Though you may not call it something really out of the box but John Park has tried to use RFID in a manner which would make it 'easier' for you to open websites or applications on your computer. John created a conveyor belt with RFID reader underneath it and used some wooden tiles with icon of the websites he intends to open. The conveyor belt has been created from junk VCRs and other useless stuff. Underneath the tiles he has fixed RFID tags with unique ID for each one.

As one places the wooden tile on the moving conveyor belt the reader transmits the particular ID to the computer which launches the website or any other application in a new tab on your system.

In the words of John Park:

I took the whole art of double-clicking on an icon and made it really complicated and brought it into the physical world

You surely made it a bit complicated John but I appreciate the fact that you tried to do something different with the technology.

Interested in a tablet PC with an RFID reader? Aimed at field workers and delivery drivers this mean machine from Motion Computing comprises of a 10.4 inch touch screen display with 1024 x 768 resolution coupled with SSD and Core Solo CPU. It includes other features such as 802.11a/b/g networking, two mega pixel camera, 1D/2D barcode scanner, twin microphones, Bluetooth and RFID reader.

It has been created to survive inhuman conditions as it includes a magnesium alloy internal frame coupled with chemical resistant resin in elastometer so you need not worry about the health of the tablet from dust or moisture. It even comes along with a large carrying handle to prevent it from slipping out of your hands and god forbid if it does the accelerometer will shut the 1.8-inch hard disk drive in case it senses any impact. Coming on to the RFID part it has a standard 13.56MHz RFID reader coupled with integrated passive RFID tag and will certainly make life of people employed on the field pretty easy.

I think I just forgot to tell the brand name and model of the tablet PC (sincere apologies for that) - it is F5 from Motion Computing and is priced between $2,700 and $4,000. Though on the higher side but its rough and tough characteristics and RFID compatibility surely makes it a good deal!!

Sitting in a hotel room in the middle of night and craving for an ice cream but the room service has already shut its doors for the day and you can't even go out at such odd hours since most of the establishments must have shut their doors for the day and it can be even risky to venture out if you are alone.

Scratching your head and feeling that there is no way out? No need to feel depressed as RFID is out there to ensure that you get to lick your favorite ice cream even in the middle of the night.

Just get hold of your RFID room keys and swipe them against the ice cream vending machines to get your favorite ice cream in your hand within seconds in a cashless manner. All this has been made possible due to the integration of cStar Vending Genie Hospitality cashless system with Z-400 Robotic Frozen Vendors from Fastcorp which ensures that you can enjoy item of your liking even at odd hours. This RFID vending machine would certainly be appreciated in self service areas such as parking lots, laundries, business center and arcades. Before signing off I would like you all to go slow on using the ice cream vending machine since the price of the ice cream will be added to your hotel bills!!

These days' eco friendly products really catch the attention of everybody's eyes since we all know at the back of our minds that our environment is degrading day by day because of us and if we don't work towards mending it today we definitely will have to cry in the future.

Keeping this in mind Thin Battery Technologies has come up with a set of eco-friendly disposable batteries which can be used for powering RFID tags and a host of other items. These are carbon zinc batteries which work with both active and passive RFID tags. Produced in sheets these batteries can be customized as per the size and shape requirements and integrated with tags and sensors implemented in RFID systems.

The batteries are available under the TBT UT and TBT HD series where the former can be used in smart cards, transit tickets and loyalty cards and the latter can be put to use for power intensive applications. In terms of costs and performance these batteries can be rated between low-cost passive tags and expensive active and RTLS systems and in terms of standards they meet the RoHS and WEEE environmental regulations set up by EU. Let's see how far these batteries can go in setting our environment straight.

How about a photo finish at your local race but who can afford those high speed cameras which start off at a whopping $25,000 a piece? Seems impossible for sure but why depend on those high end cameras when you have RFID out here to offer you the same excitement of photo finish even at smaller events.

Hardcard Systems and Alien Technology are making efforts to recreate that same magic with RFID and that too at just a few dollars per competitor. Up till now RFID was a perfect match for marathon races but tracking cars moving sixteen times faster than a runner was a problem but these people have worked out a solution and successfully tested the technology on bikes running past 140 mph and believe that it would work in the case of speeds above 200 mph too. An accuracy level of 1/100s has been achieved and some minor changes will enable this level to shoot past the mark of 1/10,000 level accuracy.

So get ready to experience the magic of perfect photo finish at your local racing event too. All thanks to RFID.

Rescue operations after disaster strikes in a particular area can be an extremely difficult task but now there is no need to worry as RFID is out there to act as a helping hand in the rescue operations.

After Katrina struck America rescue personnel used to write codes on buildings to give groups coming behind them information regarding the status of the area. Working upon this idea German researchers have created an RFID extension of the coding system.

Under this RFID supported urban search and rescue concept humans and robots work together in disaster zones for mapping affected area and transmitting the information collected to the command center. The information is fed to the tag which is read via PDA. Under this system humans and robots work together for application of RFID tags to the buildings. This system will surely work towards carrying out rescue operations in a planned and quick manner.