Japan to get RFID-equipped manhole covers

Three Japanese companies are teaming up in the first project we've ever heard of to equip manhole covers with RFID tags for monitoring critical underground infrastructure such as gas and sewage pipes. Although all the details are not immediately clear, it seems that wireless carrier KDDI along with Pasco and bitcom will be deploying the chips as part of a so-called "Intelligent Manhole System," wherein rescue workers with RFID readers could easily check on the status of critical subterranean components in the event of a disaster. Presumably this would allow them to reach any victims more safely and quickly, as well as helping to speed up the necessary repair projects. Even better, it could finally rid the sewers of adventurous kids seeking out the crime-fighting, pizza-scarfing lifestyle that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been irresponsibly glamorizing for over 20 years now.

[UFG @ Mar 29th 2006 1:05PM]

I've got an intelligent manhole system.

[slyecho @ Mar 29th 2006 1:27PM]

I'm willing to bet that when a real disaster happens (like Godzilla), nobody will even remember that these chips were installed in their sewers or where the hell the readers are.

[Cliff @ Mar 29th 2006 1:36PM]

I guess they don't have the problem of people stealing the covers to make free scrap metal... This would make the problem even more expensive.

[Gil @ Mar 29th 2006 1:36PM]

I'm surprised that street signs, lamp posts, road side callboxes also don't have this.

[Bill @ Mar 29th 2006 1:37PM]

That's funny. I just read an article about (somewhat) TMNT. http://tinyurl.com/z2l92

[Jake @ Mar 29th 2006 1:47PM]

Hmmmm. could these RFID tags someday be used to monitor traffic and track cars with RFIDs passing over these very same manholes? scary?

[Noah @ Mar 29th 2006 2:11PM]

Actually, interestingly enough to note, in the last major earthquake in Japan (Kobe), the buildings stood up amazingly well because they have very good and very tough earthquake building codes there. The unfortunate problem was that all the utilities broke (gas, electric, water) so when they were turned on too early, needless to say, you had gas exposed to open electrical current, with no water to estingush it with. These covers could prevent this type of "survived one disaster, created another" scenario, as far as I understand.

[Loban @ Mar 29th 2006 2:30PM]

only in japan

[matt @ Mar 29th 2006 3:34PM]

I think it has only been about 19 years with TMNT, but who's counting?

[What's the "ID" in RFID? @ Mar 29th 2006 4:10PM]

The ID in RFID stands for "Identification". An RFID system uses short range wireless technology as a key or identificaiton. If a system communicates something else, like status of systems, it's not RFID.

Additionally, RFID systems are powered by the radio field that reads them, and I would bet this system uses another source of power entirely, as you'd probably like it to do monitoring for more than the moment that you are there reading it.

[Andrew @ Mar 29th 2006 4:24PM]

If you actually read the linked article, it appears that the RFID tags will just be for identification - they'll tell workers what kind of utilities are accessible from that particular manhole cover, along with being linked to a geographical information system (at least, that's what I'm guessing GIS stands for). There are no sensors involved, so these RFID tags won't let you check the status of anything except maybe where you are.

[seb salter @ Mar 31st 2006 3:15AM]

I make racist comments: [e-mail]

[wangtao @ Apr 17th 2006 8:56PM]

Thank you !

[wangtao @ Apr 17th 2006 9:22PM]

Thank you !