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RFID News
Here's some of the latest RFID news:
Can RFID help secure America's ports? Some defense contractors think so.
"The value proposition is still very much inventory management, supply chain efficiency and adaptability," Lani Fritts, chief operating officer of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Savi Technology says. "But active RFID tags also happen to be tags that can supply some kind of security as well."
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like everybody is getting in on the RFID action. ATT is even joining the club.
AT&T is readying new services for companies that want help setting up radio frequency identification (RFID) networks, the company said on Tuesday. As part of the service, AT&T will securely store RFID data at its data centers and assist in network integration, the company said in a recent release.
The services will support numerous RFID applications, including contactless payment, asset tracking, asset management and security - -Article here.
RFID prices have fallen recently, but have they fallen enough to enable item-level tracking? At 12.9 cents a piece, it's getting awful close.
Close but no bannana -- the price has much less: only a few pennies each. The recent drop in prices is more likely due to the introduction of Gen 2 devices, which have better range and resist interference. Wait until the Gen 2 prices drop, analysts say.
RFID is continuing to take off, so further price drops must be around the corner. It's even being used to identify the dead in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
And talk about the growth! Industry analysts are preciting an 8.8 Billion market in RFID by 2010. What's the biggest obstacle on the horizon? Try China.
Will China play ball or go its own way and buck international efforts to establish radio-frequency-identification [RFID] standards? The answer to that question will have a profound impact on the future of global trade for the likes of Wal-Mart (WMT), Procter & Gamble (PG), and thousands of other U.S. and European companies. Multiple RFID standards could mean substantially more information-technology investment for large companies and insurmountable trade barriers for smaller ones, according to a recent Business Week article.
Since 1990, China's share of world trade has more than tripled. Over 70% of the more than $200 billion in goods imported into the U.S. from the Pacific Rim come from China. More than 65% of nonfood products sold by Wal-Mart are manufactured in China, and Wal-Mart is said to be planning to increase purchases from China in future years.
At the heart of the problem? US companies that hold patents on applications that use RFID. China wants it all free, or it's not going to play ball.
Stay tuned.
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