RFID News Roundup
European Youth Olympic Festival to use
RFID-enabled ID cards; RF-iT adds to its RFID
middleware solution; Seoul Subway to save millions with RFID ticketing;
Pennsylvania lawmakers move closer to banning forced chip implants in people;
Maryland hospital to use VeriChip's RFID-enabled
emergency management system; Hi-G-Tek unveils new
line of active RFID tags, readers.
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July 9, 2009—The
following are news announcements made during the last week.
European Youth Olympic Festival to Use RFID-enabled ID
Cards
UPM Raflatac,
a supplier of pressure-sensitive labels and RFID products located in
RF-iT Adds to Its RFID Middleware Solution
RF-iT Solutions, an RFID software and consulting
company based in
Seoul Subway to Save Millions With RFID Ticketing
The Seoul Subway, which serves a city of 10 million people in South Korea, has
implemented an RFID ticketing system based on technology from chipmaker STMicroelectronics (ST),
based in Geneva, Switzerland. The system replaces Seoul Subway's paper tickets
with RFID smart
cards known as Single Journey Tickets. Each ticket contains ST's SRT512 contactless memory chip, enabling the
cards to be returned and reissued to new passengers. The SRT512, specifically
designed for short-range applications, complies with the ISO 14443-B
standard. By recycling the tickets, Seoul Subway can save an estimated 3
billion Won (more than $2.4 million) on the cost and environmental impact of
generating more than 450 million disposable paper tickets each year. With the
new system, customers can purchase single-journey tickets in automated vending
machines in exchange for each passenger's payment, plus a 500 Won ($0.40)
deposit for the ticket. ST worked with card issuer Korea Smart Card Co.
(KSCC), which operates the New Transportation System for the Seoul Metropolitan
Government, to optimize the SRT512 to support the subway's ticketing system.
The new single-use, reusable cards augment Seoul Subway's existing RFID
ticketing system, a refillable traffic-card system called T-Money. ST and KSCC
collaborated on the T-Money prepaid transportation cards, which are accepted in
buses, subway and taxis, and are based on ST's ST19WR
contactless smart cards.
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Move Closer to Banning Forced Chip Implants
The Pennsylvania
House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill introduced by
Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) that would make
it illegal to force someone to have an identification device—such as an RFID transponder—implanted
on or under his or her skin. House Bill 1175 does not specifically refer to
RFID, though it defines an identification device as anything containing or
transmitting personal information, such as an individual's name; address;
contact information, including phone number and e-mail; date of birth; driver's
license number; Social Security or state identification number; religion;
ethnicity; bank or credit card information; fingerprint or any other unique identifier.
Under the bill, a person would have to be at least 18 years old and of sound
mind to undergo implantation, and the consent of a parent, guardian or attorney
would not be considered adequate. A person found in violation would be subject
to a civil penalty of up to $10,000. The individual subjected to the
implantation would also be able to bring a civil action against the guilty
person for actual damages. The bill was amended on the House floor to include
two exemptions: an individual ordered by a state or federal court to be
implanted, as part of his sentence or condition of probation or parole, and any
Calvert
Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick, Md., has signed a deal with
RFID solutions provider VeriChip to employ VeriChip's
VeriTrace solution for disaster preparedness and
emergency management. The deal includes 1,000 implantable RFID microchips. VeriTrace consists of the microchips, a VeriTrace Bluetooth handheld interrogator, a
customized Ricoh
500SE Digital Camera capable of wirelessly receiving both RFID-scanned data
and GPS information,
and a Web-enabled database for gathering and storing information and images
captured during emergency response operations. VeriTrace
was used to help the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Mortuary Operational
Response Teams identify and track the remains of those who died during
Hurricane Katrina (see VeriChip's VeriTrace
Platform Sees Sales Boost). Since then, the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation, the Hawaii Department of Health, the Florida Emergency Mortuary
Operations Response System (FEMORS), the medical examiner's office at the
Department of Heath in
Hi-G-Tek Unveils New Line of Active Tags,
Readers
Hi-G-Tek,
a developer and manufacturer of active-RFID sensing and control solutions for
tracking high-value cargo and sensitive materials, is introducing its 18.7
Secure Series, a line of active RFID interrogators, transponders and sensors
designed to track and monitor sensitive cargo and materials, including fresh
produce. The new line complies with the ISO 18000-7
standard and operates at 433 MHz. The series includes a model with a
temperature sensor that can report, in real time, the condition of a shipment
in the back of a truck. Another product in the line is a container security
device, whereby loads can be locked and monitored for any instances of
tampering or contamination. Hi-G-Tek says it has
already received a significant purchase order for a broad range of the 18.7
Secure Series products, through the U.S. Department of Defense's RFID III
indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract established by the U.S. Army on
behalf of all