RFID in Japan

Toppan Printing has developed a FeliCa sticker (called SMARTICS-sFe) that can be pasted on any appropriate physical objects including (non-wallet-phone) phones.

FeliCa is the RFID technology that are widely used in Japan, in particular, for payment and transportation applications. For example, SUICA, Wallet phones, and Edy use the FeliCa technology.

SMARTICS-sFe will likely be used at some schools, cram schools and companies -- they will paste SMARTICS-sFe on their existing IP phones.

via japan.internet.com

The RFID Weblog reports:

RFID Tribe has come out with a new survey on the RFID workforce. It shows North America leading the world in RFID-related employment -- today. But in ten years the projections have Asia clearly in the lead.

Shanghai-based Bailian Group is China's largest retailer by volume, which could be considered as "Wal-Mart of China." (see a related article on China Daily).

Here's some information about grocery retailing in China (IGD.com).

VeriSign Inc has announced that China's largest retailer, Bailian Group Ltd, has developed plans to use VeriSign's RFID technology for the second phase of its RFID pilot program.

via Computer Business Review < RFID Gazette

Wireless Watch Japan has a nice 5-minute video clip on DCMX (see the entry: DoCoMo to offer credit card service called DCMX), NTT DoCoMo's "phone as credit card" service.

DCMX: Is it a phone that can buy stuff or a credit card that can make calls? NTT DoCoMo is hoping that millions of spend-free consumers won't know or care about the distinction and will simply use the new 'DCMX' credit-card phone for, well, pretty much everything.

Mr. Natsuo talks on DCMX at a press conference -- read on and view the video from here.

Thanks, Lars!

ITMedia has done a survey about user experiences of RFID-chipped wallet phones. A recent ITmedia article informally reports on one of the findings.

Somewhat surprising is that many wallet phone users seem to be feeling shy about recharging money values (at convenience stores.) Someone said "I feel sorry if I only recharge." Another said "I can never ask [for recharge] if other customers are waiting behind me." People tend to buy something inexpensive when they recharge, even when they don't really want to buy anything.

The number of stores that allows for payment by wallet phones is rapidly increasing. One may use more than $10 fairly quickly. But, if one needs to recharge frequently and the process is such a pain, the frustration could outweigh the benefit of using wallet phones.

["Edy Charger" could this be a remedy for this problem?]

DNP (Dai Nippon Printing) is starting mass production of RFID credit cards. These cards can be used with MasterCard's PayPass service. DNP will ship 50,000 RFID credit cards to Orient Corporation, a credit card company that provides PayPass service in Japan, by the end of April.

DNP intends to sell the cards to other MasterCard related companies, aiming at sellng 1 million RFID credit cards in 2006 and three million in 2007. Also, the company plans to make cards that have both contact and contact-less interface.

Other RFID-based credit card services in Japan include QuickPay (by JCB), Smart Plus (by UFJ NICOS), and iD (NTT DoCoMo).

via Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, April 24, 2006 (in Japanese)

At Kasumigaseki Station in Tokyo,

For an hour or two each day over the course of two to three weeks, one of the station's ticket gates will be closed to the general public. A newly-developed biometric camera, capable not only of photographing faces, but of analyzing facial data and in essence converting each person's face into a unique bar code, will be at work, snapping shots of participants in the experiment as they pass back and forth through the gate. Its point is to assess how well the camera works.

via The Japan Times < SmartMobs

NCR Japan started shipping UHF Gen 2 tags on April 26. Japanese Radio Law was revised in January, making it easier to use UHF RFID tags in Japan. Yodobashi Camere, a big consumer electronics retailer, plans to introduce Gen 2 based RFID systems next month. So, NCR Japan intends to sell their Gen 2 tags to the suppliers of Yodobshi Camera, etc.

via nikkei rfid technology, april 26