Micosoft, IBM, Philips to back RFID
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
RFID (radio frequency identification) tagging technology continues to gain in inventory tracking uses, as Monday Microsoft, IBM and Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV announced projects for developing and promoting it as a cost-saving tool for retailers.
RFID chips, computer chips equipped with miniature antennae, store data for transmission to nearby receivers, and are increasingly being used as wireless tags to track goods. One advantage to the wireless tags is that, unlike bar codes, RFID tags can be read at any angle and from a distance. Large retail companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tesco PLC of the U.K. and Germany's Metro AG, have been using the RFID technology and are already planning to push the technology beyond the pilot stage.