interrelativity.com The Practicalities, Perils and Promise of RFID Joe McCarthy Connector in Chief Interrelativity, Inc 26 April 2005

interrelativity.com 2 Outline What is RFID? What is it good for? What are the risks? What is on/over the horizon? “It may be simple, but it’s not easy” “Identify any object anywhere automatically” “The innocent have nothing to fear” “The future is here, it’s just unevenly distributed.”

interrelativity.com 3 What is RFID? Si Coil Encapsulation RFID Transponder Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity (in the form of a unique serial number) of an object or person wirelessly, using radio waves. [RFID Journal] [Roy Want, Intel] Computer RFID Interrogator RFID Transponder Energy Clock Data

interrelativity.com 4 “It’s simple, but it isn’t easy”

interrelativity.com 5 Complications  Tag size, shape, frequency  Passive, semi-passive, active  Distance, orientation  RF interference (EMI)  Other tags, readers  Other sources of RF  Metal, liquids, …  Standards  ISO, EPC  Patents  Data Format  Writeable tags  Interoperability  Tags, readers, backend systems, countries FrequencyCategoryRange 128 kHz LFInches MHz HFFeet 915 MHz UHFMeters 2.45 GHz Microwave Many meters

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7 EPCglobal Tag Local Host ONS PML Savant Reader Product Remote Host Network EPC TAGS RFID EPC Electronic Product Code ONS Object Name Service PML Physical Markup Language Savant TM Distributed Operating System ALE Application Level Events (devices, data, apps)

interrelativity.com 8 Costs  Tags  Passive: $ $0.40  Active: $10 - $50  Readers  Passive (UHF): $500 - $3,000  Active: readers + “signposts”  Computers, networking, databases, …  Training (mandatory, $10K, 1-2 weeks)  Forrester Research estimate (for a $12B consumer products company):  $128,000 for consulting and integration  $315,000 for the time of the internal project team  $80,000 for tag and reader testing

interrelativity.com 9 RFID Market  Today: $2B, 1.8B tags (400M passive, 1.4B active)  2008: $7B; 2015: $27B, 1 trillion tags  RFID vs. barcodes  5-10B barcodes / year  To reach 10B RFIDs / year, need < $0.01 / tag cost (2020)  Requires alternate technology, print them off Intellitag PM4i (Intermec) Sabre 1555 (Intermec)

interrelativity.com 10 “Identify any object anywhere automatically”

interrelativity.com 11 Supply Chain Item Case Pallet Container Transport Vessel / Vehicle

interrelativity.com 12 Access Control Buildings Ski resorts Countries Containers

interrelativity.com 13 Asset Tracking Livestock Salmon Pets Beer kegs Airline luggage Documents & Folders At school On the bus At the park

interrelativity.com 14 RFID in Healthcare Equipment Medications Patients Blood Surgical sites

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interrelativity.com 16 Transactions ExxonMobil SpeedPass MasterCard PayPass Illinois Tollway I-PassPowerPay

interrelativity.com 17 “The innocent have nothing to fear”

interrelativity.com 18  Internet: aggregate electronic data  RFID + Internet: aggregate physical world data (!)  Tracking & tracing: people, places & things  Item-level vs. supply chain Risks BoycottBenetton.com BoycottGillette.com BoycottTesco.com

interrelativity.com 19 Hacks

interrelativity.com 20 “The future is here, it’s just unevenly distributed

interrelativity.com 21 RFID + Mobile Phones  KDDI  RFID readers  Active & Passive  NTT DoCoMo n901iC FOMA®  Sony FeliCa chip (+ surround sound, card scanner…)

interrelativity.com 22 RFID + Sensors  TempSens  Up to 64 temp. readings  Three modes  Interval (2 sec – 18 hrs)  Out-of-range events  Out-of-range + max/min  Shelf life: up to 18 months  Applications: perishable food, drugs 

interrelativity.com 23 RFID + Robots  Kobe, Japan  Mobility Support Project  Utah State University  Center for Persons with Disabilities

interrelativity.com 24 RFID + People  VeriChip (Applied Digital Solutions)

interrelativity.com 25 RFID + Displays  Proactive Displays: Large displays with sensors that can detect and respond to people nearby  Awareness & interactions among people in shared spaces  Virtual community  physical community Digital profiles (WWW) Physical tags (RFID) Real-world interactions + =

interrelativity.com 26 Ticket2Talk

interrelativity.com 27 Thanks! / Questions?  For more information 