In a previous post, I talked about 5 wireless tech inventions that don’t exist yet. Some were serious, some fun, and some nonsense, as one reader pointed out in the comments. Here are five more ideas that use one or more forms of wireless technology that some designer/ inventor might just be dreaming up. Feel free to comment: cool or crap?

1. Laptop TV. Sounds like something that should already exist, right? Haven’t seen it. You can get a TV capture card that runs on your desktop, or an external unit for a laptop. But both of these require running coaxial cable. And sure, if your laptop can connect to the Internet, you could download some shows - especially if you live in the US. More recently, you can get streaming TV over your smartphone or smart PDA. That’s ticket. Except for my laptop. That way, when I’m sitting in the local university library, I can watch CNBC live and blog about the market news real-time. One possible solution is a wireless cellular card, although don’t know if this will actually work.
2. Multi-purpose RFID wristband. Let’s face it. Most people hate math,
   and adding up your shopping bill as you go browsing through the aisles of your fave supermarket is something you probably don’t do. Sure, you could carry a calculator, but that’s too much trouble for most people, especially when you’re buying produce by the pound. So what if you could just wave an RFID-enabled wristband at the item’s price and have the price added to your running total? A Niagara Falls, Canada lodge is using an RFID wristband to give guests ease of use of the services, but I’m talking about something far more sophisticated and even stylish. I’m talking about something out of a Buck Rogers movie or Jetsons cartoon, but for which all of the necessary technologies already exist. It would have a flexible electronic paper display, and could be used for numerous other RFID applications including movie passes, bus passes, a watch, an MP3 player, streaming TV, a GPS device and more. I’m not asking for much, am I?
3. In-home navigation system for wheelchair-bound citizens. An array of RFID tags would be used as a sensor grid to perform collision-detection and steer wheelchair back on course. While it’s possible that these could also be used in hospitals, some hospitals have restrictions on radio wave use because of sensitive and expensive medical equipment. The auto-nav wheelchair may not be too far off, though. A German company is actually using such a system using multiple RFID tags embedded in flooring to control vacuum cleaner robots. (In that article, it’s mentioned that their system could be used to transport wheelchairs.) Using RFID is more accurate and less costly than using GPS or infrared technology. Similar systems could potentially be used to create robot-controlled lawnmowers or even auto-piloted cars.  At least on closed courses such as a theme park.
4. Fine-tuned fire alarm sprinkler array. When a fire occurs in a manufacturing plant or any office, the entire sprinkler array usually goes off, causing unecessary water damage to areas that probably were not in danger. A special RFID-enabled grid of heat/ smoke sensors could communicate with each other and control which sprinklers to turn on. In Japan, they are already considering disaster-recovery procedures that use special RFID tags with heat- and vibration-sensing abilities. These RFID tags would be dropped from helicopters over the disaster area.
5. No ticket, no shirt - RFID dry cleaning tags. Thanks to Fujitsu of Japan, your clothes can be washed, dried and ironed while carrying an RFID tag. Now, if this technology was extended to be used at commercial dry cleaners/ laundries, you my not have to worry about losing your laundry ticket. There are a couple of ways that this could be achieved, but the simplest might be that your RFID-enabled cellphone transmits a code (that you make up) to the laundry’s RFID reader. That reader, also a writer, writes your code to a tag, which gets attached to the piece of clothing. The reader/ writer system would of course first check that the code was not already in use. When you return to pick up the clothing, you wave your cell phone or smart PDA in front of the RFID reader, and your clothing is easy to locate.

With the emerging of applications using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wireless technology, there are expected to be many career opportunities over the next decade. Here are three primary areas where jobs will be created:

1. Manufacturing of RFID technologies, such as RF tags, antennas, smartcards, readers.
2. Design of RFID-based applications to a whole host of industries and methodologies, including Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management, touchless/ contactless payment systems, object locators, and more.
3. Design of RFID infrastructure software to support such applications.

While the first two areas potentially mean a lot of jobs, it’s the latter area that could mean a huge shift in IT jobs in the coming years. Especially if current RFID projects being conducted worldwide come to fruition. The IT jobs are likely to fall into numerous categories:

1. Designers and programmers of both out-of-the-box infrastructure software for pre-designed RFID applications, as well as for custom apps.
2. Software project managers who understand RFID apps and the development lifecycle.
3. Database designers and administrators who understand both real-time live database access and RFID applications.
4. Consultants who have a high-level understanding of the technology and applications for several industries.
5. Techical writers who can design application usage manuals for two or three levels of users: non-technical, technical, and programmers.
6. Online writers/ bloggers who can write about RFID-based technologies and applications.

These are just a few of the IT opportunities that will be available in the next decade under the umbrella of RFID applications. Because there will probably be a lack of workers skilled in RFID, it behooves RFID manufacturers to set up labs at universities and colleges, like the way Zebra gifted an RFID lab to Indiana University.

Tags: RFID technology, RFID applications, RFID careers, IT careers

With all the latest wireless technologies (RFID, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi) available these days, it’s interesting to imagine how they might be combined into new applications with consumer electronics to create hybrid uses. Some of the ideas in the list below are serious, some just for fun. It’s not so much the wireless technology nor the consumer electronics in use that is new but the application and hybrid methodology. (If you’re sure that some of these applications exist, drop a comment.)

1. Wi-Fi + RFID skateboard. Parents that are tired of calling their kids in for supper can send a text message to this skateboard: supper’s ready. If your kid doesn’t come home in a few minutes, use the RFID tech in your handheld reader to locate them. (One company is already using RFID to track golf balls.) GPS is not necessary, unless your child is prone to going outside of 10-30 metres (33-100 feet). You could go one step further and set up a Wi-Fi speaker that plays a gentle, non-startling tone if your child drags his/her heels. The tone means that they have minutes before a servo-mechanism locks the wheels of the skateboard. You can then watch their return progress on a computer monitor using RFID or Wi-Fi based triangulation. (Or GPS for longer ranges.)

2. Office doorway monitoring system. An access monitoring system that adds an entry to an RSS/ Atom web feed whenever someone enters an RFID-enabled doorway using their smart passcard. The  security person live-monitoring the feed on location on a computer screen would see a default picture of that person. If the default pic does not match the appearance of the person on a video monitor, entry would not be granted. [There are systems that use more sophisticated means using biometrics, but they are costly.] The web feed would be published on the Internet but be password-protected. It could then be accessed by authorized company employees from remote locations for whatever reason. (Use your imagination.)!

3. An SED Wi-Fi digital camera that auto-posts pictures to an online gallery, along with voice comments. These would be a boon to photobloggers that don’t want to waste time monkeying with a blogging platform and podcasting software. The photog would preview a pic, then press a button to publish live. Of course, the execution of this method either requires that the camera is enabled with a Wi-Fi cellular plan, or near a smart PDA with Wi-Fi, or has Bluetooth and is near a laptop with Internet access. So in the worst case, the photog records audio comments for each snapshot and stores everything on a memory card. Then, when they are able to connect to the Internet, they can auto-publish approved pics and audio. Voila, an audio-photo podcast. (Note: Wi-Fi cameras that can upload to a laptop or desktop computer are either already out at the time of this writing, or will be out soon. However, none of them connect directly to the Internet. Hence, the SED - Service-Enabled Device - designation.)

4. Internet-enabled iPods and iVods. These, like the camera above, are SEDs. Imagine being able to directly download audio or video content from the Internet without having to go through a laptop or desktop computer.

5. RFID-enabled VIP passcards for nightclubs. No more waiting in the cold night, shivering. Just smile and wave the RFID passcard, and you’re in. Get yourself access to special cubbyholes and get to know that special someone a bit better. Automatic frequent partyer points, anyone? Similar smart passcards might be useful for box seats at a sporting event, opera, or play. Add SED capability to a special home-based reader device, and you can purchase tickets easily. Bye bye scalpers.

Got anymore ideas? Devices you’d like to see? Or not see?

Tags: unwired, wireless tech, RFID, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, digital camera, biometrics, SED, ipod, ivod

[Warning: Sensitive material ahead.] For over 20 years now, there has been a loose group of people in the United States who, if they have their way, will influence the government into using RFID (Radio Frequency IDentificaton) technology to track human beings. The little I know of this group comes from one of my college professors in the mid-1980s. According to him, this group’s agenda is to have all newborn babies in the USA given a subcutaneous tracking chip, similar to the ones now commonplace for household pets.

Their rationale is that such RFID chips would help prevent kidnappings as well as help busy parents monitor their children, in case they wander away. Unfortunately, there’s just so many things wrong with this whole approach. Besides turning civil liberties on its head - humans become cattle to be branded and herded - such chips will never stop a truly determined kidnapper. These chips would only be implanted on certain specific parts of the body. Kidnappers might decide to forcefully remove a chip under duress, thus causing physical harm that may not have happened otherwise. Consider also that after-the-fact evidence shows that an extremely high percentage of kidnappings in the United States and Canada are actually conducted by an estranged parent, or accomplices thereof. I’m not sure that RFID will help in this case.

As for the argument that these RFID chips will help monitor children, I have two questions. Firstly, how about actually paying attention to your children? No, that would be too hard, and would take out too much time from your busy schedule. Well, how about not having children if you’re too damn busy to ever watch them yourself? But, besides that, I still don’t understand why these chips have to be inserted into our bodies, instead of as part of, say, clothing or watches or jewelry. For every argument pro-sub-cutaneous, I can show you why it’s flawed and unnecessary. On the other hand, I am all for devices that can be worn on the body - as opposed to implanted - such as Kidspotter, worn like a watch.

Some people might argue that using these chips will create jobs. Sorry, but should these jobs be created at the loss of civil liberties? Like all new technologies, RFID will affect a lot of jobs but it will also create a lot of jobs over the next decade. None of these jobs can be justified if it means products that are implanted on our bodies, without our permission, for the purpose of tracking humans. This is not 1984, nor should we ever let this happen.

Technorati Tags: technopedia, tech pedia, RFID, tracking humans, digital identifcation

Back in early 1982, Ottawa (Canada’s capital) city’s transit system was trying out a new service whereby you could call a phone number and find out when the next bus for your stop (coded with a unique number) would be arriving. The way the system worked was that you called a unique phone number for a specific stop. A person would contact the bus driver, on the route in question, via radio-dispatch, then give you an approximate ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).

PBX (Private Branch eXchange) phone systems were new then, and the transit system must have purchased a block of phone numbers. The service was great for the winter time, especially in Ottawa when the mercury really dropped. The problem was, people had to be hired to answer the phones, and bus drivers were distracted by these calls from dispatchers. Other smaller cities later had a similar service, but used automated systems - no human answering your query - and these automated versions were really just approximations based on the regular schedule. Unfortunately, that meant they were often incorrect and ultimately useless.

Of course, large cities that  that run buses on 15-minute schedules or shorter probably don’t need either version of the ETA service. Nevertheless some cities are introducing a more accurate version the service using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. New York is introducing such a service in Manhattan later in 2006 or early 2007. (Source: Waiting for the Bus.) A suitably-enabled device, such as a cellphone or smartphone/ PDA would then be used to check on the ETA of a particular bus. Much more accurate than the old methods, and no distraction to drivers.

While it’s difficult to understand why large cities with fairly frequent service would bother spending the money to set up a GPS-based ETA service, fare payment with smartcards (aka touchless or contactless payment) makes a bit more sense. Peppercoin and OTI Global in the US have jointly introduced a contactless fare card for transit riders in that works for both bus and subway. These smartcards contain an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) circuit known as an “RFID tag”, or just “tag”. Participants wave their fare card in front of an RFID reader, installed on select buses right beside the cash box, and payment is made from the card.

The U.S. is not the only country to introduce similar touchless transit fare payment projects. This sort of application for RFID technology makes sense, is convenient, and does not invade privacy like the smart passports that are being contemplated in a number of countries including the United States. Unfortunately, there’s still a big problem. These cards are not universal. Far from it. They typically cannot be used with other RFID systems.

The really big problem is that there is no set standard for RFID technologies around the world. Digital money applications are too fragmented, with little or no collaboration between manufacturers. The result is that you need one smartcard for, say, transit, another for shopping, another for movie theatres, and so on. Who wants to be carrying all these cards around?

Makers of these smartcards (and those paying for the applications) are doing no one a favour by not pushing for a worldwide standard. If you really want people to use digital money instead of hard currency, you want to make it easier, not more annoying. Thus a better implementation would be to use a more common device such as a mobile phone or smartphone or PDA, but only after some worldwide standard is defined and accepted. Let’s hope RFID manufacturers realize this soon, instead of expecting us to carry a separate wallet or purse for our smart cards.

Tags: technopedia, tech pedia, transit fares, touchless payment, contactless payment, RFID tags, smartcards, GPS-enabled devices

Now that the public version of the Internet is over 10 years old, most Internet-savvy people are aware of the threats of computer viruses, worms, trojan attacks, and to a lesser degree, phishing. But while it’s understandable that fraud can be commited with these means (mostly using email as a carrier), it comes as a surprise that viruses and worms can also infect RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology. At least, this is the claim of a discovery made by researchers in March of this year. A later article at RFID Update indicates that the “scenarios presented by the researchers were widely considered so contrived as to be unfeasible”.

This issue is that RFID tags, which hold the primary RF circuitry, do not carry any executable code, just raw data. What’s more, RFID tags, at the time of this writing, have so little storage space that it’s quite unlikely that trojan data could be embedded. Thus a virus can only be transmitted if the backend software has been compromised, and if a special tag code is used to trigger a vulnerability. So the only possibility of transmitting anything close to a virus is if the software has been been programmed by someone with an ulterior motive. In fact, in the research paper, the researchers admitted that they used their own software, not a commercial application.

So It behooves RFID hardware manufacturers (who are typically the software vendor as well) to do background checks on hardware and software developers. On the other hand, with the growth of RFID-based smartcards and touchless/ contactless payment systems, there might eventually be enough motivation for criminals to devise advanced methods of RFID-based fraud. In this case, hopefully time won’t tell.

Additional links =>

• Study Says Chips in ID Tags Are Vulnerable to Viruses (NY Times, free registration required)
• How to Write an RFID Virus
• How to Write an RFID Worm
• Is your pet infected with a computer virus? (PDF)

Technorati Tags: technopedia, tech pedia, RFID viruses, RFID worms