AlienTechnology
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New RFID readers from Alien distinguishes between tags
For airlines and cargo handling companies, the inability to know precisely where a specific item was located on a belt could (understandably) prove to be quite the limitation. Thankfully, the gurus at Alien Technology are aiming to add more functionality to a few of its readers in order to nix said quandary. The company recently showcased its Intelligent Tag Radar reader firmware in Las Vegas, which essentially provides its ALR-9900, ALR-9800 and ALR-8800 Enterprise-Class reader platform with the ability to understand "information about the velocity and position of tags, in addition to the contents of tag memory." Furthermore, the included ITR-Singulation features allows the reader to "easily discriminate amongst adjacent tagged objects on a conveyor such as items, cases or airline baggage." One less excuse for lost luggage? Where do we sign?[Via CNET]
RFID Limited unveils designer BagChip luggage tags for the elite
It's not like we haven't seen RFID in luggage before, but a highly focused company is looking to make that niche blossom into a thriving industry with its latest BagChip system. RFID Limited is currently marketing its chipped luggage tags to airline industries as a means of reducing human error and decreasing the amount of luggage lost in transit. Additionally, the company is adding a dash of glitz and glamor to its BagChipElite lineup, which will reportedly be designed to match luggage crafted by the likes of "Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton." Of course, there's nothing like a little knockoff material to grace the side of your entirely overpriced luxury bag, but unless the company lands approval to use the branding of these high-end boutiques, we guess you'll end up with second rate pattern mismatches. Nevertheless, there's no hard details regarding when we can expect to see these hovering around in airport kiosks and travel shops, but until RFID Limited sweet talks the airlines into providing support, we doubt this gets very far.[Via BoyGeniusReport]
Publicly useful information to be beamed in Seoul via RFID
South Korea is bringing the heat yet again, and this time we're seeing the "first ever 900MHz RFID" services that can provide product, traffic, and other pertinent information directly to your RFID-equipped cellphone while out and about. If you're not totally freaked out about Big Brother being able to tell precisely what you're looking for on your mobile at all times, Alien Technology and U-IT have developed a mobile RFID pilot aimed squarely at business-to-consumer (B2C) scenarios. The team plans to implant the voyeuristic chips into "products from Symbol Technology" next year, and initial information is being offered about movies, wine, bus routes, and other publicly useful tidbits. The idea is to install RFID chips in all 70,000 taxis cruising around Seoul in order to give customers convenient access to the data they crave, and if all goes well, additional intelligence will be added concerning "medicines, food, and social relationships," while "travel and tourist related info" should be live in July 2007. [Via CNET]
