Radio Frequency Identification tags-labels the size of a credit card or smaller containing a silicon chip and an antenna-are destined to replace the ubiquitous bar code, and can be attached to items large and small, from shipping crates to shoes.
Businesses will be the first to experience the time and cost-saving benefits of RFID. Inside a warehouse, large numbers of boxes can be scanned while still packed in shipping pallets. RFID can reduce product loss and certify product authenticity, making it attractive within the supply and logistics infrastructure.
The warehouse benefits extend to the consumer as well. Can’t find an item in your local store? RFID will provide much better insight into optimal stocking levels. You’re likely to find what you want, when you want it. You’ll find improved product freshness, too.
Buying a high-end watch? With RFID, you’ll have the assurance that you’re getting the genuine article. RFID can store your proof-of-purchase information, too, so your warranty is always at hand.
We’ll also see speedier checkouts-simply push the cart past the scanner to capture the prices of every item. And there are trials already under way to see how RFID can improve parcel distribution and delivery services.
RFID also has a role to play in consumer safety. It can monitor tire tread wear, help prevent shipment of counterfeit drugs and identify farm animals to keep the food supply disease-free.
The business efficiency, consumer convenience and customer service benefits seem obvious to those within the technology development arena. But like its predecessor the barcode, RFID has drawn scrutiny as it prepares to intersect our everyday lives.
Consumer privacy advocates are concerned about how the tag’s data could be used. Just what is being stored, who has access to it, where can the tag be read, and will we even know that the use is occurring? On the surface, this might look like the next slippery slope, where a powerful technology poses more harm than good. But there are limits to what the technology can do. And there are consumer benefits that have become somewhat lost amid the rhetoric.
Why the concern? It has to do with the “ID” in RFID, and the nature of how we all feel when we’re not sure how our personal information is being treated.
Will tags in clothes, shoes or cans of soup allow purchases to be tracked? Will personal information be collected without my consent? Will networks of RFID readers be installed in malls and streets to track us without our knowledge?
What consumers don’t often hear is that RFID is a data-capture technology very comparable to the barcode. The main differences between RFID and the barcode are that a line of sight isn’t required when reading an RFID tag; you can write additional data to the RFID tag and also read several RFID tags simultaneously. As such, the public concern should not be focused on the underlying data capture technology but the collected data itself: Consumers should have a right to participate in the decision as to who should be allowed to capture data when, where and know which restrictions apply.
A key point: the basic data on RFID tags relates to product inventory, not purchaser data. If a consumer wants to sign up for a customer loyalty program-as many of us do today with airlines and supermarkets-then there is a link made between a purchase and the consumer, but only because we’ve authorized it. In a similar vein, we buy cars with GPS systems that we authorize to use our data for safety and convenience reasons.
Another important facet: Scanners designed for retail environments will have a limited read range, and they are sensitive to the physics of their environment, further precluding item tracking once you’re off the premises. And there are economic rules at play, too. The costs to deploy a public infrastructure of scanners, technical hurdles aside, would be astronomical.
Still uncomfortable with RFID? Consumer initiatives, supported by retailers and industry, and championed by privacy advocates and government, are already under way. A primary focus is education. Another is to provide notice on items that have RFID tags.
A third approach lets the consumer “opt out” of any future RFID benefits. Technology has already been developed to allow store personnel to destroy the tag at checkout.
Governments in four states, the Federal Trade Commission-which held a June RFID workshop-and the technology and retail industries, recognize the need for RFID consumer education and the requirement to safeguard personal data.
“Right to know” and consent for collection of personal data are cornerstones of existing data privacy laws that could accommodate RFID-based applications. The fact that new legislation is under consideration underscores the need to communicate accurate information about RFID’s capabilities to the general public. We all want consumers to be reassured that when RFID does enter the retail aisle, they will have a choice in whether to benefit from it.
As a maker of RFID chips, my company-and our customers-believe RFID will give consumers a better experience in the retail store. You’ll find what you want, with better quality assurances, and your customer service interactions should be quicker and smoother.
But we also know how vital it is to listen to customers. Which is why it’s important to present the facts about RFID, and give the consumer the choice to take advantage of its benefits.
Manuel Albers is an executive involved in RFID technology with Philips.
