Fergie's Tech Blog

IBM's Privacy-Friendly RFID Tag Ready For Production

Mary Hayes Weier writes on InformationWeek:

IBM thinks it's got an answer to privacy concerns about RFID tags. It's announcing Wednesday the first manufacturing agreement for its Clipped Tag, which was designed with an antenna that's as easy to remove as tearing off a piece of paper.

IBM and its first manufacturing licensee, Marnlen RFID, don't yet have any business customers for the tags, but they're talking to retailers in the U.S., Canada and Europe about pilot tests, says Paul Moskowitz, a scientist with IBM Research and one of the tag's inventors. The idea is to let retail, consumer goods and drug companies tap into the value of RFID while sidestepping privacy concerns. Consumers could remove the antennas once items are purchased. IBM has even done an informational YouTube video on the tag.

posted by Fergie @ 11/07/2006 09:13:00 PM