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Do you want chips with that?
- 21 Aug 07, 04:10 PM
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are set to replace barcodes in supermarkets. They are much smarter, being able to store information and send out a radio signal saying "here I am" and "this is who I am" to nearby computers who need to know for the purposes of stock control, for instance.
Interestingly this same RFID technology is starting to be used to make a difference in the lives of disabled people, creating networked digital environments that sit alongside our physical environments. Everything can talk to everything else with RFID and has the potential to do far more than stock control, like, for instance, telling a blind person where he or she left the TV remote control or keys via an application on their talking mobile phone (they've all got them, trust me). Wow, this sounds brilliant I hear you say! But there is also a darker side. Read on ...
is trialling a handheld scanner for visually impaired people called TellMate. It comes with reusable RFID labels that can be applied to household objects, from tins of food to clothes. The user can record an audio note about an object, such as a use-by date or washing instructions that will be played back to them when scanned. Similar to the existing but it remains to be seen how much smarter the device is.
Elsewhere, scientists at and Innovision R&T have developed a system so that information on supermarket shelves, like price, or nutritional values of food items, can be sent directly to the user's mobile phone to make grocery shopping an easier experience for visually impaired people. Having a scanner that can quickly and simply show what is a tin of baked beans and what is pineapple chunks has to beat making Braille labels. And as Braille labels are small and can't hold vast amounts of information, RFID tags can bridge the gap with all sorts of nutritional stuff that everyone wants to know about these days. At last, visually impaired people can avoid the obesity trap!
Many organisations are exploring the potential of RFID chips that could make a difference to a variety of disability groups.
has conducted research into "smart doors". An RFID tag in a shoe could communicate with a reader in the door, either opening or remaining locked depending on the signal. This could be great for everyone, not least those with physical disabilities that can make using keys difficult.
RFID tags are not without their controversy, however.
Whilst the (FDA) approved implanting medical information on RFID chips into patients more than three years ago, when it came to VeriChip, a manufacturer of RFID chips, actually doing so with people with Alzheimer's, it provoked an outcry.
The nature of Alzheimer鈥檚, a cognitive mental disability, means that in a medical emergency, the patient may not be able to pass on vital information. Conversely, opponents argued that a patient with Alzheimer鈥檚 would be in no position to provide fully informed consent to the procedure. .
No less controversial, and more widely reported in the mainstream press, is the question of privacy. Indeed, RFID chips have been popularly dubbed as, "spychips." Whilst RFID tags can be used to monitor shoe stock in a shop, they could also reveal more about your lifestyle than you might wish if they continue to track your movements after leaving the store.
People are worried that consumer data collectors could drive down a street with RFID receivers in their black vans and hoover up vast amounts of data being screamed out by the yoghurts, clothes and toothpaste in your house. This could, in theory, allow them to profile you as a person or your neighbourhood and help them to target you even more effectively with adverts and promotional materials.
These concerns need to be addressed as RFID chips could ultimately be embedded in items ranging from to . The question is, would companies be as interested in exploring this technology without the extra information they can gather about their customers?
With credit cards, loyalty cards, and who knows what else, there are already ways to build up a detailed profile about someone's lifestyle. I don't have an oyster card to use London Transport because I don't want records of my journeys held for three months, for instance.
But would you consider it a fair trade-off to sacrifice a bit of privacy for the extra independence that scanning food in a supermarket would provide? And remotely finding your remote control? It's almost like being able to say to the room: "where are you Mr TV Zapper" and have it jump up and say "I'm here Daddy". Wow.
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