Changing CVV Code for Credit Cards

The chip cards have been less successful than had been expected, the changing CVV codes may make it harder to fraudulently buy online.  Good discussion of further direction of card security

Pilot project demos credit cards with shifting CVV codes to stop fraud
Trial will last 90 days to test effectiveness and timing of CVV change.
By Megan Geuss in Ars Technica  ... "

Online Credit Card Usage

In Supermarket News:   A snippet of information about online credit usage.  " ... Many Wal-Mart Stores shoppers who purchase online and opt to pay with cash at a store actually end up using a credit card, Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Bill Simon says. This shows many consumers are still reluctant to use a credit card online, he says.... " 

Advancing Google Wallet

Google Wallet now accepts many card options.  We move closer to the electronic wallet.  Near universal capability is key.  " ... The newest version of Google Wallet now sports a feature that makes paying with a cellphone that much more a reality for non-techie users. Google has launched a cloud-based version of Wallet that "supports all credit and debit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover," according to a post on the Google Commerce blog.... " 

Thoughtful Risk Taking

From Knowledge@Wharton:   Kodak and MasterCard.  Kodak is a company I have followed for many years, and even interacted with in the innovation space. How could they fail?  Impressed with the details behind MasterCard.
" ... The new culture at MasterCard encourages "thoughtful risk-taking," he said. In its old form, leadership at the firm was nervous and unable to risk upsetting the proverbial apple cart. According to McWilton, the perception was that margins were good, so why take a risk? Now, with the advent of technology like microchip-embedded cards, international rules regarding transactions and new federal rules surrounding credit cards, there has to be a level of creative risk-taking, otherwise the changes will suck up those margins in a heartbeat, McWilton noted... " 

Google Wallet Arrives

In Mashable:  " ... Google’s mobile payment system, Google Wallet, is now available to the public — for people who use Sprint Nexus S 4G phones and Citi MasterCards or Visa cards at least. The near-field communication and contact-less payment system was expected to launch this summer.  Google Wallet — along with Google Offers — is built on an open platform that combines multiple credit cards, loyalty programs and offers at the point of sale. Payment is made by swiping your smartphone at checkout. Essentially, Google is turning your phone into your wallet ... "

RFID News Update

The RFID Journal is always a good place to go for the latest news on tagging things.   Check out their useful and detailed news update.

Near Field Communications Discount System

A somewhat unqiue method of using both RFID and mobile to redeem discounts in a store:

E. Leclerc Supermarket Tests RFID-enabled Promotional Offers
In Nice, the French retail chain is piloting a system that includes stickers with built-in Near Field Communication RFID readers that customers can use to select and redeem discounts at the store ... "

RFID Security Cube

In RFID Journal: Had thought these kinds of security applications makes sense, here is a recent example:

Self-contained RFID Cube Helps Keep Out Foreign Material

Access Solutions has devised a turnkey unit that employs EPC Gen 2 tags and readers to streamline the tracking of workers and tools entering and exiting protected areas of power plants and other facilities ... "

Motorola Splits

The split of the 83 year old company in two pieces is seen in a number of different ways.  We worked with them in the early days of RFID and they provided some excellent technology.  Net I think better focus will result in better innovation.

An RFID Turntable

The well known design company IDEO, who helped us construct innovation spaces, has designed a turntable (remember those?) style platform that reads a card with an RFID chip in it to play (stream) music.  Explained further and demonstrated in Engadget.  More of a nostalgia thing than practical.  Also, IDEO is not taking orders for these yet.

Tagging Starter Kits

Motorola is offering some out-of-the-box RFID starter kits for companies that want to understand the technology and its application.  Good idea.  " ... Motorola and its channel partners will offer new packages that companies can use to test RFID solutions for tracking retail items, IT assets, returnable transport containers and much more ... "

RFID for Cold Chain Monitoring

The 'cold chain' includes the history of the changes in temperatures as products move through the supply chain.  Indicating potential damage from temperatures that are too high or low.  Sensor tagging has been used for some time in this area.  Here a recent example of using RFID tagging in this context.

Google and Near Field Communications Support

Google announces that versions of the Android mobile operating system will include NFC (Near Field Communications) support.  NFC enables  short range, about 10 cm, communications between devices and also between devices and RFID chips.  It is primarily designed for mobile phone use.  We examined it for payment and providing information at the retail shelf.  Having it integrated into the mobile phone operating system could make identification of precise location and touchless identification of products far more common a sensor option. This is a clear step towards the mobile phone as a wallet concept.

The Rise of Self Checkout

I have looked at aspects of retail checkout for some time.  Examining methods like RFID tagging, in store hand held scanning, carts that scan their contents and replacements for the checkouts themselves.  We experimented with all of these in the innovation centers.  Worked with companies, like IBM, Motorola, Fujitsu, Nixdorf and NCR.  The entire idea has come a long way.  In my local Kroger there are now lines for the self-checkouts, unusual just a few years ago.   A good overview of the values and minuses in the Washington Post. Non-technical, with some useful statistics.

Uniting Towards Item Level RFID

Something we looked at for years, moving towards the replacement of the barcode.  Some predictors had this happening by 2005.  Not yet, but some are still looking at advancing the idea:

Retailers and Manufacturers Unite to Advance Item Level RFID
While some say the technology has fallen from grace, item level RFID is actually moving from pilots to deployments. Now, the Jones Group, Conair, Wal-Mart and more are working together to develop measurable value propositions and standards-based guidelines ...

Trimble Acquires Thingmagic

Thingmagic, out of MIT, was one of the first EPC RFID companies we worked with.  Here a continued set of mergers in the RFID space.  The RFID tracking world has simply not performed as was expected back in 2000:

Trimble Acquires ThingMagic

The provider of positioning and tracking solutions will incorporate ThingMagic's EPC RFID technology into its own products for the construction and mobile services sectors, while ThingMagic will also continue to operate as an RFID reader and solutions provider, as a Trimble division ... "

Reusable Baggage Tags

Baggage tags were a long time potential application for RFID .. here is a new example.
Reusable Electronic Baggage Tag Powered by RFID
Vanguard ID Systems' View Tag contains two passive RFID chips and an electronic paper display to help airlines and airports track the location of luggage, and send updates to passengers' cell phones when bags are loaded on planes.

Phones Nagging Patients

In CACM: a study about using a cell phone to improve pharma compliance. Not a new idea at all. The general idea was demonstrated in the contextual innovation centers including things like a 'smart' medicine cabinet which would detect an RFID tag on a prescription, and then alert the consumer to take their meds. Including a smartphone connection makes sense. Of course you could just robo call someone and remind them, but there is something that makes your own smart phone personal. You set up the App ... approved the parameters. This could make it more likely that you would be compliant.

Capturing the Biometrics of Motion

In the RFID Journal, a development with a number of interesting applications.
Michigan Researchers Develop RFID-based Sensors to Measure Physical Activity
The system would enable physicians or therapists to capture sophisticated data about an individual's expended energy, based on the movement, angle and relative position of three EPC Gen 2 RFID tags worn on that person's body ... "

Tag Strategy at Wal-Mart

More in Storefrontbacktalk about Wal-Mart's RFID tagging strategy.

" ... When Wal-Mart this week confirmed it has been quietly testing item-level RFID in two Arkansas stores for several months—along with plans to “incrementally roll out [item-level RFID] throughout the chain”—it raised quite a few eyebrows because of the way it’s being done. The company is initially only tagging denim jeans, socks and underwear (let’s try and ignore the fact that a radio transmitter inside a guy’s boxers is nothing shy of creepy), and it’s leaving the tags active until customers opt to throw them away ... "