RFID in Japan

Osaka police started disseminating crime prevention information to commuters' mobile phones using RFID train passes. They are taking advantage of an existing information dissemination service called Goopas.

Goopas is a service that monitors usage of commuters' RFID train passes using RFID-capable ticket gates and sends information about events (like bargain sales) happening at nearby train stations. It was touted as a "context-aware" service and first introduced in the Tokyo metropolitan area a few years ago.

Three train companies in the Kansai region, including Keiyan and Hankyu, started a similar service called "PiTaPa Goopas" later on. Currently there are about 7,000 subscribers of "PiTaPa Goopas."

Osaka's prefectural police are one of the first in the country to exploit the Goopas infrastructure to send commuters information about nearby/recent/relevant crimes such as purse snatch and kidnapping.

via Nikkei Shimbun, Osaka, Jauuary 28, 2005, in Japanese

Posted by konomi at February 10, 2005 01:26 AM | TrackBack