Sunday, October 10, 2004
Panasonic Adds RFID to SmartSD Card
Posted by Jonathon Watkins in "HARDWARE" @ 02:00 PM
"RFID tags are essentially microchips, the tinier the better. Some are only 1/3 of a millimeter across. These chips act as transponders (transmitters/responders), always listening for a radio signal sent by transceivers, or RFID readers. When a transponder receives a certain radio query, it responds by transmitting its unique ID code, perhaps a 128-bit number, back to the transceiver. Most RFID tags don't have batteries (How could they? They're 1/3 of a millimeter!). Instead, they are powered by the radio signal that wakes them up and requests an answer. Most of these "broadcasts" are designed to be read between a few inches and several feet away, depending on the size of the antenna and the power driving the RFID tags."
That was part of a very decent RFID overview at the Register. RFID tags are increasingly being introduced to all areas of life and Engadget has just posted about another potential area of RFID encroachment, our beloved Pocket PCs:
"We’re suckers for any kind of convergence, no matter how inane or banal, but we think Panasonic is actually on to something with smartSD, their new technology which combines those SD memory cards we all know and love with those RFID tags that tinfoil hat types loathe and fear. There are already a few cellphones with built-in RFID chips already out there (Nokia offers an RFID kit for their 5140 handset), but the big deal here is that with smartSD you could conceivably add RFID to almost anything with an SD or miniSD memory card slot like a cellphone, PDA, laptop, digital camera, personal video player, MP3 player, etc."
Initially I wasn't too impressed, but thinking about it this could be very useful in the future. For job related tasks you could obtain updated service instructions, or take gas or electricity meter readings automatically by just waving your PPC close to the device being checked. You could attach a tag behind a person's photo and could make a call to them by just touching the picture with your PPC. This would be especially useful to simplify calls for the young, the elderly or those with special needs. The limitations of RFID are only really our imaginations. That's what makes the technology (like all others) a double edged sword: you can use it for tremendous evil, or good. The choice is ours. Thoughts?
That was part of a very decent RFID overview at the Register. RFID tags are increasingly being introduced to all areas of life and Engadget has just posted about another potential area of RFID encroachment, our beloved Pocket PCs:
"We’re suckers for any kind of convergence, no matter how inane or banal, but we think Panasonic is actually on to something with smartSD, their new technology which combines those SD memory cards we all know and love with those RFID tags that tinfoil hat types loathe and fear. There are already a few cellphones with built-in RFID chips already out there (Nokia offers an RFID kit for their 5140 handset), but the big deal here is that with smartSD you could conceivably add RFID to almost anything with an SD or miniSD memory card slot like a cellphone, PDA, laptop, digital camera, personal video player, MP3 player, etc."
Initially I wasn't too impressed, but thinking about it this could be very useful in the future. For job related tasks you could obtain updated service instructions, or take gas or electricity meter readings automatically by just waving your PPC close to the device being checked. You could attach a tag behind a person's photo and could make a call to them by just touching the picture with your PPC. This would be especially useful to simplify calls for the young, the elderly or those with special needs. The limitations of RFID are only really our imaginations. That's what makes the technology (like all others) a double edged sword: you can use it for tremendous evil, or good. The choice is ours. Thoughts?
