Based on the growing number of business sectors that are beginning to test tagand- reader systems, some experts in the field believe RFID will be widely used, especially in retail, by 2010. Others say such broad application will not happen until around 2015 or later, when the cost of RFID tags falls enough to make them economically viable for labeling inexpensive consumer products.
The Near Future
RFID TRACKING technology is starting to be used to follow merchandise as it travels from factory to stores. It will probably be fully established for such applications before it makes deep inroads into stores proper, because warehouse systems are easier to develop and are less likely to fuel public concern that RFID tags in consumer goods could be used to monitor customers once they leave a store. Recently Wal-Mart announced that it will require its top 100 suppliers to place highfrequency tags on cartons and pallets shipped to its stores. And the U.S. Department of Defense has similarly called on its suppliers to adopt high-frequency RFID inventory labeling by 2005.
But the potential—and inevitable— uses for RFID in stores themselves remain tantalizing for retailers. The canceled Wal-Mart in-store test, planned in partnership with Gillette, would have evaluated the ability of RFID-based “smart shelves,” equipped with built-in readers, to monitor the movement of millions of shavers and other Gillette products embedded with RFID tags. (In principle, the 96-bit code allotted for identification of each RFID tag would allow every person on earth to have about 50 quadrillion tags apiece.) The ability to keep tabs on individual products on store shelves is generally accepted as the most difficult task for RFID technology—but one that could pay off royally for retailers.
Notably, RFID smart-shelf systems could save money on labor and help to increase sales by ensuring that shelves are always stocked. If the systems monitored stock levels, employees would not have to do it: when the computers sensed that stock was running low, they could automatically alert someone to order more or could place orders directly with the manufacturer. The systems could offer other benefits as well. Because inventory tags are programmable, their data can include information about where the item was manufactured and sold. And like pinnedon magnetic antishoplifting tags, the RFID inventory tags could be detected leaving the store to prevent theft (estimated to cost $50 billion a year).
Wal-Mart said it canceled its in-store test to free up resources for developing behind- the-scenes RFID capabilities in its warehouses, which will require fewer tags and less powerful computing. This is probably true; industry insiders, however, have suggested that consumer concerns over RFID systems invading individual privacy also played a significant role in the decision. That the backlash had an influence would not be surprising, given that it was at about the same time that Benetton aborted its own large-scale in-store test of an inventory system after its plans were criticized by consumers and the media. The Benetton trial would have examined RFID technology’s ability to scan entire cases of tag-bearing clothes in many different colors, sizes and styles and to capture and upload the inventory data to its tracking system, obviating the need for workers to hand-check each garment.
Other tests of warehouse and in-store inventory systems continue, by Procter & Gamble, Canon, and International Paper. And last spring, Metro, a German retail chain, opened a “future store” equipped with an RFID inventory management system involving both smart shelves and scales equipped with RFID readers that can identify types of produce. In addition, tagged shopping carts are scanned to measure in-store customer traffic and to signal automatically for the opening or closing of checkout stations. The Metro pilot is the work of Intel, where I work today, and the German software developer SAP, along with more than 30 other companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Philips.
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3 Comments
Add CommentI guess I am not understanding what the problem is...if you are not doing anything wrong, what's the concern? Shield the RFID that has personally identifiable material so it's not usable without our consent. How hard can it be? Remember how careful we have to be with the magnetic strips on credit cards?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLike a previous post stated- if you don't want to be identified, better not have ANY kind of a telephone. No credit cards, no computers. No SS Number. If you are using electricity, then it's already too late. "They" know who you are, and if you are THAT paranoid, I feel very sorry for you. Move to Montana, live like a Mountain Man and enjoy your very uncomfortable life. I am not doing anything that would be of any interest to anyone, so why on earth would anyone want to know what I do, what I eat, etc. So what? Let "them". If they want to waste their time trying to sell stuff to me when I am strong enough to just say "no"?
I think it's silly to waste time on something so trivial, something that can do so much GOOD, and actually lower costs of goods?
Stay with me here...How about a time when you never have to wait at a check out line again? Sound like heaven? That's what RFID can do. You register once, give them a credit/debit card and your personal data is kept secure. RFID tags should be in every product you purchase and when you remove the sheath that is covering your RFID store card you simply exit the store it's all instantly tallied and paid for. I bet this would cut at least 30 minutes off a weekly shopping trip, not to mention the aggravation.
Lighten up people, it's not going to be that bad. Change is hard, but you will get over it.
Keep dreaming. If you discover that a human being is more than just a node on a network diagram to be shuffled and tracked by human network administrators with unlimited and unaccountable powers- who, by the way, will be the architects of your digital wanderings in a world surrendered in the name of petty convenience... Well then- chances are- you'll have your chip turned off. Life will be so convenient, automatic and 'super-awesome' for every other half-wit still plugged in, that no one will care to hear your thoughts contrary to what is prescribed for the digital herd to consume until its too late for any legitimate challenge.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou would be a fool to deny the potential evil of a currency issued by the few that is tracked, controlled and manipulated from which the people are ignorant. We already have such a system, and it has built itself many industrial complexes which must be fed through perpetual wars, exploitation, incarceration, and the stagnation of intellectual development concerning individuals inside the system. You talk about a Social Security Number as if it is a matter of choice, but its not. Its an artificial womb created to transform the American household into an economic factory. And what you are advocating is its grand perfection.
Before you tell me that Im paranoid and fearful of shadows. I will tell you that I have no fear of these misanthropic men devoid of humanity; and I know what I am talking about.
The reason that I have left you a reply in such a tone is that& This is not a joke, and this isnt to be taken lightly.
You don't get to tell ME or ANYONE ELSE to go live in the mountains simply because we dont want to get chipped, so that YOU can to chop off 30 minutes of the ridiculously stupid American consumption/shopping adventure. This country was founded by great men, with greater ideals for humanity. We can turn this nonsense around if people begin to take responsibility for themselves. But you, Miss, are grossly deluded when you praise your strength to say No , which is actually a freedom given to you by those aforementioned great men with a vision& All while wishing it away the next.
We started checking out the RFID options for the small manufacturing company where I work, but in the end decided to go with a simpler <a href="http://www.kzsoftware.com/products/asset-management-software/">Fixed Asset Register system</a>. I hope we see the day when this can be integrated with RFID, but for now, this simple system works well for us.
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