RFID Utopia
So, how is RFID going to change the world ? And will it make the world a better place ?
I am not going to talk about the mundane benefits of RFID such as better inventory visibility and tracking ... Only the cool things that it could bring about ..
Automated Checkout
Imagine this .. You walk into a supermarket, choose everything you need and just walk out without paying. How convenient would that be ! No standing in line while the shop clerk scans each item one by one, no credit card swiping, no receipt signing ...
RFID could make this happen ... Assume that every product in the store has an RFID tag on it. You also have a credit card with a smart RFID chip on it. As you walk out of the store, a reader at the exit scans all the items you are taking out, determines what they cost and automatically charges your credit card !
Shirt & Washing Machine
This one's quite bizarre ... Lets assume you have an RFID-enabled washing machine which has a reader built in. Each of the shirts you own would have an RFID tag attached. As soon as you put the shirt in the washing machine, they would communicate with each other and the current ash cycle/temperature would be chosen !
Automatic Refrigerator
An RFID enabled fridge would be able to create shopping lists automatically for you ! For example, lets assume that you program into the fridge that you always want to have atleast 12 cans of diet coke. The fridge will constantly monitor the number of cans in the fridge and when this goes below 12, diet coke would be added onto the shopping list !
It could track expiry dates of all the product in the fridge and inform you what needs to be thrown out ...
Smart Store
All of us have seen advertisements on different discounts/sales at various stores. These promotions are usually effective in boosting sales. However, oftentimes it is difficult to focus these promotions on the right people. Imagine if you could create a promotion customized to each one of your customers ! That is possible with RFID.
In the futuristic smart store, the floor is replaced with a special material which is semi-transparent. There are a bunch of projectors under the floor that can project messages onto the floor.
So as you walk down the aisle in the supermarket, the store knows who you are (remember, you have the RFID enabled credit card). It knows what you buy, how much you spend, when you spend and taking all of these variables, creates a custom promotion for you.
If might say, "Vel, Lindt chocolate on sale" (knowing I love their truffles !) - "If you are interested, follow the arrow ------->". Imagine that, you look at the floor and there's a customized message with an arrow pointing you in the right direction.
That just blows my mind !
I am not going to talk about the mundane benefits of RFID such as better inventory visibility and tracking ... Only the cool things that it could bring about ..
Automated Checkout
Imagine this .. You walk into a supermarket, choose everything you need and just walk out without paying. How convenient would that be ! No standing in line while the shop clerk scans each item one by one, no credit card swiping, no receipt signing ...
RFID could make this happen ... Assume that every product in the store has an RFID tag on it. You also have a credit card with a smart RFID chip on it. As you walk out of the store, a reader at the exit scans all the items you are taking out, determines what they cost and automatically charges your credit card !
Shirt & Washing Machine
This one's quite bizarre ... Lets assume you have an RFID-enabled washing machine which has a reader built in. Each of the shirts you own would have an RFID tag attached. As soon as you put the shirt in the washing machine, they would communicate with each other and the current ash cycle/temperature would be chosen !
Automatic Refrigerator
An RFID enabled fridge would be able to create shopping lists automatically for you ! For example, lets assume that you program into the fridge that you always want to have atleast 12 cans of diet coke. The fridge will constantly monitor the number of cans in the fridge and when this goes below 12, diet coke would be added onto the shopping list !
It could track expiry dates of all the product in the fridge and inform you what needs to be thrown out ...
Smart Store
All of us have seen advertisements on different discounts/sales at various stores. These promotions are usually effective in boosting sales. However, oftentimes it is difficult to focus these promotions on the right people. Imagine if you could create a promotion customized to each one of your customers ! That is possible with RFID.
In the futuristic smart store, the floor is replaced with a special material which is semi-transparent. There are a bunch of projectors under the floor that can project messages onto the floor.
So as you walk down the aisle in the supermarket, the store knows who you are (remember, you have the RFID enabled credit card). It knows what you buy, how much you spend, when you spend and taking all of these variables, creates a custom promotion for you.
If might say, "Vel, Lindt chocolate on sale" (knowing I love their truffles !) - "If you are interested, follow the arrow ------->". Imagine that, you look at the floor and there's a customized message with an arrow pointing you in the right direction.
That just blows my mind !
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