A new store at Wipro Technologies' sprawling campus in Bangalore, India, is expected to demonstrate how radio tags can automate checkout, stock maintenance, and the tracing and tracking of goods in a clothing shop.
Microsoft is out to take a more formal role in the development of radio frequency identification technology.
Manufacturers and a key industry group expect to introduce a kill switch for controversial radio frequency identification tags before the inventory-tracking chips are shipped in products to retail shelves.
Microsoft is enlisting in a venture designed to help develop standards for radio frequency tags intended for use by retailers and manufacturers to track goods.
Not many people may remember this, but Phil Donahue was one of the digital age's first technophobes.
Radio frequency identification has the potential to revolutionise supply chains of retailers the world over. However, for a 20-year-old technology, it still has significant teething problems.
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos says readers are united in their contempt for the idea of embedding chips in people.
Despite its clear benefits in stock tracking and the success of early, isolated pilot tests in tracking high-value assets, RFID technology is still spinning its wheels as ongoing high costs and unclear return on investment continue to keep once-enthusiastic customers away in droves.
Why is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology so exciting? According to Cesare Tizi, ZDNet Australia's CIO of the year, it "opens up unbelievable business opportunities."
Some of the largest commercial outlets in the United States and abroad have established requirements for their suppliers to begin using radio frequency identification technology before the end of this year. Yet finding a company willing to admit where it stands with RFID is often an exercise in listening to dead air.
Retailers may love the concept of tiny radio tags for tracking products, but consumers should beware the potential for exploitation by corporations, criminals and the government.
Can you really trust what a salesman tells you? Get the essential information before you enter the store. ZDNet partner Consumer Reports magazine brings you tips on buying everything from DVD players to cordless phones.
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