RFID

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been around for decades. In fact, the British first used it in World War II to determine whether aircrafts belonged to friends or foes. Its mainstream spotlight started much later, however—and now, the technology is making its debut at all Delta Air Lines counters...

Cody Wilson planned in the coming weeks to make and test a 3-D printed pistol. Now those plans have been put on hold as desktop-manufacturing company Stratasys pulled the lease on a printer rented out for Wiki Weapon, the internet project lead by Wilson and dedicated to sharing open-source blueprints for 3-D printed guns. Stratasys even sent a team to seize the printer from Wilson's home.

"They came for it straight up," Cody Wilson, director of Defense Distributed, the online collective that oversees the Wiki project, tells Danger Room. "I didn't even have it out of the box."

The hype surrounding 3D printing has taken over the web, being claimed the "third industrial revolution" yet indeed offering potential to change everyday life as we know it. Essentially, 3D printers convert data from a computer design program and create the desired object by "printing" layer upon layer using materials such as plastic and metal.

The future of this technology seems limitless as it spreads like wildfire through the different industries it can reform; from the way we manufacture and trade globally, to advancements in healthcare and even the construction of housing.

A school in San Antonio, Texas, is planning to implant student ID cards with Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) chips next year. Over 100,000 students attend the school, making it difficult for administrators to keep tabs on them, yet some are wondering if the school is going too far.

"I think this is overstepping our bounds and is inappropriate," school trustee M'Lissa M. Chumbley told MySanAntonio.com. "I'm honestly uncomfortable about this."

Administrators, however, hope that using the RFID chips will allow for better tracking of students' habits, locations, and safety.

Salem, Massachusetts-based Plastilam, Inc. will produce custom imprinted RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards for the lodging, hospitality and casino gaming industries.

​The market for RFID transponders, readers, software, and services will generate $70.5 billion from 2012 to the end of 2017, according to market intelligence firm ABI Research. The market was boosted by a growth of $900 million in 2011 and the market is expected to grow 20 percent year-over-year per annum. Government, retail and transportation and logistics have been identified as the most valuable sectors, accounting for 60 percdent of accumulated revenue over the next five years.

When you are a child you want to be protected from the monsters in your closet, the bullies at the playground and the things that go bump in the night.

Think of Rick Heinl, president of Tipp City, Ohio-based Repacorp, as a kinder, gentler daddy dearest type.

A new labeling solution that allows manufacturers to meet and even exceed U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) requirements for product tracking, and then manage the tracking data online, is now available from Avery Dennison.

Zebra Technologies is no longer converting RFID labels, but if you still need that work done turn to Tipp City, Ohio-based Repacorp.