Can you imagine a time when you won’t have to wait at the checkout line to pay for items at the grocery store? In the future, the items in your cart can be read instantly without having to scan items individually. As a result of recent developments in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, this is a very real possibility! RFID ...

Only furries could create something so ridiculously mundane that it completely circles around lameness and cycles back to being totally awesome again. This RFID-enabled Arduino-driven tail apparently reacts to different mood chips, wagging if your happy or excited, so on and so forth. The tail is also controllable with the Wii Nunchuk remote. If your dressing up as a possum ...

Need even more proof that RFID doesn’t improve security? According to a group of hackers who bypassed an ePassport RFID authentication at an Amsterdam airport, RFID passports aren’t as secure as people think. Using software to design custom identities as well as convincing scanners to accept fabricated RFID chips, the hackers got around security without raising suspicion. They used an ...

If any of our francophone readers happen to be in France soon, be sure to let us know how your trip was. More specifically, we want to know if French transit company SNCF has expanded it’s trial RFID program. Passengers will receive a USB drive with an RFID chip inside it. You can add money to the account via RFID ...

For the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics, the Beijing committee included RFID chips with spectators’ passport information and home/e-mail addresses in each ticket to prevent counterfeits and hacker intrusions. Like the RFID-driven Japanese urn system, the Beijing system makes sure that anyone who isn’t supposed to be there, won’t. Much like U.S. airport security, if you were a ...

Remember the AMD project I previously wrote about? Well here’s the badge you get for attending HOPE. You’re given a removable battery that allows you to participate actively in the AMD project. Don’t want to be tracked for a few hours? Remove the battery and you’re good to go. Hit the jump to see the other side of the badge.

I manage to hurt myself multiple times throughout each given month, usually in places which are easy to fracture, such as the ankles or the wrists. Whether it’s due to clumsiness or completely accidental, the fact remains: I’m in pain. The good news is orthopedic firms are planning on using RFID implants to monitor a transplant’s performance while in use. ...

In a move that shows a blatant disregard for civil liberties and personal freedoms, a Rhode Island school district will be testing out a program that monitor’s student movement via RFID chips in backpacks. Right now, 80 children are using the RFID-equipped backpacks. Buses will also receive GPS units. Parents and faculty will be able to login to a system ...

Cats are awesome. They kill all the rodents in your backyard, don’t need to be walked and make for a catchy Internet meme. Unfortunately, your feline could make friends with some neighborhood alley cats and before you know it, your crib has become the hot spot to be. Keep unwanted animals out with this RFID-enabled pet flap known as Spimecat. ...

Ever since some jackass got an RFID implant in his hand, every geek on the planet has been itching to get one. After all, if you could open your front door or turn on a CD player with the wave of your hand, wouldn’t you get the procedure done? Of course you would. Unless of course, the Mafia is going ...