Word: rfid
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Texas Instruments these days, RFID is the workhorse behind applications like access control, baggage handling, sports ticketing and product authentication. In Plano, Texas, vice president David Slinger traces the genesis of the revolution to 1993, when companies like TI collaborated with carmakers to deter theft. TI, working with the Ford Motor Co., came up with a key that literally talks to a car. Use the wrong key, and the car is immobilized. "RFID transponders are now in 7 out of 10 cars," says Slinger, and car theft is down--as much as 75% for Ford's often-targeted Mustang...
Today TI is turning its efforts to consumer applications like wireless transactions, helping American Express launch ExpressPay, an alternative to cash for purchases where speed and convenience are important, such as at fast-food restaurants, gas stations and dry cleaners. In July Amex set up a real-world RFID test in Phoenix, Ariz., allowing card users and employees to charge at 200 merchants with an RFID-ready fob attached to a key chain. Amex vice president David Bonalle says RFID pilots have cut transaction time 30% to 50% and average sales have gone...
Bonalle says the "light came on" for him nearly three years ago, thanks to his wife, who uses ExxonMobil's RFID-based Speedpass fob to pay for gasoline at the pump. At least 6 million people have used Speedpass since its 1997 introduction. But the technology spread far beyond the pump this year after all three major card companies--Amex, Visa and MasterCard--endorsed interoperability standards for RFID payments. Besides the Amex pilot, there have been trials by MasterCard (for its PayPass card in Orlando, Fla.) and Visa (which plans to use RFID-ready phones in Asia). Someday you will...
...Europeans have made the biggest investments. In England retailer Marks & Spencer has spent the past two years rolling out RFID tracking of its gourmet take-home foods, supplied to 200-plus stores by 300 providers. The RFID tags are embedded in some 3.5 million food trays and dollies, allowing the company to track the trays and reducing employee hands-on time 80%. While setup costs for a large company can run from $100 million to $200 million, the efficiencies can amount to 1% of revenues (that's theoretically around $100 million at M&S), says TI's Slinger, which supplied...
Italians have been early adopters too. In 1998 appliance maker Merloni Elettrodomestici started turning out Ariston appliances--washing machines, dishwashers and refrigerators--with RFID readers that will eventually allow them to communicate with products bearing smart tags. Washers, for instance, will be programmed to read clothing labels for cleaning instructions. But that vision had a setback last spring, when Benetton nixed RFID tagging for its Sisley line because privacy groups threatened a boycott. Benetton is still determined to use RFID for inventory, hoping to replicate a system in place at Prada's New York Epicenter store. Sales personnel there...