TiVo predicts RFID under your skin

TiVo has filed a patent application for a personal video recorder (PVR) that recognises viewer preferences though a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip embedded in clothing, jewellery, key chains, and even under the user`s skin, reports Information Week.

The proposed multimedia mobile personalisation system will have a remote control that can recognise which viewer`s RFID tag is closest to the PVR and notify the multimedia device to tailor the media content to their preferences.

Broadcast or recorded television programs and music play lists stored on a local hard drive could be sorted, displayed or restricted, depending on the user identifier.

A survey shows that the biggest healthcare players are deploying RFID at a faster pace, with spending expected to jump industry-wide in 2007.

A new study shows that US healthcare companies are increasingly seeing adoption of RFID as a major contributor to safety across the industry, reports the RFID Journal.

Most participants in the RFID in Healthcare Survey that was carried out online in September and October cited patient safety as the key benefit to deploying RFID, with 70% of respondents rating it chief among benefits.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has introduced a global standard for RFID baggage tags, which More RFID says paves the way for widespread use of RFID for baggage management by airports and airlines.

The standard based on various ISO approved protocols was unanimously endorsed by Iata member airlines at the Iata Joint Passenger Services Conference held in Geneva.

Iata says the RP1740c standard should send a clear signal to RFID chip manufacturers that there is a new market segment to address which should help drive down the cost of RFID baggage tags.