RFID technology is the latest rage in retailing where it promises complete
inventory control from factory floor to (and possibly including into) the
consumer's house, and even refrigerator. Currently it is possible for a head
of lettuce to be harvested tagged and tracked to the day it is consumed or
rots in the fridge. The fridge could actually tell you when you are out of
lettuce or when a bottle of milk is due to expire. WalMart has just
announced that all its suppliers will need to go RFID by 2005. Currently,
cost is the downside of the technology the chips costs about 50 cents per
piece. Estimates are that within 5 years the cost will be down to 5 cents,
and then it should find wider application.

In museum work the technology's most direct application would be in museum
shop inventory, collections management, and exhibition design. But it also
can be used in a number of other areas including: security, personnel
management, and visitor experience analysis. For example the sensor could
tell how long a visitor looked at a picture and by doing a comparative
analysis can easily tell which items attract the most visitors, and at which
items most time is spent. Personnel can be tracked everywhere where there
are sensors, and one could even tell who is meeting with whom, where, and at
what time. Security applications for collections are obvious but one could
easily tell when unauthorized persons enter a restricted area.

As most new technology RFID promises some intriguing possibilities but there
are definite limitations and cost involved. For one, RFID does not go
through all materials. Any materials that stop radio waves will make RFID
application problematic. Also, ever greater use of technology, while helping
to keep certain productivity costs down do require greater initial
capitalization costs and ongoing budget lines. Today, for example there is
no museum that does not have to consider costs of IT in its budget. Even the
smallest operation must replace hardware and software periodically and
requires that folks either know how to use the stuff or are trained to use
it. I predict that within 5 to 10 years RFID will become an important tool
in museum work, at least among the larger institutions.
nburlakoff

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Bennett Siegel
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 10:41 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: RFID technology

From what I understand, RFID is better than bar coding because you can scan
stacks of objects all at once, and it will read right through various
materials, so unpacking is not necessary.
Works on paper can have the chip attached to a rice paper hinge which gets
pasted to the back of the work itself.  This is preferable to attaching it
to a mat or folder, because you are actually tracking the work itself, and
not it's housing.

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Bruce Wyman
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 9:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: RFID technology


>What is RFID technology?

Radio Frequency Identification.

RFID is a technology where a small microchip is embedded in an object
and can be read by a nearby scanner. Sort of like a bar code, except
the information is digitally encoded.

There's a good starter FAQ online as part of the RFID Journal at
<http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/207>

Typically, RFID is used to track objects in an environment, such as a
supplier knowing where boxes might be in a warehouse, an art museum
keeping track of pieces in the collection, or an exhibit changing a
visitors experience based upon what they've done.

-bw.
--

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