RFID-enabled phone announced at show.

In June 2003, Wal-Mart made the announcement that its top 100 suppliers must begin using radio frequency identification (RFID) on cases and pallets. It started a firestorm of activity surrounding RFID and the supply chain.

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But as a conference in March proved, the surge of activity will not begin and end with logistics. It will also include industries such as pharmaceuticals, airlines, libraries. And now, cell phones.

At the Smart Labels USA 2004 conference, hosted by IDTechEx and held at the Long Wharf Marriott in Boston, cell phone manufacturer Nokia announced the creation of a mobile RFID kit.

The kit, which is compatible with the Nokia 5140 cell phone, transforms the phone into a reader. Owners touch their phones to an RFID tag located on stationary objects, such as gas or electricity meters. This enables them to access databases and record new data entries.

The kit is scheduled to ship by the middle of this year.

Other RFID applications

Using cell phones as mobile readers was not the only creative use of RFID discussed at the show. Many organizations are exploring the use of RFID for a variety of different reasons.

Walter Dzik, co-director, Blood Transfusion Service for Massachusetts General Hospital, discussed the implications of RFID on blood transfusions.

Massachusetts General Hospital is piloting the use of RFID-equipped patient wristbands and blood bags. Nurses would check the chip on the blood bag against the chip on the wristband to limit the risk of giving the wrong blood to the wrong patient.

While mis-transfusion is rare, it does happen. Reports indicate the risk of mis-transfusion is over 100 times greater than the risk of HIV or HCV transmission from a transfusion.

Airlines and airports are also exploring the use of RFID, this time to track baggage. At the conference, Delta Airlines and McCarran Airport outlined their views on the future of RFID within their sectors of the airline industry. Patrick Rary, manager of baggage planning and development for Delta also discussed the successful outcome of a bag tag pilot at Jacksonville Airport in Florida.

Item level tagging

While new RFID uses were emphasized, RFID tagging in logistics was not ignored. Presentations from organizations, such as the US Department of Defense and Hewlett-Packard, discussed the benefits of using RFID in the supply chain.

The focus remains on the case and pallet level, but some presenters were quick to point out that item level tracking is coming.

James Stafford, technical executive, IPX, for retailer Marks & Spencer spoke about several RFID trials conducted by the company. Among them is a business case trial that will begin this month and end in July. The trial will include labeling more than 200,000 men's suits.

CVS also discussed the value in piloting RFID at the item level for pharmaceuticals. Steve Lang, director of the project management office, said item level tracking would be "narrowly focused and customer centered."

Narrow web presence at show

A number of companies familiar to the narrow web industry were present at the Smart Labels USA conference, which attracted 350 attendees from 22 countries. Suppliers included substrate manufacturers 3M, Appleton and Avery Dennison; equipment manufacturers Melzer, bielomatik, and Creo; and ink manufacturers Parelec and Precisia.

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There were also a number of converters in attendance. CCL Label and The Kennedy Group had booths in the exhibition hall. The attendee list included delegates from Amherst Label, Convergent Label Technology, Dow Industries, Label House Group, Graphic Solutions, Logotech, and a number of other companies.

The next conference hosted by IDTechEx will be Smart Healthcare USA 2004, held June 10-11 at the San Francisco Marriott. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.idtechex.com.

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