By Kevin Ashton

Electronic Product Code technology was developed primarily for the supply chain, but now it's emerging in a wide range of other applications—from asset tracking to location awareness. And that's enabled some potential killer applications that are real now, nearly real or in the concept stage. They all point to the power and flexibility of RFID, and show why it is one of the most important new technologies of the 21st century.

Smart shopping carts. Media Cart, a Texas-based startup, is using EPC technology to help shoppers find the items they need. The company put RFID readers in shopping carts and placed location tags in stores. Result: The cart knows where it is, and it draws maps to show shoppers quick routes to things they can't find. This application is in live tests now. If successful, there could be hundreds of thousands of mobile RFID readers roaming stores by the end of the decade.


Physical interfaces. Academics have been playing with RFID as an interface technology for years, manipulating physical things to control computers instead of using on-screen icons. Now Apple has filed a patent application that may point the way for these physical interfaces to become real. Instead of consumers pushing buttons and following complex on-screen setup guides, RFID-enabled set-top boxes and other devices could use RFID to find one another. Want to configure your new digital phone to show its pictures on your HDTV? Apple's idea is simple: Just wave the phone over the TV, and let RFID do the rest.