RFID: Traceless Truth

Life usually seems to me to be a series of Rorschach tests. We each interpret events and patterns through the filter of our personal history, and no two people experience the same stimulus in the exact same way.

RFID means "cutting-edge technology" to one and "the end of personal freedom" to another. "Big Brother" to one and "transportation efficiency" to another. "Professional development opportunity" to an RFID software engineer and "layoff" to a no-longer-necessary inventory clerk.

But now and then the ink blot is so obvious that it transcends individual interpretation. Or in the case of Canadian technology firm Creo, it is the absence of the ink blot that is so clear.

Creo has developed Traceless technology, an RFID tagging system which is described on their website as "visually and chemically undetectable, even by forensic trace methods".

On the same website, Creo details potential applications for Traceless as "Traceless taggant can be applied to the surface of articles during manufacturing. Or, more commonly, it can be mixed in paper or ink during the production of packaging, envelopes, and labels."

What?!

Do you want visually and chemically undetectable track-and-trace technology mixed into paper or ink during production? Paper and ink... that's magazines, personal letterhead, business cards, maps, loan applications, medical information forms, social security cards, coupons, prescriptions... U.S. currency. (Ironically, even Rorschach tests.)

Before you write and tell me that I'm overreacting, integrate the fact that Creo has already signed an agreement with label manufacturer Acucote to incorporate Traceless technology into Acucote labels. This is not a boardroom Development Objective, folks. This is a stealth tracking reality.

EPCglobal's Guidelines on EPC for Consumer Products establish the need for Consumer Notice and Consumer Choice. The guidelines are published on the EPCglobal website, and include:

1. Consumer Notice

Consumers will be given clear notice of the presence of EPC on products or their packaging. This notice will be given through the use of an EPC logo or identifier on the products or packaging.

2. Consumer Choice

Consumers will be informed of the choices that are available to discard or remove or in the future disable EPC tags from the products they acquire."

By design, Creo's Traceless taggant clearly circumvents both consumer notice and consumer choice.

I appreciate our general need for increased security and anti-counterfeiting measures. I am as concerned about the purity of my prescription and the safety of this country as any other reasonable person is. I have consistently supported the strengths of RFID technology in appropriate applications, and I will continue to do so.

But I can not interpret this particular picture with anything but alarm.

Plain, "old-fashioned" RFID tags -- visible and detectable -- offer a more sophisticated level of security than we have ever had before. They are unobtrusive, customizable, incorruptible and virtually impossible to counterfeit.

Creo's Traceless powder is not only unnerving and completely unnecessary, it is decidely counterproductive.

The nature of RFID technology inevitably raises public and personal sensitivity. In order for the collective "us" to gain from RFID, we must be partners in pursuit of transparent truth.

No matter how you look at it, transparent tags and transparent truth are mutually exclusive.

Sally Bacchetta - Freelance Writer/Sales Trainer

Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning freelance writer and sales trainer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including RFID, selling skills, motivation, and pharmaceutical sales.

Visit her RFID blog for an exploration of the ethical and social considerations of RFID.

It's a Small RFID World After All

Trolley Scan of Johannesburg, South Africa has announced the delivery of the first commercialized version of "RFID-radar" to a European IT company.

RFID-radar enables a system user to accurately measure the distance travelled by a signal from a transponder to a reader. This provides users with the unique coordinates of a tagged entity, accurate to within 0.5 meters.

Let's say that you buy a ticket to a hockey game. That ticket is RFID-chipped to track your entry and exit through the RFID-rigged gate. Conventional RFID operates with a pass/fail system. When your ticket (and presumably you) pass through the entry gate, you are identified as being inside the rink. Somewhere. When you pass through the exit gate, you're identified as being outside the rink. Somewhere.

RFID-radar turbo-narrows the scope of "somewhere". You're no longer simply inside or outside the rink. You are now trackable to within a few feet of your skin.

If you think that's not a new capability of RFID, think again. Conventional RFID has a fairly limited read range. Until now, you would have had to install RFID readers every 10-25 feet to achieve this degree of scrutiny.

RFID-radar accomplishes this with only one reader, up to 300 feet away.

According to Mike Marsh, Managing Director of Trolley Scan, "RFID-radar will result in the development of an entire new set of applications for computer based equipment. As all measurements are performed from one set of antennas, the equipment can even be mounted on a forklift truck to locate goods in a warehouse relative to the current position of the vehicle."

Although he declined to give any details, Marsh said that Trolley Scan has been asked to install RFID-radar on a helicopter.

I can see it now: Here comes the zamboni! Quick, cover yourself in foil!

Sally Bacchetta - Freelance Writer/Sales Trainer

Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning sales trainer and freelance writer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including selling skills, motivation, pharmaceutical sales, parenting and RFID.

You can contact her at sb14580@yahoo.com and visit her RFID blog for an exploration of the ethical and social considerations of RFID.

RFID Invading Our Lives?

How RFID technology will enter our Lives

With RFID technology a store owner knows everything about the item you take to the checkout including price, colour size etc. The USA now wants to put this technology into passports which would allow people to be mass processed through custom control, without having to form queues. You know what it’s like when you arrive home late and there is a queue of 200 people in front of you at the Passport desk. So a convenience would be faster people handling.

Credit card companies would be able to read your card simply by you waving it near a reading device. So we face a revolution in the use of RFID technology

But security on terrorist activity may be compromised because he could alter his passport to get though without an official actually seeing the falsified document.

And then there is the issue of personal privacy.
You buy an item using RFID and for the rest of the day a scanner could pick up the fact you just bought it and how would this compromise you if you are holding a RFID credit card.

Also consider the supply chain structure.
Now thieves could know what's being held in premises and what’s its value is.

There are some solutions fro specific cases
So for example when you buy something, there should be a tear off section your ticket to remove the device. So you will not be readable after you’ve bought your items.

Credit cards are a different consideration.
What would be the diving line between being close enough for the scanner to pick you up but not close enough for a thief to scan the card in your handbag?

An unacceptable situation would be where thieves could wander around shopping centres and simply get close enough to your wallet to scan you car card. Clearly there is some extra thinking to be done here and it may be some time before this is solved, where convenience is improved but your privacy is secure.

Maybe aluminum wallets are the answer? Time will tell.

RFID and security tags

RFID: AT90RF135602- Smallest RFID Reader

The AT90RF135602 definitely needs a nickname. Even in 8-point type it's too big a title for the world's smallest RFID reader!

AT90RF135602 (see what I mean?) is the latest RFID collaboration of California-based Atmel and UK-based Innovision Research & Technology. This single chip RFID reader is a mere 12mm by 12mm by 2mm. (For those of you who like to travel ultra-light, check out the scaled down 6mm by 8mm by 1.5mm version).

The AT90RF135602 reads and writes to 13.56 MHz RFID tags and smart labels, is optimised for a 2.8V battery operation, and is compliant to ISO/IEC 14443-A parts 2 & 3, making it especially suited for small, battery-powered handheld devices.

I can see how this smaller-than-dime-sized RFID reader may be helpful for NAVI (Navigation Assistance for the Visually Impaired) and other handheld applications. Smaller readers make handheld devices less obtrusive and more comfortable to carry. Good news for those using NAVI or taking self-guided museum or walking tours.

I can see how the AT90RF135602, priced at a relatively low $3 per unit (in quantities of 10,000) may be attractive to RFID managers trying to achieve maximum efficiency at minimum expense. It's inexpensive to operate, field programmable and upgradeable, so it's an investment that will grow with your operation.

I also see that as RFID readers become smaller they become more difficult to see. Easier to forget. Or never become aware of.

RFID tags continue to shrink, and in some cases have disappeared altogether, replaced by smart labels and smart inks. Too many consumers aren't even aware of RFID tags yet, and it's becoming more and more difficult to see them.

Technology naturally trends toward more power in a smaller footprint. That's one of the ways we measure progress.

As we trend toward ever-more progress, let us also trend toward ever-more citizen awareness. Let's make sure that we can look back on the AT90RF135602 as a really cool RFID reader that advanced our culture and improved the quality of our lives. And had a great nickname.

Sally Bacchetta - Freelance Writer is an award-winning freelance writer and sales trainer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including RFID, selling skills, motivation, and pharmaceutical sales.

Visit her RFID blog for an exploration of the ethical and social considerations of RFID.