Iraq sues over fake bomb detectors

The Iraqi government has accused a device manufacturer of supplying the nation with fake bomb detectors and says it plans to sue, states Antiwar.com.

The faulty detectors, embedded with radio frequency identification (RFID), manufactured by British company ATSC, were sold to Iraq and other nations at prices as high as $60 000 per unit.

The substance detection cards inserted in the device to detect chemicals are said to be nothing more than a plastic card with a standard RFID tag, like the kind used to detect shoplifters.

US RFID provider Objecs has built granite tablets called RosettaStones that can be installed into tombstones which can communicate with cellphones using RFID, says My Consumer Electronics.

When someone touches an RFID-enabled cellphone to the tablet, the phone instantly calls up an image of the deceased, along with a text description.

Cellphones without RFID can still call up the information through a Web site listed on the tablet. Each granite tablet costs $225, and is expected to last at least 3 200 years in outdoor conditions.

The global RFID market is expected to generate $11 billion by 2013, reports PR Log.

According to analysts, the industry has been steadily growing for the past few years, and is expected to pick up pace before stabilising and settling on a steady growth path.

The global RFID market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 28% between 2010 and 2013 and the share of RFID software will increase from 20% in 2008 to around 30% by 2013.