microchip surgically implanted beneath your skin, which is what Applied Digital Systems of Palm Beach, Fla., would like to do. Nor am I talking about John Poindexter's creepy Total Information Awareness spy-veillance system, which I wrote about last week.

Instead, in the future, we could be tracked because we'll be wearing, eating and carrying objects that are carefully designed to do so.

The generic name for this technology is RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification. RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which already have shrunk to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.

You should become familiar with RFID technology because you'll be hearing much more about it soon. Retailers adore the concept, and CNET News.com's own Alorie Gilbert wrote last week about how Wal-Mart and the U.K.-based grocery chain Tesco are starting to install "smart shelves" with networked RFID readers. In what will become the largest test of the technology, consumer goods giant Gillette recently said it would purchase 500 million RFID tags from Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, Calif.

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Course, I don't have time now, so I'll come back to it in the morning...

adam

sceptre

The technical specs for RFID are available here for anyone who's interested in the technical info how this is going to work.

I came across this story recently. It's over a year old but well-worth reading.

"The RFID allows money to carry its own history," by recording information about where it has been, said Paul Saffo, director of Institute for the Future (Menlo Park, Calif.).

Obviously one could accused of being extremely paranoid if concerned at RFID chips being embedded in paper money but it's at least an example of the possibility of the technology becoming omnipresent.

This story from the RFID Journal mentions that one company has promised that its next chip will be smaller than a grain of sand. There are quite a few interesting articles on the RFID journal site, most of which don't require registration.

Apologies for just plonking down links rather than giving an actual opinion - these are links I had bookmarked and this is quite a busy week for me. Opinions next week.

JohnK

I think the problem with this type of technology is that we just don't know how its going to be used. It could be usefull in some of the situations mentioned by the manufacturers but it's very open to abuse and that worries me. I don't mind the idea of putting it in some products in a shop as it could eventually be used to eliminate queues and make shopping easier/faster. On the other hand I don't like the idea of being "scanned" every time I go outside my house.

topgold

RFID is used by UPS, Fedex and DHL already. I think it would be handy to have RFID on airline luggage tags because you would know in an instant whether your bag was aboard an aircraft, in a wheelie bin or nearby in the claims area.

I also understand the privacy implications of RFID gone mad.