As you know, the tiger population has been sadly but steadily decreasing throughout the years. In order to keep better track of the tigers, the Chinese have adopted RFID technology. Microchips specifically engineered for the tigers have been injected into tigers at the King Palace Zoo.

With the microchips, Zoo officials will be able to access information on the tigers, including age, gender, name, species, blood type, birth place, and DNA, by using a scanner. Once more zoo’s adopt the RFID implants, it will be easier to keep track of, and better care for the tigers.

In addition to Tigers, the State Forestry Administration is requiring all zoos to implant the chips in a variety of different precious animals such as pandas, golden monkeys, and swans.

Do you think it’s a good idea to implant endangered species with RFID chips?

Earlier, we wrote about Microsoft Tags as an alternative to QR codes. Now, Microsoft has recently announced that users of the Microsoft Tag will be offered advanced customization options. Now, branding and design can be incorporated directly into the barcode, making the Microsoft Tag the ideal platform for marketing materials, packaging, posters, business cards, or any time a unique design is wanted. In contrast, most 2D barcodes, or QR codes, are black and white and often don’t fit the look and feel of the marketing message.

In order to create a custom Microsoft Tag, users simply log on to http://tag.microsoft.com and save their Tag graphic file using the Custom Tag option, and then bring the file into Powerpoint (for beginning users), or anther design program such as Photoshop (for more advanced users) to create a customized version of the tag. With Microsoft Tag, users can:

• Easily create custom Tags in seconds
• Verify custom Tags for Windows Mobile and Symbian S60
• Preserve the original symbol integrity, maximizing readability

Below are some examples of exactly how personalized Custom Tags can get!

Learn more about Microsoft Custom Tags here.

Friday, June 26, 1974 was a day that would forever change the way POS was done. While the barcode had been in developmental stages for years before, it was not until this fated day that a supermarket in Troy, Ohio sold a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy fruit gum using an official UPC code and barcode scanner.

Prior to the barcode, there was no universal system for assigning products, and each company had their own way of doing things, leading to an error rate of about 1/300 characters, as opposed to 1/36,000,000,000,000 with barcode scanners. Today, UPC barcodes are scanned more than 10 billion times a day, across 25 different industries. Because of this, the advent of the barcode produced significant economic and productivity benefits for both shoppers, retailers, and manufacturers alike.

In honor of the barcode’s 35th birthday, you may want to check out my previous post on the history of barcodes. In addition, Motorola put together a site in honor of the celebration. Check it out here.

Happy 35th, Barcode!

Recently, Coca-Cola announced the summer release of a self-serve drink dispenser that is able to pour over 100 varieties of sodas, juices, teas, and flavored waters. The Freestyle drink dispenser will allow customers to choose their favorite beverage and add a variety of different flavors to it. While this may seem like a neat gimmick, it’s actually a revolutionary business decision.

By using the Freestyle drink dispenser, Coca-Cola will be able to collect value piece of data on consumer habits. Since each flavor cartridge is tagged with an RFID chip, and each dispenser contains an RFID reader, the dispenser is able to collect data on what customers are drinking and how much. Eventually, this data is sent over a wireless network to Coke’s SAP data warehouse system in Atlanta, GA. From there, the data will be analyzed in order to develop reports that assess how new drinks are thriving in the marketplace, and divide up results by regional tastes, ultimately helping fast-food places decide which drinks to serve. Rather than releasing a new soda with a few market studies, Coca-Cola will now be able to reach a much broader spectrum of people and model their flavors after what consumers choose.

In addition to developing new flavors, the new Freestyle Coke machines will allow fast-food customers keep a more accurate inventory of their beverages. Restaurants will be able to see a graphical view of drink consumption reports, ranking which drinks sold at specific time periods, through an e-business portal. Since most fast-food restaurants collect POS data only on the number and sizes of beverage cups sold, the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine ill allow visibility on data that has not previously been collected. Since all the cartridge information is all stored on a network, it will be easy to recall a flavor because the network will instantly disable the dispensers simultaneously across the nation.

By the end of the summer, Coke anticipates that there will be 60 dispensers located throughout the Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Orange County, CA regions, of the US with more to come after that. It will be interesting to see if other popular beverage companies will follow suit and implement RFID technology.

The Intermec CN4e is a fully rugged and feature-rich mobile computer with integrated 3.5G wireless technology. The CN4e packs a powerful combination of radio technologies including GPS, Cisco CCX compatible WiFi, and Bluetooth, allowing enterprises to deploy and manage resources, providing the intelligence that mobile workers need to increase customer response time.

In addition, the CN4e features an optional imaging application called Intermec Enhanced Mobile Document Imaging (eMDI), allowing mobile workers to easily convert paper documents into electronic files, streamlining office operations. With eMDI, customer service and staff can gain real-time access to document images through the enterprise systems. The CN4e also boasts a color camera for event validation, a touch screen display, and an ultra-slim extended battery for all-day power.

If you’re interested in the CN4e, learn more about Intermec and their line of mobile computers here.