Octopus spreads to China

Hong Kong's Octopus Holdings plans to expand its Octopus cards to the rest of China, where the cards are repurposed to handle all-in-one bill payments to birth registration and social security, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is at the heart of the card and is used to pay fares in public transit systems around the world, such as the London Underground.

Octopus says it hopes to secure contracts with 10 mainland Chinese cities that issue so-called citizen cards within the next three years through its joint venture with Digital China.

Researchers from Sunchon National University in Suncheon, South Korea, and Rice University in Houston have built RFID tags that can be printed directly onto grocery products, states Wired.

The tag uses ink laced with carbon nanotubes to print electronics on paper or plastic that could instantly transmit information about a cart full of groceries.

The research team hopes to eventually bring the cost of the tags below one cent per tag to make the devices commercially competitive.

Logic Instrument has introduced a handheld computer with integrated RFID and bar code capabilities, says RFID News.

The FieldBook has an Intel Atom CPU with 2GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, camera and supports a 7-inch touch-screen.

The rugged device is well-suited for the outdoors and has a battery life of up to five hours from dual hot swappable batteries, and can withstand intense heat, rain and dust storms.