Fergie's Tech Blog

Simple Idea Could Solve Tricky RFID Privacy Issue

John Blau writes on InfoWorld:

Sometimes innovative ideas are really simple. Here's one: an RFID chip with a perforated edge that allows consumers to tear off a part of the antenna after purchasing an item and immediately reduce the distance of the signal, thus easing privacy concerns.

The Clipped Tag label is the brainchild of Paul Moskowitz, an inventor and researcher at IBM.

Ultra-high frequency RFID (radio frequency identification) tags are generally readable at distances up to 30 feet (9 meters), but the Clipped Tag innovation reduces that distance to between 1 and 2 inches. "This means that the tag can only be read if the consumer holds the tag up to a reader," Moskowitz said Wednesday. "It puts choice in the hands of the consumer."

posted by Fergie @ 5/11/2006 09:00:00 AM