October 18, 2004

Radio Frequency Identification - it works

In this space, it is VERY easy (but I restrain myself) to get caught up in the hype of technology and push tech news and articles of every shape and form.

What really excites me, however, and brings my fingers typing is writing about how technology offers a REAL solution to a business problem. Not a pie in the sky theoretical happening.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) offers real solutions. Read the case study below and see how it can apply to your own business.

Cnet writes Hundreds of city and college libraries are placing special microchips, known as RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, on books in an effort to make libraries more efficient. The tags are central to a new breed of digital tracking system that can speed checkouts, keep collections in better order, and even alleviate repetitive strain injuries among librarians.

For instance, the University of Nevada library systems found more than 500 lost items in the process of tagging 600,000 items in its collection, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. It would have cost the library $40,000 to replace those items, according to the report.

RFID makes the painstaking task of sniffing out misplaced books much easier, according to proponents. Library staff need only peruse the facilities with a handheld RFID reader, which triggers each book within a few feet to identify itself via a high-frequency signal. A book in the wrong spot sends a special alert to the reader, prompting staff to rescue it. (full story)

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