New website leads the way in raising awareness of RFID

A new website launched by Informationsforum RFID aims to educate German consumers about the possible applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) in everyday life and consumer products.

Users can click on any category, ranging from 'refrigerator' to 'children' and 'mobile phones' to 'medicine' to read a short passage on how RFID is affecting people's lives in these areas.

Radio Frequency Identification is a method of identifying unique items using radio waves. Typically, a reader communicates with a tag, which holds digital information in a microchip.

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is an object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radio waves. Chip-based RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas. Passive tags require no internal power source, whereas active tags require a power source.

Andrea Huber, the Head of Informationsforum RFID, said: "We want to animate RFID for consumers to help them take a better look at it, and to become a resource for questions about RFID."

Informationsforum RFID is also working with partners in the Netherlands (RFID Platform Nederland) and the UK (National RFID Centre), to raise public awareness and acceptance of RFID technology in their respective countries and ensure that RFID projects are implemented in a responsible manner.

The launch of the website, RFIDABC, comes hot on the heels of the results of a public consultation on RFID, organised by the European Commission. The consultation found that the public is under-informed and that privacy concerns about the use of radio frequency identity (RFID) systems need to be resolved to ensure that the technology is widely accepted and used to its full potential.

"In our first analysis of the results of the public consultation, the challenges are much clearer," said Viviane Reding, the EU's Information Society Commissioner. "We need to make considerably greater efforts to explain the risks and benefits of RFID to the wider public. It is no longer just a playground for technologists and lawyers."

She outlined various steps to allay these concerns. These include the use of privacy-enhancing technologies, such as clear labelling of tags; and ensuring more transparency regarding the risks and opportunities of RFID.

"Technologists tell me that many of the privacy concerns are unfounded. Fine. If this is the case then I am sure we can win over public opinion by explaining where there are risks and where there are not," Ms Reding argued.

She added that more than half of consultation respondents wanted the RFID industry to be governed through legislation rather than self-regulation.

The Commission plans to use the 2,200 responses to the consultation to decide how Europe can best benefit from RFID technology and how to tackle associated security and privacy issues.

The EU is expected to draft new RFID legislation next year.

For more information on RFIDABC, please visit:
http://rfidabc.de/

For more information on Informationsforum RFID, please visit:
http://www.info-rfid.de/

For more information on the Commission's Consultation on RFID, please visit:
http://europa.eu.int/information_society/
policy/rfid/index_en.htm

Copyright ©European Communities, 2006
Neither the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, nor any person acting on its behalf, is responsible for the use, which might be made of the attached information. The attached information is drawn from the Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS). The CORDIS services are carried on the CORDIS Host in Luxembourg - http://cordis.europa.eu.int. Access to CORDIS is currently available free-of-charge.

Most Popular Now

AI-Powered CRISPR could Lead to Faster G…

Stanford Medicine researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to help scientists better plan gene-editing experiments. The technology, CRISPR-GPT, acts as a gene-editing “copilot” supported by AI to help...

Groundbreaking AI Aims to Speed Lifesavi…

To solve a problem, we have to see it clearly. Whether it’s an infection by a novel virus or memory-stealing plaques forming in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, visualizing disease processes...

AI Spots Hidden Signs of Depression in S…

Depression is one of the most common mental health challenges, but its early signs are often overlooked. It is often linked to reduced facial expressivity. However, whether mild depression or...

ChatGPT 4o Therapeutic Chatbot 'Ama…

One of the first randomized controlled trials assessing the effectiveness of a large language model (LLM) chatbot 'Amanda' for relationship support shows that a single session of chatbot therapy...

AI Tools Help Predict Severe Asthma Risk…

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help identify which children with asthma face the highest risk of serious asthma exacerbation and acute respiratory infections. The study...

AI Model Forecasts Disease Risk Decades …

Imagine a future where your medical history could help predict what health conditions you might face in the next two decades. Researchers have developed a generative AI model that uses...

AI Model Indicates Four out of Ten Breas…

A project at Lund University in Sweden has trained an AI model to identify breast cancer patients who could be spared from axillary surgery. The model analyses previously unutilised information...

AI Distinguishes Glioblastoma from Look-…

A Harvard Medical School–led research team has developed an AI tool that can reliably tell apart two look-alike cancers found in the brain but with different origins, behaviors, and treatments. The...

Smart Device Uses AI and Bioelectronics …

As a wound heals, it goes through several stages: clotting to stop bleeding, immune system response, scabbing, and scarring. A wearable device called "a-Heal," designed by engineers at the University...

Overcoming the AI Applicability Crisis a…

Opinion Article by Harry Lykostratis, Chief Executive, Open Medical. The government’s 10 Year Health Plan makes a lot of the potential of AI-software to support clinical decision making, improve productivity, and...

Dartford and Gravesham Implements Clinis…

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has taken a significant step towards a more digital future by rolling out electronic test ordering using Clinisys ICE. The trust deployed the order communications...