RFID

Gadget-friendly clothing firm SCOTTeVEST showed off a new concept smart-coat at this year’s CES. Looking like a standard windbreaker from the outside, the SCOTTeVEST TEC Jacket 2.0 actually contains serious technology in the form of adapters, accessories, and enough pockets to safely house the majority of mobile devices.  Read More

The trouble with having more than one cat is that sometimes one will decide that all the food belongs to it, and the other goes hungry. The Gatefeeder cat-feeding system addresses this situation via RFID tags, to ensure that only the cat wearing a tag can gain access to its food bowl.  Read More

With its basic game board and lettered tiles, Scrabble is about as low-tech of a game as you can get. But that hasn't stopped Mind Sports International from giving the game's iconic board a 21st century upgrade. For the company's upcoming festival in Prague, a new Scrabble board was built that uses RFID chips in each tile to detect where each letter is placed and transmit the data online almost instantly.  Read More

If you’re someone who can afford really fancy socks, then it’s entirely possible that you might not want to “lower” yourself to the act of going into a store to buy them. That’s why Switzerland’s BLACKSOCKS started its Sockscription system, in which users regularly receive premium new Italian socks by mail. It doesn’t stop there, however. The company is now offering Smarter Socks, which communicate with the user’s iPhone to deliver the, um ... ultimate sock-sorting experience.  Read More

Identity theft is a constant concern in the digital age, and the inclusion of RFID chips in just about everything from cell phones to passports unfortunately opens up another avenue for would-be thieves to lift your data. The only way to really know you were secure would be to block all wireless frequencies from reaching your IDs and gadgets. ThinkGeek's solution is the Blokket, a small pouch designed to hold mobile devices or RFID-chipped IDs and block them from receiving any incoming wireless signals.  Read More

By now, we’ve all become quite used to seeing QR codes on products, price tags and advertisements – just scan the code with your smartphone’s camera, and it’s converted into readable information. Soon, however, those codes could be facing competition from something known as the rectenna. It’s an inexpensive label-like device that transmits data to a near-field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone, using that phone’s radio waves as its power source.  Read More

Ideum has announced a major update to its 65-inch Presenter Touch Wall Display. The new model is now just two inches (50.8 mm) thin, is available in display-only or with built-in computing and connectivity options, and includes RFID technology.  Read More

The newest entry in ARM's Cortex line, the Cortex-M0+ is claimed to be the world's most energy-efficient processor, delivering 32-bit performance on around one third of the typical energy requirements of an 8- or 16-bit processor. Targeting low-cost sensors and microcontrollers, the M0+ will come with a very modest price tag and could act as a crucuial stepping stone to a world in which everyday objects communicate with each other, sharing data to make smart, coordinated decisions that will improve our quality of life.  Read More

Sony has developed a power outlet that can identify devices plugged into it, as well as individuals using the plug. The company says such technology could allow the electricity usage of individual devices to be monitored so non-essential devices could be switched off remotely in the event of limited electricity supply, or for the billing of customers charging their electric vehicles or mobile devices in public places.  Read More