Unwired - News About GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth - May-29-2006

Posted by raj on 05/29/06 in e-money, Bluetooth, RFID+NFC

Here are some summaries related to wireless technologies (GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth) for May 30, 2006:

Prone to losing your golf ball? One company has come up with an RFID-enabled ball that can be tracked within 10-30 metres with a handheld receiver unit. [via Discovery Channel] No word on whether two people using the same technology would interfere with each other’s readers.
A report on Discovery Channel claims the first case of RFID chips implanted in humans in the U.S. However, reports are that a U.S. police chief already did this in 2005. A Canadian has two RFID chips, one in each hand. The Discovery Channel report indicates that Mexican authorities have been implanted since 2004.
A European company has devised a way to deter car thieves using Bluetooth. Many mobile PDAs and other smartphones already have Bluetooh. The car can start, but the Bluetooth device must be in the car or it will be reported stolen. [via Telematics Journal]
High-denomination Euro banknotes will have RFID tags in them. [Axis of Logic, found via RFID Lowdown.] The reason for only using tags in larger denominations is because of the cost of tags. However, recent news in the RFID industry indicates newer chips at sub-10 cents (US) and possibilities for 5 cent chips. The new US currency in denominations of $10, $20 and $50 do not use RFID.
Research and Markets has a document (100 pgs, Euros 74.00) that discusses 22 RFID case studies from around the world. According to the intro on the web page, RFID technology is approximately 60 years old. It has only grown in usage in the last few years due to the micro-circuitry now available. [found via TMC Net]