RFID System At UCSD Medical Center Is Its Major Asset

The Awarepoint Real-time Awareness Solution utilizes a patented asset and location tracking technology developed exclusively for healthcare. The RFID “plug and track” network signal sensor pick-ups that plug into any standard wall outlet (bottom right in photo above) are very easy to install and place into the system. Image Credit: Awarepoint Corporation

RFID System At UCSD Medical Center Is Its Major Asset

Knowledge and awareness is everything when one seeks to have an enterprise run effectively. One of the most overlooked areas a business can make great gains in its effectiveness of purpose comes in the area of Asset Management. The ability to know exactly what tools a business has invested in, where the tools are, which tools are being used and how – further, what tools are available now to apply to the task at hand can determine success or failure … profit or loss.

Asset Management to any business enterprise is as critical as Inventory Management to a retail enterprise … if the asset or inventory is not deployed where the need exists; it is as if it never existed in the first place. This leads to lost opportunity and lost profits. In the case of a health care environment … this lack of knowledge of where an asset is and where it is deployed could lead to a loss of life, our most precious gift.

RFID system diagram. Image Credit: Awarepoint Corporation

This excerpted and edited from a Press Release, Awarepoint Corporation -

UCSD Medical Center Adds Hillcrest Campus to its Awarepoint Real-time Location System Deployment
Expansion allows UCSD complete hospital asset tracking oversight throughout its enterprise
SAN DIEGO, October 17, 2008

San Diego-based Awarepoint Corporation today announced that UCSD Medical Center is significantly expanding its Awarepoint Real-time Location System (RTLS) deployment. Following successful implementation and a fully vetted return on investment at the system’s Thornton facility, the Awarepoint relationship has now been expanded to include its Hillcrest campus, which is the primary hospital for the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.
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The expansion to UCSD Medical Center - Hillcrest more than doubles the coverage area and triples the number of equipment assets the Medical Center is wirelessly tracking with Awarepoint‘s Active RFID Real-time Location Solution.

“RFID asset tracking success at UCSD Medical Center ’s Thornton facility prompted expansion to the larger Hillcrest facility, located nearly 14 miles away. The expansion to Hillcrest also provides UCSD Medical Center the ability to see real-time status and have complete oversight of shared assets between both campuses, which are significant challenges for the Medical Center today,” said Kenny Woods, Senior Vice President of Sales for Awarepoint.
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Tom Hamelin, Director of Perioperative Services is responsible for sourcing UCSD Medical Center’s Zigbee-based real-time location solution with a goal to address several persistent problems relating to asset tracking management, including:

• Lowering equipment rental costs
• Reducing staff time spent searching for equipment
• Minimizing equipment theft and loss
• Reducing equipment inventory requirements
• Improving equipment maintenance process
• Improving responsiveness to JCAHO and FDA requirements

“The significant challenge common to all of these is timely, reliable locating of important equipment and assets,” said Tom. Tom chose to install the smaller UCSD Medical Center Thornton campus first to quickly provide a quantifiable return on investment. “With the combination of capital equipment expenditure savings and increased demand for asset visibility among staff after the Thornton installation, it was not difficult to get approval to expand into Hillcrest,” continued Tom.

The Awarepoint Real-time Location System was selected because it offers UCSD Medical Center room level location accuracy on an enterprise-wide basis while providing a 100% wireless, non-disruptive installation. Awarepoint’s business model provided the hospital a low cost to start because there were no construction costs and a fully managed service model that allows easy scalability on a per asset per month basis.
Reference Here>>

Sensor signal pick-ups located throught a facility act as electronic tracking gates for better asset management. Image Credit: Awarepoint Corporation

The most unique aspect of the Awarepoint system are the RFID “plug and track” network signal sensor pick-ups that plug into any standard wall outlet. This innovative signal sensor pick-up antennae allows for a rapid-impact implementation – it needs no hardwiring, fixed infrastructure or additional cables, offers a non-disruptive, dust-free installation – can be deployed even in occupied patient rooms or sterile areas.

Awarepoint Tags can be installed on any type of equipment. Small battery-powered Tags (less than 1.5” squared) are securely attached to equipment. Patient and staff Tags can be attached via belt clip, lanyard, badge or ID bracelet.

Tags broadcast low data rate messages to Awarepoint patented Sensors. Bridge nodes within Awarenet transmit Sensor data to the Awarepoint fully managed Appliance via your wired LAN. With Awarepoint, there’s no need to modify or expand your facility’s existing WiFi infrastructure. Low power radio messages from Tags are detected by the Sensors and routed through the Awarepoint Bridge to the Awarepoint Appliance. This patented architecture results in a rapid-impact implementation, longer battery life and lower cost. The simple Searchpoint™ web interface allows one-click search access to all staff from any networked PC.

All pretty cool stuff to keep track of deployed assets and be able to place them where needed in a timely manner – RFID and its ease in implementation can become any enterprise’s most major asset.

Smartcard Hack Could Expose 2 Billion Cards

Embedded RFID MiFare Classic RFID chip. The ability to read and replace information stored on a card people carry to expidite transactions, access control, and other "secure" exchanges of sensitive information is at threat. Image Credit: CashCard

Smartcard Hack Could Expose 2 Billion Cards

A computer club in Germany in concert with a few university students in the United States have broken into the encryption scheme designed to secure the information stored on smartcards used in everyday applications.

These cards employ a RFID technology used in an estimated two billion plus smart cards first invented by NXP.

This event is the first real breach perpetrated on the widely used MiFare Classic RFID chip. The hackers, once they figured out how to break the encryption scheme, stated that the process is easy to reproduce. NXP downplays the significance of the hack.

Micromodule Pte Ltd is an independent smart card and micromodule manufacturer in Singapore. With complete module and smart card manufacturing facilities, we are offering very competitive, high quality chip cards and chip modules at fast delivery time. Our products include standard secure memory cards, microprocessor cards and custom specific multi-chip modules and cards (contact and contactless). We also supply all types of Mifare cards. Caption & Image Credit: Micromodule Pte Ltd

This excerpted from EETimes -

NXP RFID encryption cracked
Christoph Hammerschmidt - Industrial DesignLine Europe - (04/01/2008 8:11 AM EDT)

MUNICH, Germany — The Chaos Computer Club (Hamburg, Germany) has cracked the encryption scheme of NXPs popular Mifare Classic RFID chip. The device is used in many contactless smartcard applications including fare collection, loyalty cards or access control cards.
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According to a report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Chaos Computer Club (CCC) experts along with colleagues from the University of Virginia cracked the encoding scheme with little effort. The achievement allows the crackers to read out data, recharge payment cards, copy RFID cards or generate "new" users.
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The spokesperson also pointed out that the Mifare Classic is not used in security-critical applications such as passports or electronic health cards.

The Chaos Computer Club was not available for comment.
Reference Here>>

NXP MiFare RFID payment card – Image Credit: Arygon

And this excerpted from NXP about MiFare Classic –

The MIFARE® classic family is the pioneer and front runner in contactless smart card ICs operating in the 13.56 MHz frequency range with read/write capability. The MIFARE® standard IC, launched in 1995, was the first product which could be fitted into a ISO contactless smart card, and with its slim coil allowed very high volume production.

Today, over 200 million MIFARE® Standard ICs are in use around the globe, covering more than 85% (source: Frost & Sullivan, 2000) of the contactless smart card market. As such, MIFARE® Standard represents the de-facto industry standard and is the benchmark for competing technologies.
Reference Here>>

And lastly, this from Computerworld –

RFID hack could crack open 2 billion smart cards
Analyst: One European government sent armed guards to protect facilities using the card
By Sharon Gaudin - Computerworld - March 14, 2008

A student at the University of Virginia has discovered a way to break through the encryption code of RFID chips used in up to 2 billion smart cards used to open doors and board public transportation systems.
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"It turns out it's a pretty huge deal," said Ken van Wyk, principal consultant at KRvW Associates. "There are a lot of these things floating around out there. Using it for building locks is the biggy, especially when it's used in sensitive government facilities — and I know for a fact it's being used in sensitive government facilities."

Van Wyk told Computerworld that one European country has deployed military soldiers to guard some government facilities that use the MiFare Classic chip in their smart door key cards. "Deploying guards to facilities like that is not done lightly," he added. "They recognize that they have a huge exposure. Deploying guards is expensive. They're not doing it because it's fun. They're safeguarding their systems." He declined to identify the European country.
Reference Here>>

If you are asking the layperson what he thinks about a security breach on a card (over 2 billion of them) that carries personal information and money information and that information can be changed without his knowledge – He will say, “That is a problem!”

Intrasonics – “Soundings” On The Digital Applications Ecosystem

Intrasonics LOGO - Image Credit: Chord Capitol

Intrasonics – “Soundings” On The Digital Applications Ecosystem

Digital enablers to used access, identify, find, initiate, and respond to software programs designed to automate our lives has just found a new partner.

Symbology, as in optical character recognition, barcodes, 2D matrix, and 3D color dimension codes - RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, and RFID with memory - Biometrics, as in fingerprint, retina, vein-pattern, and face - Card Technologies that include magnetic stripe, embedded microchip, and RFID has a new technology player … Sound.

Circle Of Interactivity, patented SLS bridges the gap. Image Credit: Chord Capitol

Intrasonics is a company dedicated to bringing sound as the key communications implementer for a host of applications. As the Intrasonics website instructs, “The company is applying its patented ‘Sound Link and Sync’ (SLS) system to a range of interactive applications in broadcast and recorded media, enabling interactivity with mobile handsets, toys and mascots.”

The science of using sound in this manner is very new and does not have a formal name but we, at Symblogogy, will use “Acoustiology” … automatic identification applications set to sound.

Phone captures embedded sound files and uses them to get coupons, be directed to a website for information and commerce, or interactively respond to events broadcast on TV or radio. Image Credit: Chord Capitol

Acoustiology – AutoID Applications Set To Sound

This information excerpted from The Pondering Primate -

TV And Radio Broadcasts To Embed Hyperlinks In Sound
The Pondering Primate - Friday, December 21, 2007

Intrasonics offers another way to link the physical world to the Net with a mobile phone. By embedding data the sound of a TV broadcast or on the radio, a mobile phone is able to decipher/scan and connect a mobile phone to the Internet.

TV ads and shows can now be interactive with the mobile phone.
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Intrasonics is added to the list of companies that enable a mobile phone to connect to the Internet via real world objects.

Intrasonics Ltd is Sagentia Group’s interactive media services venture which provides a completely new way of directly connecting broadcast media to mobile networks using data embedded in sound.

The technology can be used across a number of applications including interactive gaming and advertising.

Intrasonics works by communicating directly between a broadcaster and mobile handsets via data transmitted in the sound of ordinary broadcasts.

The data is embedded in the audio and is unobtrusive to the listener. The sound and data is picked up by the microphone in the mobile and can be decoded to enable a compelling range of new interactive experiences for the consumer.

Luc Jonker, CEO of Mainframe Participaties B.V. comments " Our vision is to bring interactivity into every household around the world by changing the way in which consumers currently interact with their TVs or radios"
Reference Here>>

Additional application information excerpted Intrasonics and from the assets found at Chord Capitol and its subsidiary, Sagentia Group –

Intrasonics Ltd is a new company that creates, develops and licenses unique solutions for mobile-media interactivity. The company is applying its patented ‘Sound Link and Sync’ (SLS) system to a range of interactive applications.

SLS allows data to be hidden within almost any audio material. The data is spread across the audio band and then masked using psycho-acoustics, making it unobtrusive to the casual listener.

Intrasonics SLS-encoded audio may then be stored on CD, tape or DVD - or transmitted via broadcast TV, radio, or a public address system - and is unaffected by typical audio compression systems.
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The technology has application where small amounts of data need to be sent over an existing broadcast or recording system. Typically, it can be used to provide links relevant to the audio material – e.g. giving access to a website related to a TV advert, or facilitating 'one touch' interaction with a TV show.

Intrasonics SLS can also be used to synchronise audio subtitles to a film, to display messages on mobile handsets even if no radio connection is possible, and enable new ranges of interactive toys and themed mascots, whose actions are co-ordinated with broadcast or recorded media.
Reference Here>>

Capturing Coupon from sound files embedded in broadcast commercial. Image Credit: Chord Capitol

Our Product - how does it work and what does the market say ?

Intrasonics Ltd owns a significant portfolio of six patent families covering its acoustic data communications system - called 'Sound Link and Sync' (SLS). SLS allows small amounts of data to be hidden unobtrusively within an audio stream. The audio, carrying the data, may then be broadcast over any distribution system (radio, TV, in-store PA) where it is transmitted to air by any loudspeaker.

Software downloaded directly from a cell tower. Image Credit: Chord Capitol

A simple downloadable application on a mobile handset then interprets the sound, picked up by the mobile's microphone, and decodes the data. This results in the user receiving an interactive link or message on his mobile which he can click to see the advert or play along with the game show on the TV at that precise moment.

Dynamic TV broadcast "Game Show" play. Image Credit: Chord Capitol
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When the audio is played through ordinary loudspeakers, the Intrasonics data is also carried - and can be decoded using a microphone connected to a low-cost DSP [Digital Signal Processor - A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications] or by a software-only addition to a mobile phone.
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No special hardware is needed in the handset whatsoever and no change is needed to either the broadcast network or the TV itself – all existing TVs and radio receivers worldwide are already fully Intrasonics-compatible which is a critical consideration for ease of distribution.
Reference Here>>

This ACOUSTIOLOGY "sounds" like another great idea on which our lives are made eaiser through technology and automation.

The Big Mac Wave - Mickey D’s RFID Initiative

An employee shows a mobile phone attached with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader at a McDonald's store in Shinchon, western Seoul, one week ago, Wednesday. Image Credit: The Korea Times

The Big Mac Wave - Mickey D’s RFID Initiative

Hospitality goes proximity with this new pilot being run at McDonalds stores in Korea.

McDonalds is experimenting with the ultimate line-buster in South Korea, where customers purchase food on their cell phones, which then ring when the order is ready. Most of the phone's communications capabilities and its display are barely used, with customers having to download a McDonald’s application into their phone, and plug a piece of add-on hardware provided by SK Telecom.

Payments can be handled through the cell phone's number (as McDonalds is apparently doing in the South Korea trial) or through an embedded RFID chip, which turns the smartphone into something akin to a contactless credit card.

The add-on used in the trial goes one step further in that it turns the phone into a remote RFID “Touch” order entry device.

Excerpted from The Korea Times –

Hamburger Can Be Ordered Via Mobile Phone
By Cho Jin-seo – The Korea Times Staff Reporter

Good news for those who hate to wait in a queue to get a burger and fries.

McDonald's and SK Telecom Wednesday showed a new ordering system using mobile phones and infra-red sensors which let customers make orders from their table and sends them a phone message when the meal is ready.

The “Touch Order" menu is the first in the world to utilize the radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in a self-ordering system at a restaurant, SK Telecom said.

“It is a convergence service that utilizes SK Telecom's RFID technology in the restaurant industry," said Lee Joo-sik, senior vice president of business development of the mobile service company. “We hope this partnership with McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, will lay the groundwork for our RFID business on foreign markets."
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First, customers have to download a special program onto their handsets using SK Telecom's Nate mobile Internet service. Most phones manufactured after June 2005 can handle the operation, the firm said.

At each table, there are an RFID reader and a menu that has built-in RFID chips. Customers plug the reader into their mobile phones, and point them at the item on the menu that they wish to eat or drink.

The bill is charged through the mobile phone. When the meal is ready, the system sends a short message to the phone so the customer can pick up the ready tray at a designated counter.
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SK Telecom has implemented an RFID payment system at several Kyobo bookstores in Seoul. But few have used it to buy books because of the inconvenience of the process.
Reference Here>>

On the surface, this looks to be more of an engineer's dream project as opposed to a practical solution application provided through the convergence of technologies. There just seems to be too many disparate "plug & play" pieces for this to be an advancement of convenience to the consumer.

The Who, When, Where Clearly Defined Space

Corrections officer is able to keep track of anyone who is wearing a coded RFID wristband or belt mounted sensor anywhere in a defined prison space. Image Credit: Alanco/TSI Prism Inc.

The Who, When, Where Clearly Defined Space (with video demo link)

The Minnesota Department of Corrections has decided to implement a system that is gaining great favor with prison systems throughout the country.

This deployment is a system adopted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department last year to keep track of both inmates and Sheriff Officers that operate the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Correctional Services Division facilities.

The tamper proof system of bracelets and sensors will track the movements of all of the inmates and prison guard personal throughout any facility the RFID antennae array is installed and implemented.

Not to worry America, now even Paris Hilton’s whereabouts will not be a secret … even to the paparazzi! Well, at least until she is released from Sheriff Baca's tightly survailed RFID domain.

Excerpted from Computerworld -

Minnesota turns to RFID to monitor inmates
The system can detect track prisoners, modify behavior
Marc L. Songini, Computerworld - June 18, 2007

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) is about to roll out a half-million-dollar radio frequency identification (RFID) inmate-tracking system at one of its facilities to boost security and automate the monitoring of prisoners.
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The RFID system is from Alanco Technologies Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz.

A spokeswoman for the DOC offered few details about the project, except to note the state has other prisons with RFID-based inmate-tracking systems. She deferred questions to Alanco.

Alanco's system is "a very powerful management tool that... can change the way prisons are managed," said Greg Oester, president of Alanco/TSI Prism Inc. the Alanco subsidiary providing the RFID technology. "It provides a level of monitoring not available by any other way. The inmates know they are monitored and are lectured that the system is there, and they learn very quickly that it is extremely accurate. Basically, they stop doing the things they face additional punishments for."

Its use can also free up correctional staff to engage in other tasks, such as drug sweeps, instead of just monitoring inmates [Video Demo Link].

The tracking system is based on active RFID tag technology and provides alerts if something abnormal is going on, such as a fight among the inmates, said Oester. In such a system, he explained, both inmates and corrections guards wear wrist straps containing a proprietary RFID tag, which sends out a signal every two seconds to antennas installed inside of the facility and around its perimeter. The readers feed information into the proprietary TSI Prism management application that sends the data to a master terminal in a control room as well as to client terminals placed in strategic locations throughout the facility, such as the warden's office.

It's up to the prison administrators to decide what the exceptions are. They could include any time a prisoner gets within 10 feet of a fence or when two rival prison gang leaders get too close. If there is an exception, such as a fight or if an RFID strap is torn off, the rules-based software detects it immediately. The monitoring screen goes from green to red and sends out an audio alert. Once an alert is issued, the screen shows where the trouble is and identifies nearby guards and prisoners.

If it's a gang fight or a hostage situation, the staff will know the identities of everyone involved and what the threat level is based on the histories of the offending inmates, which are kept in a database. "It's proven to be a tremendous aid in reducing prison violence," said Oester. Every infraction committed by a prisoner is in the database, and any perpetrator of a crime can be immediately located and dealt with.

A prisoner can be tracked in virtual real time, as well. "If there is an inmate suspected of being a mule [carrier] for contraband, we can watch him all day and find out where he goes and roll up his whole network," said Oester. It can also be used to document prison processes, such as whether a diabetic inmate has received his medication or not.
Reference Here>>

RF-WiFi-ID – Tracking With Combined Technologies

People can wear the Siemens/Ekahau tags – Image Credit: BBC News

RF-WiFi-ID – Tracking With Combined Technologies

At a recent exposition held at London’s Olympia Exposition Centre, The Wireless Event – delivering enterprise mobility, Motorola, and Siemens unveiled systems that were jointly developed with the Finnish firm Ekahau, which can track objects or people.

By using technologies that were already deployed in most business and public controlled environments, one can track objects and people throughout a managed WiFi radio space.

RFID tags, and some software stitch this application together so that through the triangulation of sensed ping information, the specific location of a person or thing is easily determined.

Excerpts from BBC News -

Wi-fi and RFID used for tracking
Wireless tracking systems could be used to protect patients in hospitals and students on campuses, backers of the technology said.
BBC News - Published: 2007/05/25 11:56:43 GMT

The combination of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and wi-fi allows real-time tracking of objects or people inside a wireless network.

Angelo Lamme, from Motorola, said tracking students on a campus could help during a fire or an emergency.

"You would know where your people are at any given moment," he said.

Marcus Birkl, head of wireless at Siemens, said location tracking of assets or people was one of the biggest incentives for companies, hospitals and education institutions to roll out wi-fi networks.
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Battery powered

Battery-powered RFID tags are placed on an asset and they communicate with at least three wireless access points inside the network to triangulate a location.

Mr Birkl said: "The tags have a piece of software on them and they detect the signal strength of different access points.

"This information is sent back to the server and it then models the movement of the tag depending on the shift in signal strength detected."

For the system to work, the building or area that has been deployed with a wireless network needs to have been mapped and calibrated.

To effectively locate objects a wireless access point is needed every 30 metres and Siemens said it was able to pinpoint assets to within a metre of their actual position.

Mr Birkl said: "It's very useful for the health care industry - where there are highly expensive pieces of mobile equipment that move around a hospital.

RFID tags could track patients and equipment – Image Credit: BBC News

"At every point in the day health staff need to know where it is."

The system can also be used to track wi-fi equipped devices, such as laptops, tablet PCs and wi-fi enabled phones.
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'More popular'

As wi-fi becomes more popular in schools, the technology could also be used to track students.

"It has to be aligned with the understanding of the people who are tracked," said Mr Birkl.

There have been privacy concerns expressed in some quarters about RFID tags, especially around the possible use of tags on shopping goods to monitor consumer spending habits.
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"There needs to be standards put in place so the data is not abused for other purposes," said Mr Birkl.

He added: "But there are clear benefits to keeping people safe."

More than half of respondents to a recent pan-Europe consultation on RFID said regulations were needed to police the use of tags.
Read All>>

MasterCard PayPass Card Evolves Into Phone

Nokia phone enabled with MasterCard PayPass - Image Credit: TechShout

MasterCard PayPass Card Evolves Into Phone

The evolution of “Speed Passing” RFID technology is making its way on many fronts.

Many sports franchise venues are beginning to place systems at their PoS cashpoints that accept MasterCard’s RFID enabled PayPass Card.

In an article found in the latest edition of “Contactless News” –

MasterCard Worldwide announced that three arenas, home to three National Hockey League (NHL), two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an array of special events are accepting MasterCard PayPass, a contactless payment option. Now fans can pay for concessions using MasterCard PayPass, which delivers speed and convenience at the register when making purchases.
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Fans will now be able to catch more of their team’s action during the season’s home stretch and crucial playoff run. Consumers purchasing concessions need only tap their PayPass-enabled card or device on specially-equipped terminals. In addition, no signature or PIN is required to complete the transaction for purchases under $25. Sports fans in Chicago who also attend baseball or football games will already be familiar with the technology, as it was deployed at Soldier Field, U.S. Cellular Field and Wrigley Field prior to the 2006 seasons (in addition to thousands of other merchants throughout the U.S.).
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Also, Nokia wants to turn the phone you carry into a "Speed Pass" machine. With this announcement, a fan may not even have to carry a credit card anymore. Nokia and MasterCard PayPass have been negotiating with many of the major mobile telecom service providers to transform how people can pay for goods and services.

When this plan is implemented, Fans and other consumers will not have to carry a card anymore --- just wave a RFID MasterCard PayPass chip enabled phone over the reader at the PoS cashpoint, and off you go.

Excerpts from Reuters via Tech Shout -

Image Credit: TechShout

Nokia, Mobile Telecom Carriers Team Up on Mobile Wallet Plan
TechShout - Friday, April 27th, 2007

Nokia and several mobile telecom carriers have all teamed-up for a global initiative that will transform mobile phones into wallets, a wireless telecoms interest group announced on Wednesday.

Through this novel plan, consumers will be able to use a phone as a wallet or as an access card simply by waving it over a wireless reader - and in some cases punching a PIN number into the phone - similar to how travelers in Tokyo and London access public transport.

Kai Oistamo, head of Nokia’s main cell phones unit, told Reuters, “The phone becomes a wallet, after that you can pay with it just like you pay with your bank cards.”
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Nokia, along with two other leading cell phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, will set in a wireless chip into its phones.

This project also has MasterCard – the world’s biggest payment card company, which is cheaper and much faster than other wireless payment experiments, like those using SMS text messages.
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Trials with the new standard will begin in October. the Reuters report further said.
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Jointly with chip makers NXP and Sony, which kicked off the contactless chip called Near Field Communication (NFC), companies plan a global standard for electronic wallets in cell phones.

In Japan, mobile phones are already widely used as electronic wallets, where over 12.6 million consumers already have their credit cards embedded in a chip in cell phones.

Mifare, developed by NXP, formerly known as Philips Semiconductors and Felica built by Sony are two of the most widely used formats used for access cards for buildings and public transport as well as cell phones which double as electronic wallets.

In a statement, Mifare and Felica said, “By combining this secure chip with an NFC chip, a universal contactless IC (integrated circuit) platform can be created for mobile phones.”
Read All>>

RFID And "Speedpassing" Payment Hits The Slopes

Planet Snow Tools comes thru big time, installs over eleven rails and two jumps on Mainline Trail just above Main Lodge. Image Credit: Snö Mountain

RFID And "Speedpassing" Payment Hits The Slopes

Just when you thought "sketching" couldn't get any hotter, along comes a way you can hit the slopes without money or ID to get lost or stolen after pulling off a Stiffy air-Fakie in the half-pipe.

Wrist bands with RFID proximity antennas and memory allow you to be counted as a paid up member for the lifts and while you're at it, a contactless ATM/Credit Card for all of your incidentals.

Skiers at a Pennsylvania ski lodge won’t have to worry about carrying cash when they show up on the slopes. One wrist band will do the trick, providing entry to the ski lift as well as allowing them to make purchases. Image Credit: Precision Dynamics

So, with a wave of the wrist, I'll just pay for the Mountain Dew to go with that cheeseburger ... and while I'm at it, I'll buy those new Oakley, SHAUN WHITE SIGNATURE SERIES A FRAME goggles I've been meaning to get.

This from Contactless News -

Snö Mountain implements Precision Dynamics' RFID wristbands for ski lift passes and cashless purchases
Contactless News - Wednesday, January 24 2007

SAN FERNANDO, CA -- Precision Dynamics Corporation (PDC), a global leader in automatic wristband identification, announces the implementation of its Smart Band RFID Wristband System at the recently renovated Snö Mountain (formerly Montage Mountain) in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. Snö Mountain, an alpine ski and multi-season recreation center, opened on January 12, 2007.

The RFID wristband system provides added conveniences to guests including automated ski lift tickets and cashless point-of-sale (POS). Purchasing food and beverages at the ski park is a breeze using Smart Band's contactless payment feature. Guests can load money onto their wristband at POS stations using cash, credit or debit cards. Smart Bands work well in any environment -- wet or dry -- making them a great addition to any ski resort.

"Implementing PDC's RFID system will allow us to focus on the customer's overall experience and added convenience, setting Snö Mountain apart from the competition," says Denis Carlson, President of Snö Mountain. "Also, having a cashless payment option will help increase spending at POS locations such as the Snö Grill."


Snö Mountain expects over 175,000 visitors to the ski park this winter season and approximately 500,000 visitors during the summer season at Snö Cove waterpark. The Pocono Mountains are a popular resort and vacation area for residents of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. This is PDC's second RFID implementation in this area, with Great Wolf Lodge being the first. For more information on Snö Mountain, visit www.snomtn.com.
Reference Here>>