RFID in Japan

small (2cm x 3cm) sticker RFID tags; works as good as not-so-small smart tags.
To be released by Lintec Corp. on Sept. 1.

via Nikkei Net Interactive

thank you, thank you

This week you may find a smaller number of postings on RFID in Japan. That said, I'll try to find time for posting stories as much as I can.

Two companies, Hitachi, Ltd. and Soran, will soon release systems for tracking pigs using RFID tags. The system records feeding, medication, other information relevant to pigs' upbringing as well as their genetic information. Availability of detailed information about pigs, captured through the use of RFID, could help implement better traceability infrastructure for pork meat.

The companies will likely to compete with each other since they are both targeting their systems for local goverments and large cattle farming businesses who want to raise "brand pigs." So, some must believe Japanese consumers will likly pay more money for pork meat from RFID'd pigs.

Soran tested their system with 200 pigs at a university in Tokyo. I wonder which university it could be.

via Nikkei Shimbun, August 11, in Japanese

(apology for typos - am a bit exhausted)

550K yen (about US$4500) for all these - sounds like the prices for this kind of things are dropping.

The new kit includes a label printer, a handy terminal for reading information on chips, management software and 500 labels. Users first use the label printer to print product names on labels embedded with chips and at the same time write product information on the chips. These labels are then attached to boxes holding the products, which can then be stored in a warehouse.

via nikkei

thanks to r

Japan Self-Defence Forces will test RFID tags for making their operations more efficient. In particular, they will tag water, food, and medical supplies with RFID chips and make management of inventory and shipping more efficient.

These tasks to which they plan to apply RFID Technology is part of international peacekeeping opeartions they are involved in.

The project is lead by the ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. They will collaborate with Japan Defence Agency and are aiming at real deployment in the future.

via Nikkei Shimbun, August 16, 2005, in Japanese

looks like I forgot to blog this one last week. IIJ is one of the first Internet providers in the country and is very competent in wide range of Internet technologies.

Hewlett-Packard is teaming up with Internet Initiative Japan and IIJ Technology to develop and market EPC RFID services in Japan.

--
Jonathan Collins(2005) HP to Offer RFID Services in Japan. RFID Journal, August 18, 2005. <http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1812/1/1/> (August 22, 2005)

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology started developing an RFID-based traceability system for tuna fish. One of the goals of building the system is to prevent someone to print false information on the packages of tuna. (There was such an incident in the past. )

The system's scenario is: fishermen use a dedicated device to write information such as fish name, weight, fish boat's name, etc. in an RFID tag. Then they inject the tag in a tuna fish and freeze it.

There will be a number printed on a package of tuna. Consumers can access a website and type in the number using a mobile phone or a PC. One can then check the history of tuna right away.

via Yomiuri Online, August 18, in Japanese

Another application of the Fujitsu's technology (the one used for notifying about lost children) is smart light bulbs.

It doesn't even need a QR code. Some signal is engraved in a contact part of a light bulb. When a light bulb dies, it can then send out the signal via a power line and then to the Internet so one can get a SMS message saying "Buy a new light bulb."

this technology is expected to reduce the cost for realizing a kind of "internet of things" environments

via Asahi.com, August 16, 2005