Canada develops subway RFID

McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, is working with Bombardier on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for public transit operators to identify the location of crews working on subway tracks, reports ITWorld Canada.

The tags transmit a signal to subway operators rather than relying on lights or messages broadcast on the transit communications system.

The McMaster University RFID Lab has been working on the $1.4 million project since October. The Ontario Centres of Excellence; a government-funded group that helps organisations commercialise technology, provided around $600 000.

Coulomb Technologies has unveiled the installation of its ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles in Washington, US, says RFID Ready.

Drivers using the system to recharge their cars will use RFID integrated smart cards to pay for the service.

Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies, says: “Installing networked charging stations in places such as supermarkets brings the reality of electric vehicles one step closer. As people begin to see this necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles emerge in their daily routines will bring the idea that electric vehicles are here to stay.”

Monks living in a 13th-century Czech monastery near the border of Austria are employing near field communication (NFC) RFID technology to provide visitors access to recorded information in their own languages, states RFID Journal.

NFC solutions provider, Nexperts, has starting working on designing a solution; which is partly funded by the European Union for $24 000.

The system's designers say it is one of the first NFC applications for tours and tour guides.