RFID: What won't happen in 2007

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2007

As 2007 begins, experts of all kinds are participating in the annual ritual of pontificating on the old year and telling us what to expect in the year ahead. Mike Liard, RFID research director for ABI Research, has turned the annual tradition on its head—he has supplied the following predictions for what will not happen in 2007.

1. RFID will not vanish from the headlines

Not only will RFID not disappear from trade publications, says Liard, it will not disappear from the mainstream consumer press either.

"We've now left the RFID inner circle. RFID is becoming a widely discussed topic," he says, adding that RFID chips were even included in the plot of a recent TV episode of "Law and Order."

2. The business case for RFID will not suddenly be "discovered"

Each RFID deployment is unique, says Liard, and each has its own formula for return on investment. One reason for this, he says, is that RFID deployments generate an immense amount of data, and users can put that data to a variety of different uses.

3. RFID privacy concerns will not fade away quietly

While Liard says he doubts RFID technology poses a significant threat to privacy, he acknowledges that easing the public's fears will take time.

As the technology becomes more widely used, RFID suppliers need to focus more on educating the public, he says. "The challenge now is to separate myth from reality. There's been so much sensationalizing about what can be done with this technology."