Tracking Kids with RFID
RFID tag
To continue on the back-to-school blog theme for the second straight post, I ran across two more interesting uses of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology beyond efficient warehouse operations. A school district in California has proposed attaching the tags to preschool children to keep track of their whereabouts at school. While I understand the importance of not letting kids wander off, it seems a bit much. According to a New York Times editorial, the school district claims the tags are simply to eliminate attendance paperwork and pay more attention to teaching. A noble goal, but it seems a bit much.
In a less invasive and more practical application, a school district in Illinois is using a RFID-GPS technology combo to monitor when and where students get on and off school buses. The children are issued ID cards that attach to backpacks and an electronic “reader” is located near the front door of the school bus. The date, time and location is coupled with the child’s name when a student enters or exits the bus. That information is transmitted in real time to a secure database at each school and the superintendent’s office. Knowing if, when and where a student got on or off the bus accounts for a significant portion of calls parents make to schools. This, it seems, is actually a good use of the technology. Particularly considering an acquaintance of mine whose child recently missed his stop on his first day of school and a brief panic ensued when he didn’t arrive on time. What do you think? Are these good uses of RFID technology?
It seems there is no end in sight for uses of RFID technology. It’s come a long way in just a few years. What else is out there? Where is RFID headed?
Tags: engineered systems, material handling, RFID
