The Responsive Environment
WHEN RFID NETWORKS are finally in place everywhere and we are surrounded by tags and readers feeding responsive computer systems, we will have reached the point at which Weiser believed computing could be blended invisibly into everyday tasks. At this level of integration, RFID technology will support even our simplest activities. For example, RFID-enhanced computer products could “talk” to one another and independently configure their connections. My Intel colleague Trevor Pering has been exploring a way to automatically configure wireless network links between mobile computers and peripherals. If you purchased a printer with a wireless networking capability (such as Bluetooth) and an RFID tag, you might simply unpack the device and bring it near your computer: the computer would read the printer’s RFID tag and connect to the printer automatically, eliminating messy configuration dialogues.
The scope of possible RFID applications is vast and could even include assisting people with Alzheimer’s disease. Eric Dishman, also at Intel, is working on a system aimed at helping those with memory impairment maintain their independence. In one prototype system, all the objects needed for making a cup of tea are tagged. If the patient picks up at least two objects—say, a sugar jar and a tea bag— the system infers, by knowing the ID and location of the objects in relation to one another, that the patient needs help. The system also tracks the sequence in which the objects are used in order to infer whether the person is “stuck” and then delivers recorded voice assistance.
In a totally different realm, PSA Corporation, Hutchinson-Whampoa and P&O Ports—the three largest seaport operators in the world—have taken what could be the early steps toward developing an RFID-based antiterrorism security system that would outfit cargo containers with hidden sensor tags designed to detect radiation or chemical or biological agents in smuggled weapons. Right now the system can detect only whether a container has been opened by an unauthorized person during transit. It could be expanded so that at each stage of a container’s journey, from its initial site to ground transportation, dockside storage and transport ships, readers would interrogate the tag to determine if it had detected dangerous materials. The tag’s sensor would permanently register even very brief exposures to these substances and flag the incident at the next reading station.
Eventually PDAs (personal digital assistants) could be designed to operate as RFID tag readers so that we could receive proactive assistance from tags placed virtually everywhere in our environment. From a tagged sign on a train station, your PDA could retrieve a Web address linking you to an Internet-based timetable. Similarly, realtors could tag the signs on homes for sale: driving past, you could simply beam your PDA at the realtor’s sign and then download photographs and information about the property from the Internet.
Important technical challenges remain, and so it will be years, perhaps decades, before we can reap the benefits of such fully realized RFID applications. As RFID reader-and-tag networks begin appearing in our environment, however, we will increasingly see how this technology can extend the ability of computers—in combination with the Internet—to sense and respond to the physical world.
In his 1991 article in this magazine, Weiser wrote: “There is more information available at our fingertips during a walk in the woods than in any computer system, yet people find a walk among trees relaxing and computers frustrating. Machines that fit the human environment, instead of forcing humans to enter theirs, will make using a computer as refreshing as taking a walk in the woods.” Wielded sensibly, RFID has the power to make computing an unobtrusive, intuitive part of everyday life—indeed, as refreshing as a walk through nature.
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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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