Father of RFID dies

Charles Walton, inventor of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, now common everywhere from warehouses to retail stores to public libraries, has died at the age of 89, in California, Network World reports.

Electronics News says RFID was solely invented by Walton in the 1970s, with patents filed in 1973 and 1983, but only really came into widespread use in the 2000s, as technology matured, which allowed the chips to be manufactured cost-effectively.

RFID gave Walton a windfall of a few million dollars, and he continued inventing technology until his death in November.

The first RFID card key was passive. It used no battery power itself and was awakened when it came within six inches of a reader, VentureBeat states.

In 1980, Walton also got a patent for a digital version of RFID, which could change data on the cards. The low cost led to its widespread adoption in the past decade.

RFID is expected to generate $6 billion in worldwide revenue in 2011, according to ABI Research.

The chips are used in access control, car immobilisation, electronic toll collection, electronic document identification, dog tags, asset management, baggage handling, cargo tracking, contactless payments and ticketing, and supply chain management technology.