RFID     

RFID - overview

Physics Accomplishment | 1991

IBM researcher: TBD

Where the work was done: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

What we accomplished: From History of RFID Technology (RFID Journal): "In the early 1990s, IBM engineers developed and patented an ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID system. UHF offered longer read range (up to 20 feet under good conditions) and faster data transfer. IBM did some early pilots with Wal-Mart, but never commercialized this technology. When it ran into financial trouble in the mid-1990s, IBM sold its patents to Intermec, a bar code systems provider. Intermec RFID systems have been installed in numerous different applications, from warehouse tracking to farming. But the technology was expensive at the time due to the low volume of sales and the lack of open, international standards."

Related links: Wikipedia entry on RFID

Image credit: IBM

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