In a move to add a physical connection to the artists we listen to, Matt Brown has created a prototype design for a interchangeable RFID radio system.

In “Immaterials: The ghost in the field”, a film by Jack Schulze of BERG and Timo Arnall of the Touch project, they visually map out the invisible fields produced by RFID readers to better understand the technology

To help track Washington DC hospital patients in the event of a disaster, the US Government is exploring the use of RFID tags to locate them in real time. Nextgov reports that the radio frequency identification tags, which if they’re battery powered, can have a range of about 300 feet, can assist in locating people (with an accuracy rate of 95 percent) during crisis situations when every second can be critical.
Many hospitals already use RFID to track supplies and other assets, but using the technology to follow people is a relatively novel practice.
Nextgov: “RFID tags eyed to track Washington-area patients [...]

Engineering students from Central Michigan University have developed a prototype cane for the visually-impaired that incorporates RFID technology to provide more data about the surrounding area. The “smart cane” is equipped with a reader that senses proximity to objects equipped with tags. As users approach obstacles, a sensor located inside the cane sends a signal to a small navigational system housed inside a shoulder bag, which in turn emits an audio alert that directs walkers accordingly. For individuals who are also hearing-impaired, the team has created a glove that issues warnings through subtle vibrations.
As the technology becomes further refined and [...]

The MIT Media Lab has developed a new type of data tag called Bokode, which has the capacity to hold thousands of times more information than the traditional barcode. The name is a combination of barcode, and the Japanese term Bokeh, which refers to the blurred area around a photographer’s point of focus.
Bokodes are circular in shape and much smaller than a barcode -about 3mm wide- and consist of an LED along with a mask and lens. Information is stored in the light that shines through the mask, and can be read by taking an out of focus photo from [...]

In an effort to help dairy farmers better manage their herds, Danish technology firm, SmartFarming has developed an animal tracking and monitoring system called CowDetect. The system enables farmers to maintain a more meaningful account of individual animals by analyzing movement and eating patterns in real time.

Re:Collect is an RFID bracelet reader that comes with several tags you can attach to your valuables. Because the bracelet is constantly scanning its surroundings, it will start to blink, beep, and vibrate as you move further away from your cellphone, bag, keys, or anything you’ve tagged with an RFID chip.
It was concepted by a group of Masters in Design Studies students at Central Saint Martins, University of Arts in London, and it’s currently in pre-production stages.
[ via Make ]

Touch is a research group exploring the way mobile phones communicate with the physical world. One of their latest experiments involves attaching an RFID reader to an iPhone. When the phone is close enough to an RFID tag attached to certain objects, different actions or windows are triggered on the phone. In the demo, the creators have linked favorite videos, ads, and their podcasts to individual toys that could represent objects at a store.

iPhone RFID: object-based media from timo on Vimeo.
[via Engadget]

Although it may not look like much in its raw form, the Twittering cat door is an impressive piece of hi-tech house modification. A computer programmer has hooked up his cat’s entryway with an RFID sensor that sets off a chain of automated events when either of his cats come near. The door will only open for the resident cats, Gus and Penny, who have special RFID collar tags, and when they enter a Tweet is sent, and a photo is taken. The hack has been very successful in keeping out the neighborhood cats who were eating Gus and Penny’s [...]

A project from Geekmyride.org gives new meaning to the term “remote controlled car”. Using a web server connected to an Arduino setup, an Australian man has turned his iPod Touch into a remote control for his Mazda RX-8. With a simple touch interface, he can now turn the engine on and off, lock and unlock all doors, display engine parameters and show the car’s current location on Google Maps. This tricked out car also acts as a mobile 3G broadband hub where authorized users can access the Internet. And if the owner ever forgets his iPod (or keys), it’s not [...]

There have been many new DJ systems created in the last few years, but perhaps none as unique as the Beat Blender Prototype by Finnish “One man collective” Matti Niinimäki.
Niinimäki has rigged together a music control device using an old Osterizer blender, and pieces of fruit with embedded RFID tags. Each piece of fruit represents a sound sample, and when dropped ito the blender triggers and loops the sample. Adding more fruit to the mix makes the composition more complex, and by pressing the different blender control buttons (Stir, Puree, Whip, Grate, Mix, Chop, Grind, Blend, Liquefy, Frappé), you can [...]

Poken is a new toy that attempts to bridge the gap between online and offline play. It’s a plastic creature, in the form of a panda or bumblebee or three-eyed monster, that transfers social networking information via ‘high-fives’ (and RFID). After making new friends face-to-face, kids can bust out their RFID-enabled keychains and instantly exchange their online identity details through a poken-to-poken high five. After the exchange, users then connect their toy to a computer via USB, where they can download the info onto poken’s database, which helps them manage and distribute the new data on the user’s social networking [...]

Marketing guru Russell Davies recently wrote up his notes on his latest presentation on his blog. Russell has been looking at how RFID and similar technology can allow brands to tell stories about their brands. He says that the world is moving to Post Digital and that for any marketer that thought the internet was complicated, they’re going to get a lot more confused. Technology we associate with the web – Twitter tweets, imagery, games and further information – is going to become infused in real products and those products will become their own communication channels. Russell writes:
As objects informationalise [...]

Gillette has started using RFID to determine whether stores have stocked their shelves with a specific item in time for a marketing promotion. Gillette is doing that by analyzing data from retailers with RFID scanners, which read the electronic product codes on each tag at receiving docks and at various points between stockrooms and store entrances.
Imagine they take this a step further? Imagine a system that automatically books a radio spot or online banner campaign when it monitors that a certain product line isn’t shifting? Ad agencies could prepare a bank of direct response ads for every product category that [...]