10 Uses of RFID Tags | Hacker News Reader

10 Uses of RFID Tags

wired.com

5 pointsaneesh10 comments

They've missed my favourite: Tagging groceries for automated billing.

I'm going to love walking out of a store without needing to wait in line for a cashier first.

Yes, but I would hate to be the guy forced to tag all the oranges. or steaks. or heads of lettuce.

Obviously, I'm being a little facetious. I love the idea of walking in and out on credit (although the privacy implications bother me), but I still havent figured out a way that they can do fresh produce without completely revamping how it is sold. I suppose you could go to an honor system where people bag and then print label/rfit sticker.

The chips could be inserted automatically by machine when the product is being assembled at the manufacturers expense. I could see Home Depot or a similar big box company, who have quite a bit of influence over manufacturers, making that a requirement.

The cost might be a trade-off if customer satisfaction is boosted.

Although that might be impractical for grocery stores or smaller items (small fruit, nails, etc).

Maybe the cost savings of tagging the more expensive items can make paying for the cheaper items part of an honor system. I.e. pay $X monthly to have unlimited access to item Y.

Or, untagged items are locked. They are unlocked with a credit card, and the weight difference is billed to the card.

Those are just a couple off the top of my head. I suspect there are many creative ways to deal with untagged items.

How exactly do you imagine oranges are assembled again?

No one is inserting shit into my oranges, hopefully. Honor system only I think for produce. Or buying bags of the shit, which most people arent used to.

The problem with ideas like RFID is that without a global method of tracking people a global government is unworkable. However, once we can electronically track everyone, then global government becomes much more feasible.

That being said, I doubt RFID actually can allow global tracking. The infrastructure cost and maintenance to make that happen is way too high, and not worthwhile.

And when you want to go against those 10 uses and any other possible uses...

https://events.ccc.de/congress/2005/static/r/f/i/RFID-Zapper...

Why does it not surprise me that Britain wants to tag prisoners?

One thing that surprised me was that so many of these uses are tagging living beings, rather than inanimate objects.

Being chipped so the club can automatically charge your drinks? God no. Being chipped so the police can track you after your are kidnapped? I dont think I want to live there. Chipping sponges so the surgeons can retrieve them? That makes sense.

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