NEWS RFID, the much-hyped technology that's turned up on dirty laundry, luggage and even Japanese schoolchildren, has now made its way to posh watches.
Winwatch has teamed up with Toshiba to put the tracking tags into wristwatches, with a view to stopping the trade in counterfeit timepieces that sees thousands of pounds ripped off big name watch sellers such as Rolex.
Winwatch has patented a method of putting the tiny chips into the glass crystal of watches or fixing one to the glass front so it doesn't interfere with the mechanical workings. Attaching it to the watch-front also means that the metal parts of the watch - or wearer's wrist - won't interfere with the tag being read and that tags can be added to ready-manufactured watches.
The RFID chips will be manufactured by Toshiba and will be readable from a distance of 1mm.
Comments
There are 11 comments. Join the discussion
1. Darrall Pullen
1mm? That can't be right. I read this article to mean tht the RFID acan only be read from 1mm away. Do you mean registration in that the "footprint" of the chip is only 1mm?
Curiously anticpating
D
2. mjcrown
This is interesting. and I wonder if big outfits like www.printronix.com and other companies will expand their expertise on proucts like this?
3. Mark Hudson
When will we see rfid in banknotes or cheques?
How long before the smart chip in your credit card is replaced by an RFID chip? Then you won't even need to take your card out of your wallet, but just wave your wallet over the reader....
4. Harry Rogers
Or have someone wave a reader near your wallet! - How many credit cards could you read on the average Victoria line tube @8.30 am ?
5. Dave Brockless
Although I can see the advantage to the manufacturers, what happens if unscrupulous thieves manage to obtain a reader (presumably they won't be that hard to get hold of)
They will then be able to detect a wearer of an expensive watch, follow them and select an opportune moment to mug them!
Then they'll be able to sell the item on, being able to prove to the prospective purchaser that it's the real deal!
6. Jon
I'm not sure where this is going, will all public buildings be equiped with scanners to flash up the words fake as you enter with your $25 Rolex.
Will people take scanners down the pub
This is not going to stop the trade, just make it a little easier for the Police to identify post 2004 watches.
7. Terry Carlin
Sounds great for keeping track of staff. No more clock/swipe cards etc.
8. Mike Perry
>Or have someone wave a reader near your wallet!
Like a mugger, for example....
9. anonymous
I read it as 1 mm read range too. It might be correct. Texas Instruments 13.56 MHz tags have about a 48mm square antenna pattern and have read ranges as short as about 20 mm to 300 mm. It sounds like the watch crystal RFID chip would need a very small antenna to remain visually unobtrusive and so could well have only 1 mm read range.
10. Stuart Hickling
RFID in banknotes? Great idea! Muggers and pickpockets won't have to waste time stealing from the poor then.
Just scan people as they walk by and only rob the ones with enough cash to make it worthwhile.
It would devastate the economy as people would revert to untraceable currency for cash transactions as governments would be able to monitor the flow of money from person to person... and no doubt tax it!
11. Grizzly Bear
The basic tenet of the inventors/manufacturers/marketers of any type of technology is to only think of/advertise the good that can be done with it. If they addressed the possible negative consequences of their technology, they might have to stop their headlong rush to market with some moral introspection. Everyone knows the thrill of making something, anything so you can get rich and powerful is ruined by having to think of what the consequences of your technology might be for other people.
Everybody is so concerned about whether they can do it, and market it before anyone else, they never stop to consider whether they should do it.