Tomorrow is NOW

(From The Guardian)

• Last April, AXCESS International’s ActiveTag RFID technology for tracking vehicles and personnel was implemented around the port of the Cricket World Cup final games. By using RFID, security was alerted when an individual had entered a secure area of the port, versus a prohibited area of the port, should action need to be promptly taken.

(From RFID Journal)

• The Australia Defense deployed RFID-tagged shipments of military supplies to the Middle East for the first time in April 2007. Mountain View, California-based Savi Technology provided real-time tracking devices for shipping containers, which allows the military to track shipments throughout its worldwide supply chain. The tags can be read by the 2,500 RFID In-Transit Visibility networks servicing defense forces in 50 countries.

(From Savi Technology)

• Located in the United Kingdom, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital is issuing RFID-enabled wristbands to surgical patients upon admittance to the hospital. To verify patient identity, the wristband stores personal information including the patient’s ID number, name, date of birth and gender.

(From RFID Journal)

• In March 2007, VeriSign, Dayton, Ohio, along with Alien Technology, Morgan Hills, Calif., was awarded a pilot program with the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General. The companies will use passive RFID technology to streamline an Air Force medical facility’s inventory and supply chain. Alien Technology cited an INPUT report which named the Department of Defense as the biggest contractor of RFID-enabled products and services, with a projected 2011 budget of $215 million.

(From Alien Technology)

• Under the direction of engineering professor Jung-Chih Chiao, Hung Cao, a research assistant at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Department of Electrical Engineering, devised an active 900 MHz and 433 MHz RFID tag and sensors that can be attached to cribs in an attempt to monitor and reduce the frequency of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The system alerts parents when infants are not experiencing the proper carbon dioxide level.