RFID in Japan

First time I heard about using RFID at a junior high school (rather than elementary or cram schools).

In December, Furuedai Junior High School in the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture introduced an RFID system. 160 of the 298 students at the school are wearing namebadges. Asahi.com article says it's not mandatory to wear RFID name badges. (Photo available on Asahi.com Osaka Edition)

The objective of this system is to make the school safe. If a person who doesn't have a legitimate RFID tag comes in through a school gate, the system notifies teachers and a surveillance camera starts recording the areas. It would be difficult to make this scheme work without making RFID name badges mandatory.

A student commented "I don't really like it 'cause I feel like I'm under surveillance but my parents will have peace of mind." And.. her mother hopes this system can stop bad guys coming into school. I think the student is quite keen. Perhaps this system is more about peace of mind than safety.

via slashdot.jp, Feb 13 (in japanese)

Posted by konomi at February 16, 2006 02:05 AM | TrackBack