The fact that technology changes and advances every day is no longer surprising to the consumer -- it seems like a product is obsolete even before it's taken out of the box. Even so, every once in a while, a new technology is truly revolutionary. Currently, one such technology that has the potential for revolutionary status is RFID.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), on the most basic level, is essentially a small tag that can be placed on just about anything. The tag (chip) consists of a microprocessor and an antenna that allow an individual or company to keep track of an item by means of radio waves.
Originally, RFID was first applied in the 1960's by companies such as Sensormatic, Checkpoint, and Knogo in an attempt to counter theft. Since that time, the technology has been used to track or to automate everything from license plates, animals, and even electronic tolls. Currently, organizations investigating RFID are libraries, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, just to name a few.
Perhaps the most lucrative area in which RFID may be applied is business inventory. Many companies already have begun to use RFID, one of which is Wal-mart. Most people do not want to spend hours checking and rechecking stock, so companies are beginning to implement RFID as a way of reducing company costs while freeing employees from undesirable labor.
The use of RFID by companies such as Wal-mart testifies to the facts that the technology is catching on and that is effective for the companies' purposes. Even so, the 17¢ per RFID chip price tag of the technology is still too high for most small business owners to afford. Research previously done on RFID has indicated that in order for the technology to become commercially practical and enjoy mass adoption, the price of the RFID chip would need to be lowered to 5¢. Such a drop in cost inevitably will require more time and additional research in order to improve the manufacture of the chip.
RFID also faces the second problem of transitioning between first-generation tags and second-generation tags. Like any technology, the transition between each version of RFID needs to be smooth so that the consumers with older versions aren't immediately left in the dark. Most companies, for example, want the old RFID technology to be compatible with the better, new version. This is because replacing old technology entirely is costly, and it makes little sense to keep repeatedly spending money to replace a technology if the company implemented that technology in order to save money in the first place.
Fortunately, RFID technology will become cheaper to produce as time goes on because engineers continuously are devising more advanced and efficient versions of the RFID chips. In addition, as more companies and individuals make use of the technology, more RFID chips will need to be produced. This will require that the production of the RFID chips become more organized, which will reduce price even further. Over time (and perhaps with luck, advertising, and a little genius), RFID will become a practical and affordable option, regardless of the size of the business that wishes to implement it.
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