Speech Summaries

Kevin Ashton Executive Director Auto-ID Center, MIT

Less Sizzle, More Steak -- RFID Gets Real

Kevin Ashton, Executive Director, Auto-ID Center, MIT, talked about the uses and benefits of RFID, promising that it is a "new technology that is nothing to be scared of."

Mr. Ashton began by describing the bar code, which turned 25 in 1999, as a geriatric retail technology that sooner or later will be replaced. He suggested that its replacement will be RFID, "a wirelessly networkable microcomputer, so cheap that you can afford to use it a few times and throw it away." This technology makes it possible to turn every man-made object into a computer. RFID provides direct networking to items, allowing users not only to identify them, but, in the case of grocery, also to provide the answer to questions like, "Are you still fresh?"

The Auto-ID Center started out with three sponsors three years ago. To date, 74 firms have invested in realizing the vision of turning every item in the world into a wirelessly networkable microcomputer. To put a chip in each item, it must be cheap. And to make it cheap, the chip must be smaller -- 180 microns, even 80 microns. "I don't know how to do RFID on chips this small . . . yet!" he said. Even though smaller chips hold less data, only 54 bits would be enough to uniquely number every grain of rice that will be eaten on the planet this year.

Next year will be a busy one for the Auto-ID Center. Version One will be launched and supported next October. It is working on making the smallest and most inexpensive tag possible; however, if the technology is not adopted in large numbers, the price will never come down.

Questions And Answers

Q: A penny is a lot to pay to tag a can of coke. Will it happen even 20 years from now?
A: Back in 1983 the first cell phone was advertised as weighing less than five pounds. And a few years ago people laughed at the thought that we'd even get this far. When we started out, the focus was on the 10-cent tag, now we've hit five and everybody is thinking about 1-cent. But the idea that this has to be a penny before it pays is not right. There's a heck of a lot you can do at a nickel. That's where you begin.

Q: What about privacy concerns that consumers might have?
A: It's important to recognize that consumers don't trust you. If you're going to put radio antennas on their products, even if you can only read a few meters on a good day, it doesn't mean consumers will believe you. This concern must be addressed.

Q: Manufacturers pay to put chips on products, but it's the retailers that benefit greatly. In order to be successful, shouldn't it be a more balanced investment?
A: I think costs and benefits are reasonably well balanced. Retailers must buy readers.