I know, I know. I should do this much more regularly, but then it wouldn't be me. I'll write if there's something to write about, but I don't want to blog constantly with nothing actually said.
So, 2006. RFID will make big inroads this year, and not just in the retail world. Expect to see ( or more likely hear ) of Small & Medium Enterprises ( SME's ) using RFID this year as part of their business processes. Some new developments - especially ones we're involved with! - will transform what's happening around Q2 2006.
We're getting a lot of interest from the Middle East, as well as our work in Europe and North America. Some are generic RFID applications, and some are directly for our RFID-enabled document security system.
Convergence of technologies is a major factor to RFID take-up. Wireless is prolific now, so a logical extension of that is using RFID instead of barcode systems.
Smart paper is another area which, whilst not RFID, will be a growth industry.
Essentially, you get a digital pen, just like a slighly larger regular pen, and use it in conjunction with some digitally encoded paper which looks just like regular paper. A camera on the pen notes exactly where the writing occurs, and when finished the pen uses either a USB connection or Bluetooth & GPRS through a mobile to upload the data as a digitised image straight into a back end system. Manually collected data is immediately entered as digital data onto the network.
Imagine - invoices created at Head Office within minutes of a service engineer visit 400 miles away. Social workers can discreetly take notes which update case notes within minutes. And nothing is more natural to use than a pen. The possibilities are endless, and the applications immense.
If you'd like more info on this, please e-mail me as this will be a fantastic area of opportunity, not just for developers like us but for companies looking to save money by streamlining processes, speeding up paperwork and maximising efficiencies, with minimal hardware outlay.
2006 - a great year for wireless technologies over a broad range of markets. 