Jan 01, 2004This year will be a critical one for the adoption of radio-frequency identification. As the technology nears widespread adoption, RFID Journal predicts there will be fundamental changes in the values proposition. Here are the 10 top stories that would make waves in 2004.
1. Wal-Mart announces it will pay for the tags used by suppliers because “it’s a win-win situation."
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2. Suppliers decline Wal-Mart’s offer, saying they plan to deploy RFID systems anyway, and "the technology is worth every million we invest in it."
3. Large retailers and manufacturers agree to pay RFID vendors for tags and readers used in small-scale pilots.
4. Grateful RFID vendors promise to stop exaggerating what their tags and readers can do.
5. Supporters of ISO and EPC technologies hold a conclave and agree to adopt a single, global RFID standard. The meeting ends with hugs all around.
6. A well-known RFID opponent embraces the technology after a transponder embedded in her cat Snowy aids in the recovery of the lost pet. "I'm considering chipping all of my children,” she says.
7. In an unusual deal brokered by Jimmy Carter, shoplifters agree to voluntarily stop swiping Gillette razor blades, and Gillette agrees not to put RFID transponders in its products.
8. John Poindexter, former head of the U.S. military’s Total Information Awareness project, forms the RFID Action League to monitor the U.S. government’s use of RFID.
9. Supply chain software vendors offer to update their marketing materials—er, "RFID-enable" their applications—at no extra charge to existing customers.
10. RFID Journal voluntarily agrees to get out of the predictions business—at least until next year.