[privacy] Wi-fi and RFID used for tracking

[<rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/6691139.stm

 

Wi-fi and RFID used for tracking 

Wireless tracking systems could be used to protect patients in hospitals and
students on campuses, backers of the technology said. 

The combination of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and wi-fi
allows real-time tracking of objects or people inside a wireless network. 

Angelo Lamme, from Motorola, said tracking students on a campus could help
during a fire or an emergency. 

"You would know where your people are at any given moment," he said. 

Marcus Birkl, head of wireless at Siemens, said location tracking of assets
or people was one of the biggest incentives for companies, hospitals and
education institutions to roll out wi-fi networks. 

Both firms were at The Wireless Event, in London, this week selling new
products in the area of so-called real-time location services. 

Siemens is pushing a complete system, developed with Finnish firm Ekahau,
which can track objects or people. 

Battery powered 

Battery-powered RFID tags are placed on an asset and they communicate with
at least three wireless access points inside the network to triangulate a
location. 

        
There needs to be standards put in place so the data is not abused for other
purposes 
Marcus Birkl, head of wireless at Siemens 

Mr Birkl said: "The tags have a piece of software on them and they detect
the signal strength of different access points. 

"This information is sent back to the server and it then models the movement
of the tag depending on the shift in signal strength detected." 

For the system to work, the building or area that has been deployed with a
wireless network needs to have been mapped and calibrated. 

To effectively locate objects a wireless access point is needed every 30
metres and Siemens said it was able to pinpoint assets to within a metre of
their actual position. 

Mr Birkl said: "It's very useful for the health care industry - where there
are highly expensive pieces of mobile equipment that move around a hospital.


"At every point in the day health staff need to know where it is." 

The system can also be used to track wi-fi equipped devices, such as
laptops, tablet PCs and wi-fi enabled phones. 

"You can record movements over a period of time. You can see if the security
guard in the night makes the right rounds, for example," said Mr Birkl. 

He added: "You can set certain boundaries and parameters. If a certain
device enters or leaves an area it could trigger an alarm." 

'More popular' 

As wi-fi becomes more popular in schools, the technology could also be used
to track students. 

"It has to be aligned with the understanding of the people who are tracked,"
said Mr Birkl. 

There have been privacy concerns expressed in some quarters about RFID tags,
especially around the possible use of tags on shopping goods to monitor
consumer spending habits. 

RFID supporters have pointed out that the tags cannot be read at a great
distance, but combining the technology with wi-fi raises the possibility of
remote tracking. 

Tags on products are typically passive - they have no power source and are
only activated when read by a scanner in close proximity. These tags contain
only an identifying number and can be small enough to embed in a sheet of
paper. 

But the tags used in conjunction with a wi-fi network have to be active -
they need a power source and have software installed on them that
communicates with the wireless access points. 

The tags, therefore, are larger in size, and currently are impractical for
use on anything other than high value consumer goods or, potentially, on
people. 

"There needs to be standards put in place so the data is not abused for
other purposes," said Mr Birkl. 

He added: "But there are clear benefits to keeping people safe." 

More than half of respondents to a recent pan-Europe consultation on RFID
said regulations were needed to police the use of tags. 

 

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