Alarm Over Shopping Radio Tags

We are all familiar with barcodes, those product fingerprints that save cashiers the bother of keying in the code number of everything we buy. Now, meet their replacement: the RFID tag, or radio frequency ID tag. These smart labels consist of a tiny chip surrounded by a coiled antenna. While barcodes need to be manually scanned, RFID simply broadcasts its presence and data to electronic readers. It means the computer networks of companies can track the position and progress of billions of products on rail, road, sea and shelf. Albrecht Von Truchsess, from the German supermarket chain Metro Group, which uses this technology, says: "RFID really brings a revolution to everything that is transported from one point to the other, and in the future you will have it really on everything. "That means that we don't have to do anything while the goods are on the way from the production site to our stores. It is just done automatically.