RFID in Japan

no update today. I got too much stuff on my desk tonight. please bear with me, I'll post some tomorrow. thanks.

METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) is supporting the following eight RFID pilot projects for FY 2005. I just realized that lots of news on Japanese RFID trials are related to these projects.

METI was supporting seven projects in 2004 (see the entry "METI Selects 7 Industries"). So, it's slightly different in 2005.

(1)Total traceability pilot project using RFID tags in electronics and electrics industries

(2)RFID pilot project in pharmaceutical industry

(3)Pilot project to consider the uses of RFID tags in re-supply tasks in international peace keeping activities by Japan Self-Defense Forces

(4)Pilot project using RFID tags and autonomous service robots in shopping malls

(5)Collaborative pilot project in hybrid stores aiming at real deployment of RFID tags in media contents (publishing, music and movie) industries

(6)RFID pilot project to realize future store services

(7)ASEAN returnable container pilot project using RFID tags

(8)RFID pilot project in Japan-China-Korea supply chains

NICT (National Institute of Information and Communication Technology) developed a flexible RFID tag (2.45GHz) that is mostly made of a fabric material.

Antennae commonly used for RFID tags are easily affected by metals and human bodies. Micro strip antennae, which consist of a rather thick board put in-between metal strips, can alleviate this problem but could not easily be attached on curved surfaces or human body. NICT developed a flexible micro strip antenna using a fabric material and integrated an RFID chip with this antenna. This fabric material is 10 times cheaper than the material used for regular micro strip antennae.

via NICT Press release and Nikkeip.jp

K-cab is a SMS-based service for calling taxicabs, which is available in Iwate prefecture. The service can also be used with QR codes that encode location information. Vending machines that bear such location-encoded QR codes are being installed in varous places in the prefecture so that people can easily call a cab just by taking a picture of a QR code with their camera phones and connecting to the K-cabs' taxicab dispatch website.

This may sound attractive to whoever has the experience of being unable to tell where one is when calling a taxicab. Would also be highly useful for individuals with a speech handicap.

via QR Code Blog

FromWest will soon release their product called FluxPass that separates two overlapping RFID cards. For example, if you have an RFID train pass and an RFID credit card in your wallet, neither of them may not be read because they affect with each other's electromagnetic fields. But if you put a FluxPass in between and make a sandwich, both of the cards will work. In fact, if your wallet is read from one side, it functions as a train pass. if it is read from the other side, it functions as a credit card. No need to pull out an RFID card from your wallet anymore (if you only have two RFID cards in your wallet, I guess)

via Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, February 17, 2006, (in Japanese)

First time I heard about this project was about a year ago (see the entry "Vending Machines As Police Robots") and in May, a company called NAJ was installing vending machines with integrated surveillance cameras in Osaka (see the entry "Vending Machines with Surveillance Cameras to be tested").

On February 20, a major pilot test of these "vending machine robots" started at Chuou Elementary School in Osaka. It will last till March 20. The vending machines read RFID tags attached to kids' school bags, takes pictures, and send the pictures to the kids' parents. Also, if one presses a portable emergency button near a "vending machine robot," it makes a loud alarm sound and a red light flashes. Then, volunteers come and rescue her.

via Touou Nippou, Nishio Lab.

KRD Corporation developed a system for managing surgical knives and other medical equipment using RFID tags. Tools for medical operation are RFID-tagged and and the system captures the histories (e.g., records of sharpening, disinfection, etc.) of the tools. Small (diameter: 6.5mm, thickness: 2mm; 13.56MHz) RFID tags are either embedded in or attached to surgical knives, clamps, scissors, etc.

Information about past surgical operations are associated with the RFID tags. When a doctor puts a box of tens of surgical tools on an RFID reader, the computer may display warnings such as "This tool must be disposed" or "That tool is not sharpened"

via Nikkei Shimbun, February 22 (in Japanese)

Rintatsu, a stainless steel manufacturer, uses NEC's RFID-based system for managing stainless coils. The system uses UHF (2.45 GHz) RFID readers and tags designed for metal objects.

Since metals affect the communication between RFID readers and tags, there are few RFID projects for metal products. Rintatsu improved the work efficiency by 50%. The system allowed non-expert workers to perform shipping and inventory tasks.

via Lnews, February 23, 2006 (in Japanese)

related:
RFID labels for metal surfaces