RFID Tagging

RFID is a near-field communication method. In essence, an RFID tag is a very simple circuit that beams out a small amount of information over weak radio frequencies, when prompted to by nearby scanners. The idea is that things don't need to make actual contact with anything else to be identified. For example, a car parking pass that you could sit by the windscreen in your car, and would automatically open the gate and clock you in as you drive up.

RFID technology is very real, and it's happening right now. An increasing number of everyday things are starting to become RFID-based, including passports and driving licenses, ID cards and permits of various descriptions, even commercial products tagged for security reasons. In a world where a primary focus is on convenience, this seems like a pretty good idea, right?

The technology is not without it's drawbacks. For example, RFID tags are very easy to read, and anyone with the right bit of kit (not expensive, I should note), can read an RFID tag. Yes, including someone who is walking down the street trying to zap your driving license ID number as you walk past. It goes without saying that radio technologies are inherently insecure to a certain degree; after all, a radio transmission is broadcasted to just about anything in the broadcast vicinity. If there's a device in that vicinity capable of receiving and interpreting the transmission, that's pretty unfortunate.

Reading an article on theregister.co.uk brought it into perspective a bit, where a US state feels it is important enough to make data theft by means of RFID illegal, and punishable by up to ten years in prison. For something that is supposed to make our lives easier and revolutionise the way we identify ourselves, that's a pretty big protective step to take, albeit, a necessary one. RFID data theft will be a pretty big problem if one day, we all find ourselves having an RFID identity chip injected into us at birth.

Location-Based Services

Location-based services are inevitably going to become a part of our daily lives, where you can access rich data of various descriptions just based upon your physical location in the world. Sounds like a pretty convenient idea. After all, just think of the possibilities.

Your mobile phone would become the center of this location-aware universe. The clock hits 7 AM, and the alarm goes off. You get up, have a shower and get dressed. Having had breakfast, you go to catch the bus. You're stood at the bus stop, and the bus is late. You can tell because your portable device already knows which bus stop you're waiting at, and downloads the appropriate timetables. You also know how imminent the bus is because you can see it on a realtime digital map. You step onto the bus, and your phone changes to vibrate mode instead of the obnoxiously annoying loud profile we so frequently encounter on public transport. You arrive at your destination and you step off the bus, and into the office. Automatically your calls are diverted to your office phone until you leave again. It reaches lunchtime and your handset knows your favourite lunch spot, which is why your messaging presence status is automatically set to busy while you're there at midday. It's been a long day in the office and you return home to get a bite to eat before going out with some friends. They're coming imminently, and you are optionally alerted when they are a couple of minutes away. You go out looking for a nightclub. Walking down the highstreet, your phone alerts you about geotags people have previously placed. "Five star club. Recommended." Nice one. You take some photos while you're there, which are not only tagged with your location, but can also be added to the nightclub's location album that anyone can access while they're there. Oh, and another friend of yours is in the nightclub; you're alerted so you can go and say hi.

This is the sort of technological future we could look forward to. One where you aren't asked for your location before you can be given any information. One where your location can automatically bring you practical information, social data and convenience controls.

Of course, the problem is that the big media zealots would try and push context advertising. But we can dream about the ad-free location-based world, right?