Shinjuku Plans to Tag 10,000 Street Lamps
In Shinjuku, Tokyo, some street lamps were RFID tagged for the purpose of deliverying information to citizens - information about nearby stores, public facilities, etc. Attached to each street lamp was a so-called "information panel" that has an RFID tag embedded in it. The local goverment plans to tag more street lamps next year aiming at tagging all 10,000 street lamps in the region.
Citizens may use a PDA-like device called Ubiquitous Communicator (UC). A UC device reads RFID tags on street lamps and first fetches the information about the user's current location. Then, using GUI, one can find out about nearby stores, entrances to train stations, public restrooms, event information, etc.
In addition, QR codes are printed on "information panels" so that people who don't have UC devices can also access the information by using their camera phones.
It sounds like Shinjuku's local goverment is seriously thinking about "real" uses of the technology. The RFID street lamp infrastructure could be used for deliverying sightseeing information in normal situations. In case of a disaster/emergency the same infrastructure could be used to get pertinent up-to-date information about what's going on and also to guide citizens safely to evacuation sites.
via Nikkei IT Pro