Presentation given by Jeff Hoefs and myself at IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. The presentation was meant to kickoff a one-day workshop and inspire the workshop participants to create new products and systems usine RFID technology.

1. RFID and the Internet of Things IIT Invited workshop Carla Diana + Jeff Hoefs September 17, 2011

2. What is RFID? Radio-Frequency Identification A technology that assigns a unique id to any ‘tagged’ object. The id can be read wirelessly and mapped to actions. There are a few different technologies that dictate the range at which the tag can be read. On it’s own, RFID is generally a non-secure technology. Active tags vs. Passive tags: Active tags have a power source to extend their range (up to a few km) Passive tags do not have their own power source. They are activated by energy received from the reader.

3. What is NFC? Near Field Communication A subset of RFID that limits the range of communication to within 10 cm. NFC uses the same chips as RFID, but adds a software layer for security and specific applications. 3 modes of NFC: Card Emulation Mode – device emulates credit card Reader Mode – allows device to read passive RFID tags Peer-to-Peer Mode – interaction between 2 active NFC devices

4. Exploring RFID There are many configurations of RFID tags and ways of combining electronic components with RFID circuitry.

5. Examples of RFID and NFC today

6. Transportation

7. Oyster Card from Transport for London A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored value card which can hold a variety of single tickets, period tickets and travel permits which must be added to the card prior to travel. It is also a contactless smartcard which passengers must touch onto an electronic reader when entering and leaving the transport system in order to validate it or deduct funds.

8. Quantas “Next generation” check-in The new ground service provides premium Qantas passengers on domestic flights with a smart card-based check-in, as well as electronic bags tags that keeps track of their luggage.

9. Tracking

10. Where did my sweater come from? Products from the company Flocks are tagged with a specific animal’s ID number and comes with a certificate. Information provided includes breed, weight, year, place of birth and a picture of the sheep.

11. Tracking livestock Cattle receive RFID ear tags so they can be easily tracked.

12. Embedded tags for pets Animal shelters and animal control centers benefit from using microchip identification products by more quickly and efficiently returning pets to their owners. Microchipping is becoming standard at shelters: many require all outplaced animals to receive a microchip, and provide the service as part of the adoption package.

13. Products

14. RFID pet door A chip implanted under your pets skin is read by the RFID Pet Door and admits access.

15. Nokia Play 360° A wireless speaker that uses NFC to pair with your phone to send music from your phone to the speaker. Pair with 2 speakers for stereo sound.

16. Services

17. Google Wallet Google Wallet is an Android application that replaces items physical credit card, coupons and tickets. With an NFC equipped Android device you can use your phone to make payments, redeem coupons, gain entry to events, etc.

18. Zipcar Car Sharing Service RFID driver authentication plus wireless vehicle data monitoring work together to take a complex system and bring it to users in a simple, fool-proof interface. Access to cars can be controlled wirelessly through the central system, while the membership cards function as keys to open any vehicle in its global system.

19. RFID tags to avoid gas leaks The valve basically knows if it is closed or open via a simple mechanism. With an even simpler contact switch, the RFID then sends a “close” or “open” signal. The RFID data also contains things like the Valve ID, which can lead to its location data.

20. WineM home wine inventory Every bottle of wine in it has an RFID tag, with an RFID reader in every cell of the rack. The rack, in turn, connects to an online information shadow service. This service aggregates wine information from the Internet and all of the racks that are connected to it.

21. Shopping

22. Fly London store with tagged shoes an RFID reader in the floor identifies the type of shoe a customer tries on, causing the system to project a video of a street scene in London, Tokyo or New York.

23. Tagging clothing Avery Dennison, the pioneer in RFID-based solutions, reports an acceleration in item-level adoption in the apparel industry as companies seek more accurate and efficient solutions from supply chain to point of purchase.

24. Shoe department in Mitsukoshi’s Japan After the computer detects the shoe you can select color (1) and size (2). Ping! Lucky you, the system says: ‘The sales item you want is available. Please ask a salesperson.’

25. Toys

26. Nabaztag Mirror: “Give powers to your objects” Affix RFID Ztamps to everyday objects and show them to Mirror: your bunch of keys will send email to tell someone you’re home, your pills know when you’ve swallowed them, your toys play video clips…

27. Little Tikes Magic Cook Kitchen speaks three languages This kitchen unit is designed with electronic sensors that recognize the make-believe foods that accompany the set and respond affirmably with more than 100 different phrases. The toy is multilingual, able to speak in English, Spanish, or French. Included in the 22-piece set are a grilled cheese sandwich, a chocolate chip cookie, a sauté pan, cups, plates, silverware, and ketchup.

28. XmenHyperscan: game console with collectable cards Six cards are included with the small, light game console, and more can be bought separately in booster packs, much like Yu-Gi-Oh or baseball cards. When scanned into the console, the cards give the player access to game characters and powers, thus providing a physical avatar for a virtual entity.

29. Art installations

30. Fragile Site specific installation that took place in a cave in Lacoste, France, in conjunction with the Galerie Blue in Winter 2007. Visitors could place glowing eggs into a wax bowl sculpture in order to change ambient sounds in the room, revealing that each one had a unique identity. Visitors were invited to touch the art and grapple with the emotion of handling fragile objects.

31. Nest A museum installation from the Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia that functioned as “room-sized musical instruments”. Visitors could move objects onto a central sculpture in order to control the sound in the room.

32. Future scenarios

33. Word guru: foreign language vocabulary with everyday objects A language kit includes the vocabulary “guru”–a receptacle for objects with an embedded display and RFID reader–and a series of stickers that correspond to everyday objects such as “pencil”, “camera”, “fork” “napkin”, etc. Placing a tagged object onto the Guru reader will display the word for the object along with a phrase in the foreign language. Cucchiaio. Possoavere un cucchiaio per la miaminestra?

34. Conference social network Each conference attendee receives a small object that contains a reader and a chip. When attendees meet one another, they touch their tokens to one another and collect one another’s IDs. They can associate their IDs with their contact information right away, or later on when they return home.

35. Who’s home? bowl The bowl comes with 4 key tags which correspond to each person in the house. The bowl itself has four compartments with RFID readers embedded within them. When a key is tossed into any of the compartments it updates a list of who’s home to show that the person is there. When a key is removed, the interface shows that the person has left.

36. Smart concierge With this system, a hotel concierge can craft a dining and entertainment plan for a guest and then hand them a series of RFID cards corresponding to each venue. When he scans the cards into his system, he can keep track of where this particular guest has been to create a different plan for the next day. When the guests are out and about they can use their cards with outdoor reader stations to get directions.

37. Wayfinding stick for the visually impaired In this system, RFID tags are embedded on the ground at each street corner. The walking stick has an RFID reader and speaker unit embedded within it. When the end of the stick is tapped against the specially shaped tile on the street corner, the location is announced through the speaker on the stick. If the person inputs a destination at the start of his or her trip, the stick can also provide on-the-spot directions.

38. Medical office ID system Although some doctor’s offices in the US use electronic medical records, many still rely on both paper records and patient chart. In this system, a person’s medical chart has an embedded RFID chip. A reader at the nurse’s station allows him or her to touch the chart to the reader to automatically load the patient’s information on the screen. A patient’s ID card can also hold an RFID chip within it, so that as soon as he or she checks in, the correct records are displayed.

39. Clothing store shopping assistant In this system, tags in the clothing you wear provide initial input for shopping suggestions. The reader knows what you’re already wearing and can suggest similar or matching outfits that you can try on at the store. The system can also keep a database of your past purchases to further understand what will be right for you and what’s available in your size.

40. Airport In the airport, RFID/NFC can be used for things such as check-in, wayfinding, baggage claim, boarding pass, purchasing food and drinks in the terminal and onboard the plane, etc.