By: Grant Buckler – Network World Canada 

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Payment cards, access control and health care are examples of the many uses of radiofrequency identification. Get Info-Tech’s view of the privacy implications

Wal-Mart’s ambitious project to affix radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to merchandise has been the poster boy for RFID for so long that anyone could be forgiven for thinking RFID is simply an inventory control technology – and that setbacks in the Wal-Mart project indicate it isn’t catching on.

In fact, while some Wal-Mart suppliers have missed deadlines for tagging their goods, the project isn’t going too badly, says Mark Tauschek, senior research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont. But even if Wal-Mart’s and every other inventory control project had crashed and burned, RFID would still be pretty big.