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RFID Manufacturing Potential for Northeast Nebraska
It's probably a safe bet that most people in Northeast Nebraska wouldn't want a computer chip embedded in their shoulder so they could get into a nightclub faster.
But there are people in the world who would take advantage of such an opportunity.
In fact, more than 200 people in Barcelona, Spain, plunked down $200 to have an RFID chip injected in their left shoulder so they could be quickly identified as members of the Baja Club.
So, what is an RFID tag and why might it be important to the future of Norfolk and Madison County?
RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. An RFID tag is part computer chip and part radio transmitter that can store information and respond to queries from an RFID transmitter.
Dr. Marv Cetron, president of Forecasters International, said he thinks Norfolk would be a logical place to manufacture RFID tags.
Cetron, a Washington, D.C.,-based futurist, is helping organizers of the Visioning 2026 project - which involves the City of Norfolk, Madison County, Northeast Community College and the Norfolk Public Schools - identify trends, challenges and strategies to better prepare Norfolk and Madison County for the future.
RFID tags have many more practical applications than identifying members of a club. And, although they sound like something from "Star Wars," the technology has been around for years.
In fact, the military used them during World War II to distinguish their airplanes from enemy planes, Cetron said.
Plus, Cetron said, they've been used for years in the livestock industry to help keep track of cattle destined to become part of the food supply.
And the applications are endless.
For instance, manufacturers can track products from assembly line to delivery, and customers can scan an incoming pallet to make sure each item that is supposed to be included, is included. Wal-Mart, for example, already requires some of its suppliers to use RFID tags on its products.
Workers who are allowed access to sensitive areas can be tagged for identification purposes.
Hotels can use RFID tags as room keys that can be reprogrammed each time the room is rented. The tags could also be used to track the guest's bill for meals, movies and other items.
Tags can be used to monitor the temperature and condition of food being shipped around the world.
Cetron said a plane could fly over a cargo ship, read what's in the boxes and transfer the information to the bridge of the ship or to another site.
And starting next month, RFID tags will placed on passports.
But Cetron said there are still bugs that need to be worked out of the technology.
For example, there currently is no global standard for the system, which means one company's tags may not work with another company's scanners.
And the data in the tag can be accessed and even changed by a knowledgeable hacker.
But the real obstacle, he said, is cost.
"Fortunately, the cost . . . is dropping rapidly," he added. "Passive tags are expected to reach 6 cents each by 2010 and just one cent per tag by 2015. At those prices, RFID becomes very attractive."
While Cetron acknowledges that not all of the bugs have been worked out of the RFID tags and systems, he believes their "future is bright."
In fact, he said one market research firm estimates that 33 billion RFID tags will be manufactured in the United States by 2010, which is up from just 1.3 billion in 2005.
Another firm estimates that the market for RFID tags and readers will grow from $2.7 billion in 2005 to $26 billion in 2016.
One of the biggest obstacles to meeting those numbers, Cetron said, is the lack of people who know how to make the products.
Which opens a window of opportunity for Norfolk and Madison County.
"Look for a specific area - such as applications for cattle - and focus on that initially. That gets you a leg up on the industry," he said.
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