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Tagging system is all over the shop

A new system of electronics tagging could improve shop inventory and security systems without invading customers’ privacy, its inventors claim.

Hertfordshire based friendly technologies (FTL) has developed a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that allows shops to instantly work out if any items are missing from their store and when they disappeared.

Unlike other RFID systems, FTL’s tags don’t hold information about the item itself and so off the shelf RFID readers cannot be used to work out what is in a person’s shopping bag or what items they have in their home.

“Our technology is cheaper, simpler and comes with all the benefits of RFID but without the security issues”, FTL managing director Humberto Moran told the Engineer Magazine.

The system works by effectively taking a register of the shop’s inventory, scanning 600 times every second and asking the tag to confirm whether or not it is a specific product rather than asking it to provide details.

Each tag consists of a tiny silicon chip and an antenna to receive and transmit signals and power. They cost about £0.07 each to produce and can be read within a distance of 4m.

Because the system is constantly scanning items, if a product is thought to be missing there will be a record of the exact time it disappeared from the shelves.

The technology can also link to a computer screen that automatically detects when a shipper has picked a product up off the shelf and provides information about the item such as cost, availability and similar products.

The technology was initially researched with a feasibility grant from the Scottish government and FTL hopes to have the product commercially available within six months.

BY STEPHEN HARRIS

The Engineer