Solving RFID's image problems
Published: 02 Jun 2005 19:45 BST
But on the flipside, I also believe that you have to offer reasonable and non-discriminatory licence terms for companies to use that software or hardware.
It is Symbol's goal to lead in the RFID industry. What is the company's position so far? Right now, I would characterise Symbol as the leader in RFID technology for the supply chain industry, as well as travel and transportation. Clearly, there is a large RFID market that we don't participate in — the active tag market. We [therefore] can't characterise Symbol as the leader in RFID in the general sense.
Technology is always a double-edged sword. RFID, while useful to businesses in streamlining logistics, is considered a bane for privacy. Any thoughts?
I actually think that a lot of education needs to be done on a worldwide basis with regard to RFID, because an RFID tag is nothing more than a talking barcode. It's a serial number identifier that's transmitted, and nothing more than that.
So, there isn't any risk of a privacy breach when all you're receiving is a unique identifier, like a license plate number. And when I receive that data, I need to match it to a database to give me more information about what that means. And RFID tags don't have any power — they have to be powered by a device in a specific range.
The key issue is one of education. When people understand how the technology works, they will no longer have a concern about privacy.
Are privacy advocates against RFID technology really blowing things out of proportion?
Absolutely, there's no doubt about it. And it's because they don't understand the technology. Once they understand the technology, I think they will quickly back off the concerns they have. It's up to us to educate them. I spend a good amount of time educating world leaders in Washington DC, and around the world on RFID — the technology and why there shouldn't be any concern with privacy.
Do you get threats from privacy advocates?
No, I haven't directly received any letters or threats. In the 1970s, people were concerned about the same privacy issue with barcodes. And of course, once people understood the technology, their concerns went away. The same will happen with RFID.
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