Posts tagged Rfid at Switched

Posts with tag rfid

NY State Inserts Radio Transmitters Into Driver Licenses

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 18th 2008 at 11:25AM

NY state inserts RFIDs into licenses, citizens next?

What can we say about RFIDs -- those radio chips embedded in highway toll readers and the like -- that hasn't already made you afraid? Your passport? Clonable. Your work ID and "secure" credit cards? Yeah, those too. Not scary enough? How about every adult New Yorker walking around with one in their back pocket?

It's just a matter of time, as the Empire State's clearly enhanced driver licenses (says so right on 'em) are now hitting the streets. For $30 on a new one -- or $10 if you're looking to upgrade -- you can get yourself a radio-wave emitting ID, enabling you to cross the border into Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean sans-passport.

Don't worry, the cards won't be broadcasting any personal information -- just a unique code that the government can use to track your every movement. [From: NY State Department of Motor Vehicles Via Crave]

California's Wireless Toll Tags Proven Insecure, Hackable

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 27th 2008 at 12:06PM

Nearly every state in the Union has a toll highway somewhere, and most states have employed some sort of automatic, wireless tag system to speed commuters through the booths that stand between them and their destinations. Many have complained that these tags are just another tracking system the government uses to keep an eye on where they're going (and how fast they're traveling to get there), but others have voiced concerns about security. It seems these are valid concerns, at least in California, where the FasTrack system for automatic toll collection has been shown to be easily hackable.

Security expert Nate Lawson has shown that he can not only access the tags and retrieve a user's account number, but can also modify an existing tag and reprogram it to have someone else's. This means that he could walk through a parking lot, wirelessly scan someone's transponder hanging in their window, then reprogram his own and drive on another customer's tab. In fact, he's already successfully scanned his own tag and reprogrammed others to share its account information. There are other systems in place at the toll booths, like cameras that photograph license plate numbers and drivers as cars go through the booths, but that's no excuse for the woefully bad security on these things.

Right now it's unlikely that many are exploiting these tags, so you won't see us trading ours in and going back to stopping and paying in cash -- at least not yet. [From: Technology Review]

RFID System Brings Urns Up for Viewing

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 1:30PM

This one's a bit morbid, but the technology behind it all is actually quite interesting. Japan's own Nichiryoku has evidently created a unique urn retrieval system that enables family members with deceased loved ones to return to a reverent storage facility, swipe an RFID card, and watch their late mother / father / etc. emerge from the underground for viewing. Aside from saving space and money, this also provides mourning kin with a sense of security, as we're told that the urns are kept where even minor acts of God won't disturb them. Check out a demonstrative video just after the break. [From: Ryobo via CScout]

Hacked Electronic Toll Booths Could Steal Your Personal Information

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 12:24PM

Ah, Black Hat. How we adore you. Each year there's always one speaker who shows up and completely undermines something that most people assume is rock solid. This year, our pals at Hack-A-Day were in attendance to hear Nate Lawson expose California's FasTrak toll system for the security hole that it is.

Essentially, toll transponders that are purchased and slapped onto vehicles offer up exactly no authentication, meaning that anyone with an ill will and an RFID reader could wander through a parking lot and lift all sorts of useful information.

Think it can't get worse? The transponders reportedly support "unauthenticated over the air upgrading," which means that each tag could be forced to take on a new ID if the right equipment was present. We don't have to spell out "potential disaster" for you, now do we?

[Image courtesy of Mindfully]

Doggie Door Opens Automatically With Radio-Frequency ID Tags

by Paul Miller, posted Jul 28th 2008 at 1:16PM

Frankly, we're disappointed. It's 2008, the veritable future, and you still don't have an RFID-based automatic sliding doggie door? For shame! The Plexidor Electronic Doggie Door allows for all that nice canine (and feline?) coming and going without letting in the neighborhood riff-raff.

Your dog gets to wear an RFID chip on his collar, which lets the door know to automatically slide up when he shows up -- hopefully with a sort of squeegee sound to complete the sci-fi effect. Prices range from $700 to $800 depending on configuration. [Source: Electronic House]

Radio-Frequency ID Tags Interfering With Hospital Equipment

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 26th 2008 at 4:02PM

There is plenty of paranoia and weariness surrounding the potential for radio frequency identification tags (RFID) being used by shady governments and corporations to track your every move, or becoming yet another target for hackers with nefarious motives. But they have proven useful for tracking equipment, goods, and patients who may not be fully capable of caring for themselves.

Though this isn't the first instance of electronics getting in the way, a new study shows that RFID tags may in some cases interfere with life-sustaining medical equipment such as respirators and external pace makers. Of 123 tests performed on 41 different machines, 24 produced "significant" or "hazardous" incidents which varied from changing setting to completely halting a dialysis machine.

The danger of RFID tags in hospitals is likely to debated for a long time to come, just like cell phones. [Source: BBC]

McDonalds Testing Coupons Via Cell Phone in Japan

by Tim Stevens, posted May 23rd 2008 at 1:43PM

Coupons are a bit of a drag. Yes, they can save you a ton of money, but collecting and organizing them is a pain, and of course they only save you money if you actually remember to bring them with you. We're not sure if it's the perfect solution, but it sounds like McDonalds may be on the right track. The company is testing an interesting concept in Japan involving digital coupons customers who can use directly from their cell phones.

In Japan, many cell phones are RFID-capable, meaning they can send out radio wave signals to communicate with receivers wirelessly. McDonalds' tech allows a user to download a coupon that emits a specific RFID signal when selected. The cashier will have a sensor that can receive the signal and apply the discount to the user's purchase -- all without anyone fumbling through their pockets for crumpled pieces of paper.

Unfortunately, few phones in the U.S. are RFID-capable, meaning we likely won't be seeing this tech here in the very near future. Go figure. [Source: Wired]

MIT Reinvents the Post-It Note... with Post-It Notes

by Nilay Patel, posted May 2nd 2008 at 3:37PM

We've seen countless attempts to re-invent the Post-It note, but no one's ever really managed to improve on the basic design -- which might be why MIT's "Quickies" concept doesn't even try. The electronic note system is instead based around a digital pen and special pad, which saves your notes as you jot them down on RFID-embedded Post-Its. Software on your PC then does some quick OCR and, according to the inventors, "uses its understanding of the user's intentions, content, and the context of the notes to provide the user with reminders, alerts, messages, and just-in-time information."

Since the database can also store location information, sticking the note on a book or other object allows you to locate it later using the RFID tag, and you can even have notes SMS'd to their recipients. Pretty wild -- but we're more impressed someone finally found a good use for all those digital pens out there. Check a video of the system in action after the break. [Source: TFOT]

Continue reading MIT Reinvents the Post-It Note... with Post-It Notes

RFID Tags to Help Track American Apparel Clothes From Factory to Store

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 15th 2008 at 8:34AM

RFID clothing is far from revolutionary, but American Apparel is about to get everyone's attention by placing tags on a smorgasbord of garments. The firm is setting out to implement RFID at the item-level, meaning that tags will eventually hit each article of clothing it produces. For starters, the advanced inventory system will be rolled out across each of its 17 metro New York locations, while plans are already in place to deploy the solution to another 120 North American outlets.

The idea is to track individual pieces as they're "tagged at the company's manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, received in its retail stores, stored in the stock rooms at the stores, and then placed onto the sales floor and ultimately sold at the point-of-sale." Of course, we wouldn't expect the tags to follow you home or anything -- too bad we can't say the same for the company's skeezy CEO, Dov Charney.

[Image courtesy of The New York Times]

Injectable Tumor Probe Tracks Cancer Treatments

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 11:57PM

Radiation, in strong enough doses, is deadly. A short exposure can certainly kill, but controlled exposures can be useful, targeting cancer cells and helping patients to fight their disease and recover. However, the administration of radiation for cancer treatment has always been a bit of a black art, with doctors having to wait for days, weeks, or months after a treatment to check on whether a tumor has been affected. Now, a new radiation-detecting probe can let doctors know exactly how much that tumor has been affected, and can do so instantly.

The probe can be inserted directly into the tumor and report the exact dose of radiation received. From that information, doctors can calculate just how much radiation they need to apply to the patient and can more specifically target the dose, thereby decreasing the debilitating side-effects so common with cancer treatment. The probe is also RFID-enabled, meaning it can be identified and read wirelessly (in the same way that RFID technology wirelessly charges drivers with tolls when they pass through toll booths).

Right now the prototype probe is about the size of a pin -- long and narrow -- but future versions are expected to be shrunk to the size of a grain of rice. Trials are expected to begin in 2010 and, if all goes well, could usher in a new era of precision cancer treatments -- which could come in handy if all the doom and gloom about cell phone-induced cancer turns out to be true!

From Engadget

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