Germany to roll out smart IDs

Germany has awarded Netherlands chipmaker NXP a contract to produce radio frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in ID cards, reports International Business Times.

The ID card will contain all personal data on the security chip that can be accessed over a wireless connection by the police, customs and tax authorities. The RFID cards will be rolled out from 1 November this year.

The card will also enable citizens to use their ID cards to pay for online shopping, downloading music and interacting with government authorities online.

At the Coca-Cola Village Amusement Park in Israel, visitors were each issued an RFID bracelet that enabled to them bring what they were doing in the real world and post it in the virtual world of Facebook, states RFID News.

The RFID tags inside each of the bracelets were programmed with the individual's Facebook details, which allowed them to swipe the bracelet at designated readers to post a thumbs-up, or 'like', for that activity on their online profile.

The bracelet also allowed visitors to upload photos to their Facebook account with their faces automatically tagged.

Residents in Cleveland, Ohio, will have to ensure their recycling is out on time or face a $100 fine for failing to recycle, says The Register.

RFID tags will be fitted to the recycling bins provide by the city council, and counted by passing rubbish-collection vans. Any residents whose recycling bin isn't on the pavement over a couple of weeks will face a $100 fine if it turns out they've been discarding recyclable goods.

It's expected 25 000 RFID-enabled bins and reading equipment for the vans will set the Cleveland Council back $2.5 million this year.