[Check out this article I posted at Weblogs Inc. For a few pictures, click though the link. Feel free to comment! -Mike O.]
http://wireless.weblogsinc.com/entry/9761113799044212/ RFID Chips Track Conference Visitors Posted Jun 21, 2004, 5:20 PM ET by Mike Outmesguine I visited the Business4Site conference last week. The conference covered a lot of business issues mostly from the perspective of business owners and managers. As I proceeded into the conference, the amount of technology in use surprised me. I began to become as interested in the technology used to hold the conference as I was in the conference material itself. When I arrived, I was issued a badge with my name on it as usual. But I also noticed computers sitting on the floor next to doorways into seminars, and display panels wherever you looked, especially next to doorways. A closer look revealed a curious cord running from the display panel to the laptops. My first thought was that the laptop was controlling a smart paper display. But then I actually looked at what was on the screen. The laptops all showed an activity log recording the following: badge ID, last name, first name, date & time, and location (theater, etc.) The log display was titled, "SHOW BADGE RFID CHECHER" [sic]. Obviously an RFID scanning program and apparantly a hastily written one from the spelling mistake on the application title. Ahhhh.. Very interesting. The panels are RFID scanners and the laptops are recording who is and is not allowed into the various conference sessions. But where is the RFID? In the pre-printed badge, of course. An RFID chip with a built-in serial number is assigned to each person. When you walk by a scanner, it detects the chip in your badge, checks with the central database of attendees via the wireless network, logs you, and displays your information on screen. Now you know where I was on 06/15/2004 at 6:16 PM. A less surprising but wholey expected use was seen at the vendor exhibits. The common method of giving contact info is to hand your badge to the exhibitor so they can swipe it, "May I swipe your badge?" But the contact info wasn't linked to a mag strip or barcode anymore, it was only readable by RFID. A hand-held RFID scanner attached to a printer was the weapon of choice amongst exhibitors. This very cool use of RFID changed the common question to something like, "May I beep you?" Privacy issues aside, this method of tracking helped conference organizers know their audience better. And vendors presenting at the marketplace seminars and speakers in conference sessions will know exactly who was in the audience (even if only for a minute.) With this knowledge in-hand, organizers can use the data to followup with people who showed interest in any particular talk. About privacy, I was saddened to see the scanning laptops just sitting out in the open without even a screensaver running, showing lists of names to any passersby. I know there is little privacy expectation at a conference. Afterall, you are walking around with your name hanging on your chest. But this lack of security on the front-end of their tech efforts doesn't bode well to my expectation of privacy after leaving the conference. I hope they manage that data carefully. Yet overall, this use of RFID showed that technology doesn't have to be in your face to be useful. I think this practice will grow and conference attendees can benefit from it. In the right hands, my personal information and areas of interest can be very powerful to get me the things I want. In the wrong hands, it could, well, become a royal pain. http://wireless.weblogsinc.com/entry/9761113799044212/ Avante conference tracking system: http://www.leadretrievalsystem.com/leads-trakker.asp
