RFID in Japan

DoCoMo Sentsu, a subsidiary company of NTT DoCoMo and Marine Fishery Systems Association will develop a 2D-barcode system for tracking fish meat. A pilot test will take place this September in the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Fishermen (at sea) upload information including their names, location of catch, etc. via a satellite communication link. When fish are unloaded from fishing boats at ports, they are put in a box and a 2D barcode (QR code), which encodes the uploaded information, is pasted on the box.

After the fish are cooked in a restauran, dishes are served to customers together with the 2D barcode. Customers can view the encoded information using their mobile phones before, during, or after enjoying the dishes.

via Yomiuri Shimbun, August 15, 2004. (in Japanese)

Posted by konomi at August 18, 2004 12:43 AM | TrackBack