For that stickiest of problems -- remembering when you last wore an outfit so that you don't show up wearing the same clothes twice in a row -- comes this RFID concept.

It actually is a Master's thesis for a student at the Parson's School of Design, for Design and Technology. Here is the thesis abstract:

"Abstract:

Our clothing communicates and defines us; its continuing cycles are displays of growth and change. We live in a time when fashion rules are becoming more flexible with focus on individuality. Our society is accepting more diverse sartorial expressions, and trends splinter and join in all directions. The language of clothing is becoming more intricate, and more personal.

At the same time, technology is invading our lives like never before. Impending retail systems will track each item we purchase with tagging that communicates using radio frequency, known as RFID. This controversial technology is also fexible as its tags can be written over. I hope to demonstrate how users might regain control of imposed technology systems by harnessing it as a tool to track the transitory narratives in our daily fashion choices.

This project consists of an RFID tracking system, a database, and an interface. As clothing is worn, the RFID system records it, the database stores it, and the interface visualizes it. The system will allow users to view the data in an environment where new relationships between wearer, object and wardrobe will exposed."

The image above is from the thesis. Click it to see a larger image.

Or go directly to the automated online demo here.

[Hat tip to We Make Money Not Art, via Mitch Slater.]

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Is Las Vegas going to stop being the place where "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"?:

"What happens in Vegas, STAYS in Vegas." Holy crap. Are there any words more magical than these?? This slogan is a get-out-of-your-crappy-mediocre-life free card, paving the way for the average, hopelessly bored working stiff to enjoy a precious few days of moral bankruptcy, rampant drug use and unprotected anonymous sex with multiple partners - and it's working like a charm, bringing people back to the city in droves.

Will RFID put a stop to all the fun, turning Vegas into a place where a tourist's every move is scanned and watched?

In most casinos, probably not right away. Instead, casinos may be watching their employees more closely than the tourists.

At least one casino is putting tags on waitresses, as this excerpt from Silicon.com indicates:

Tim Stanley, CIO of Harrah's Entertainment, told silicon.com his company is now fitting waitresses with the tags on their name badges in order to ensure drinks get to customers more quickly and to ensure that areas of the casino don't go unserviced.

He said it's not been without its problems -- most notably some opposition among the staff themselves -- especially as anybody slacking on the job will be exposed far more quickly.

And Stanley told silicon.com that is exactly what happened almost on day one of the trial, with one employee caught "loafing" and disciplined accordingly.

"Now, that person we caught probably won't be happy about it, but their co-workers should be," said Stanley.

"If this enables us to staff the casino properly and realise when and where we're under-resourced, then our waitresses aren't killing themselves out on the floor and can earn more tips and our customers are happier."

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Via Boing Boing comes a story about a guy who implanted a Phidgets RFID tag into his left hand.

The whole thing was captured in a Flickr photo slideshow here.

There is an interview by Jordan Ginsburg here.

And the point of it all? Why, to automatically open his car door.

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Having worked as a lawyer in a firm and in company legal departments, I can tell you that keeping track of client files can be a major challenge. The larger the law firm premises and the more files, the bigger the challenge, of course.

One of the interesting and valuable uses of RFID is for file-tracking solutions. File folders are tagged with RFID tags. Handheld tracking devices can be used to locate missing files on the premises.

Lost files are not only a major hassle in law firms, they can mean a malpractice case. The stakes can be high -- monetary liability, public reprimand, even temporary suspension from the practice of law in some jurisdictions.

I remember such a situation when I was working in a law firm. A young attorney misplaced a case file that held original evidence (signed trust document and power of attorney) needed for a civil trial. Without the documents, the case would have been severely comprised. You could see the attorney thinking her career was ended before it ever got started -- not a pretty sight.

I remember the panic the firm's partners exhibited as the trial date drew closer. We practically tore down the walls looking for that file. It was not a fun place to be, as we were all accused in turn of losing the file even if we had nothing to do with the case. Secretaries were in tears.

Eventually, out of desperation, one of the partners suggested hypnotism. So the young attorney was hypnotized.

Amazingly, it worked! The attorney remembered that the last place she had the file was near a copy machine. Everyone had looked behind that copy machine and hadn't seen anything. But this time they actually moved the copy machine. There it was! The file had fallen down the crack behind the machine and apparently slid underneath it upon hitting the floor, which is why no one saw it the first time around. But it had been there all along.

An RFID file-tracking solution would have found that file and avoided all the angst -- and the hypnotism.

3M has a couple of case studies profiling law firms using its RFID file-tracking system. They're worth a read.

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The brand-spanking-new Airbus A380 is the world's largest jet. And it is RFID-enabled.

According to RFID Insights from InformationWeek:

"The jet is equipped with 10,000 radio-frequency identification chips and was built using Carbon Fibre Manufacturing technologies to reduce aircraft weight, ultrasonic scanning systems, and a combination of other technologies. Airbus' A380 double-decker passenger aircraft, which seats 555 passengers, will have passive RFID chips on removable parts such as passenger seats, life vests, and brakes which will aid in maintenance of those parts, Jens Heitmann, senior manager of systems standardization, process, and methods at Airbus, told InformationWeek a few months ago.

The benefits of RFID-tagging airplane parts include reducing the time it takes to generate aircraft-inspection reports, which still require a lot of paperwork, Heitmann says. "We could use RFID to do routine checks before a flight, for example, making sure that a lifejacket is under each seat," Heitmann said."

Singapore Airlines will be the first to use the new jet, in 2006.

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Businessorati, who runs the BusinessWorks blog which is taking the interesting tack of starting an RFID business "on paper" (OK, on computer), has started something else new and innovative.

He is requesting RFID kits to experiment with and write about. He'll post the results of his tests on a blog.

"With this RFID Development Kit, I wanted to do various experiments with RFIDs and present them in easy to understand, layman language. This blog, I hoped would encourage my audience to experiment on their own.

Due to exorbitant cost, I wrote to various RFID companies who make these kits, if they can provide me with a kit for experimentation. Although I am dead against letting Companies control my writing, I was willing to give due credit for providing me a free kit for evaluation. It was a win-win situation for company providing the kit, my readers and me. Company gets free advertising from my writing and readers get to read those experiments and decide their Pilot Vendors and I get to experiment and learn in the process. However, so far I have not received any response from any of these companies."

He goes on to say that he has identified a company offering a kit that he'd like to experiement with, PhidgetsUSA.

OK, RFID vendors, this sounds like your chance for some free PR. You can contact Businessorati on his blog.

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InformationWeek (through its RFID Insights newsletter/site) has designated Wal-Mart's Information Technology department the "IT Team of the Year."

There's a rather longish, in-depth profile of the 2,400 member IT organization. One of the things I found so interesting about this profile is how small the RFID Team is compared to the entire organization.

Here you have an IT organization that has more employees than the vast majority of businesses in the United States. Yet, the RFID team within Wal-Mart is only 8 people (originally 4).

From all the press hype, you would have thought hundreds of people were working on the RFID initiative within Wal-Mart, but not so. Clearly, other parts of the Wal-Mart's IT Division have helped the RFID team, but still the numbers are pretty interesting....

Read the whole article here.

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Check out this interesting diversion. It's a site called Businessworks Inc -- a Dotcom in the Making.

The site is building an RFID and GPS transportation tracking business -- on paper. That's right. The site is:

"an experiment about building a dotcom business (on paper) and then making it grow. It will be similar to 'paper' stock trading in nature. I will go through the complete process of building a business, right from business structure selection to filing tax returns at the end of the year, in my novice way, stumbling and re-building all the way with the help of my fellow readers."

The business is being planned and developed by a software programmer from Nebraska who calls himself Businessorati. I have to hand it to him -- it's a great learning experience.

[Hat tip to Steve Rucinski over at Small Business CEO for the link.]

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Here is a link to a veritable goldmine of presentations on RFID, from the recent EPCglobal U.S. Conference. Incredible insights. Hat tip to Dr. Vijayaraman for the link.

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Recently someone sent me a link to this interesting company, Visionary Technology in Library Solutions (VTLS).

They have a tight vertical market focus on the library industry, providing libraries with resource management systems. One of their products, FASTRAC, incorporates RFID.

The FASTRAC system allows the library to manage its assets (books, CDs, etc.) faster and better. Check-out is faster, because multiple items can be checked out simultaneously and quickly. The product even allows patrons to do self check-out, freeing up library staff to focus on higher value-add tasks, instead of routine clerical tasks like check-out.

Another benefit with RFID tracking is that assets like books can be kept more secure. In other words, patrons can't walk out with items stuffed into briefcases, purses or coat pockets without first checking out.

The management team is headed by Vinod Chachra, CEO who has considerable experience in library science. The rest of the team appears to rounded out with people experienced in the library industry and in library science, as well as technology.

I think it won't be long before all large libraries will be using RFID systems. It makes too much sense not to.

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