It's like a bar-code only smarter - and it's technology helping the Department of Defense, down to retail stores like Target. It's called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID - and it's fast becoming one of the quickest ways to securely track and trace information.
Comprised of a tiny computer chip and antenna, RFID tags can be embedded in clothing items, warehouse boxes - they were even implanted in the 3.2 million tickets at this year's World Cup, allowing them to be tracked whenever a fan arrived at the various stadiums.
Swipe the tag under a scanner and the technology transmits data encoded in the computer chip. The Department of Defense recently mandated all shipments from its vendors use RFID - while retail giants like WalMart and Target are using the technology to track shipments and keep tabs on inventories.
Some 1.8 million RFID tags were sold in 2005 and industry experts estimate the total market for RFID technology to top $7 billion by 2008 and more than double to $16 billion by 2016. That is one reason why Fortune 500 company Avery Dennison opened the world's first commercial, high speed, RFID tag assembly plant in South Carolina.
-------------------------------
Produced for Avery DennisonIt's like a bar-code only smarter - and it's technology helping the Department of Defense, down to retail stores like Target. It's called Ra...all »It's like a bar-code only smarter - and it's technology helping the Department of Defense, down to retail stores like Target. It's called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID - and it's fast becoming one of the quickest ways to securely track and trace information.
Comprised of a tiny computer chip and antenna, RFID tags can be embedded in clothing items, warehouse boxes - they were even implanted in the 3.2 million tickets at this year's World Cup, allowing them to be tracked whenever a fan arrived at the various stadiums.
Swipe the tag under a scanner and the technology transmits data encoded in the computer chip. The Department of Defense recently mandated all shipments from its vendors use RFID - while retail giants like WalMart and Target are using the technology to track shipments and keep tabs on inventories.
Some 1.8 million RFID tags were sold in 2005 and industry experts estimate the total market for RFID technology to top $7 billion by 2008 and more than double to $16 billion by 2016. That is one reason why Fortune 500 company Avery Dennison opened the world's first commercial, high speed, RFID tag assembly plant in South Carolina.
-------------------------------
Produced for Avery Dennison«
Download is starting. Save file to your computer. If the download does not start automatically, right-click this link and choose "Save As". How to get videos onto the iPod or PSP.
