RFID in Japan

Another story from AutoID Expo Tokyo is Teraokaseiko's key cabinet. The cabinet is unlocked by a contactless smart card and each key is RFID-tagged. The cabinet can be configured to allow different users take out different keys. The system tracks who took which keys and when. The cabinet can be connected to security systems or varieties of applications running on PCs.

via fuku, kiku, kuu, chotto shigoto

Toppan was showing off a fancy smart shelf at the AutoID Expo that recently took place in Tokyo. It uses glass plates with embedded antennas. The antenna wires seem to be very thin - someone says thinner than hair. So, if you don't look carefully, you'd think they are just regular glasses.

[It doesn't look like a smart shelf but it really is.]

via fuku, kiku, kuu, chotto shigoto

I just posted a review of this book on RFIDbuzz. [Read on]

[ Simson Garfinkel & Beth Rosenberg (Eds.) RFID : Applications, Security, and Privacy, Addison-Wesley Professional, July 6, 2005, 608 pages, ISBN: 0321290968. ]

This device is designed for jewelry stores, but could be used at other places. When sales agents show items selected by customers, the agents place the items on a tray (or a "marketing board") that reads RFID tags attached to the items.

The store can capture detailed information about customer behavior using this system. The system can record information about items customers selected (but did not purchase), how long each item was on the tray, which items are never put on any trays, etc.

It was developed by FJB and tested at a jewelry store chain earlier this year.

via Fuku Kiku Kuu

At the Auto-ID Expo that recently took place in Tokyo, Epson unveiled a passive RFID tag (13.56MHz; ISO 15693) that has a display. The display component is implemented by using E-ink's EP Sheet. The display works without batteries, by using the electrophoretic effect.

The cost for making this tag is still rather expensive -- someone thinks the cost needs to be lowered to several dollars.

via Fuku, Kiku, Kuu

RFID is used to correct some positioning errors.

The GETA sandals track a user¡Çs location using a footprint-based method. The footprint-based method uses location sensors installed underneath the GETA sandals to continuously measure the displacement vectors formed between the left and right sandals along a trail of advancing footprints.

via pasta and vinegar

thanks to regine

Just a quick note for today. Auto-ID Expo took place in Tokyo from Sept. 14 till 16. Sounds like UHF RFID systems were the stars of the expo. (because Japan is finally permitting the use of a UHF band for RFID.) Panasonic showed off a security system that uses RFID and automatically takes a photo. Fujitsu demoed a Compact Flash UHF readerand a glass gate reader.

via Nikkei RFID Technology, September 20, 2005.

NTT DoCoMo will introduce a new feature called Toruka for thier RFID-chipped wallet phones. DoCoMo's new handsets (FOMA 902i) that will likely be released this coming winter will come with this feature.

Toruka allows wallet phones to receive information from RFID readers.

This feature can be used to get discount coupons, store information, ads, etc. that are sent from reader devices. The received information is then stored in a special "folder" on a mobile phone. Once stored in the folder, the information can be exchanged with others by using a infrared port, external memory device, or email.

Toruka could also be used at arcade game centers to connect arcade games with java-based games on mobile phones.

via ITMedia, Septermber 4, 2005, in Japanese