What does the future of RFID look like? The RFID Futures Conference discovers the answers

The RFID Futures Conference, which took place on November 7th at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel in Heathrow, London, provided a fascinating glimpse at how radio frequency technology could impact not only the economy but also society as a whole in the future. The conference, chaired by Bill Thompson (New Media Pioneer and BBC Broadcaster), showcased a number of different RFID applications that have the potential to change all of our lives.

Highlights of the day included a presentation by Richard Curry (visiting industrial associate at Imperial College London) who demonstrated how RFID technology could be used to help the elderly and infirm remain in their own homes when the only other option is residential care. Curry explained that by monitoring such variables as the number of cups of tea someone is making, or how many visitors they have had, can signal how well someone is coping with living in their own home, "If people don't make tea it's a sign they are not coping, but how do you monitor that? The key is the collection and collation of all this information. What we really want to do is build up a picture of how people really cope. Then we may be able to intervene before something happens," said Curry. Chris Ranger (Assistant General Director, National Patient Safety Agency) further illustrated the impact that RFID technology could have on healthcare, with applications discussed from verifying and tracking patients and equipment to identifying samples and donors.

Bill Thompson's presentation, set in 2025, gave a retrospective look at the impact that RFID technology will have over the next 25 years. The discussion included an eye-opening revelation of the extent to which RFID technology could be used to track and trace people." Thanks to tagging and RFID, we can know where something is, we can know where it is going and we can even know what or who it is". Further sessions on the day covered the use of RFID technology in anti-counterfeiting in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, interactive packaging, which can help catch mail thieves, and interactive homes.

The next RFID Networking Forum will be held on May 25th 2006 at the Olympia 2 Conference Centre in London. More information on the RFID Networking Forum can be found at www.rfidforum.com. The RFID Networking Forum was held in conjunction with the RFID Futures Conference and the RFID Breakthrough Awards 2005. More information of which can be found on www.rfidforum.com/futures and www.rfidawards.com