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Violet launches smart RFID tagger
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 28th October 2008
The Mir:ror 'puck' registers the unique code of a Ztamp attached to a device and triggers an action on the host PC.
According to the preview over on Gizmodo, the oddly named Mir:ror tech from Violet comes in two parts: an RFID reader for your PC, and self-adhesive Ztamps which you attach to everyday objects so that your PC – via the reader – can recognise them.
Imagine if you plonk your coffee cup next to your monitor and get the day's news, or if you wave your umbrella at your PC and get the latest weather forecast. Dump your car keys on the reader and it would bring up Google Maps with your home location already pre-entered as a starting point. Although Ztamps are available for pre-defined objects, the software allows you to set your own relationship – if you'd like your game controller to take you straight to our Gaming section when you place it on the reader that's completely up to you.
The system is, of course, reliant on the Ztamps that Violet supplies – and you'll be disappointed to hear that the starter kit, due to go on sale in the US for $69.99 – comes with only three, with additional units available in packs of twelve for around $25. While it's unrealistic to imagine that you'd want to tag everything you could possibly cart to within reading distance of the Mir:ror, it's disappointing to see the price set so high. With luck, mass-market adoption of the technology could see this price slashed.
Therein lies the issue, of course: while it's a technology likely to get you inner geek salivating at the possibilities, it's not something that will really make your Average Joe's life any better. Whether this will see use in an everyday household or whether the technology will be brushed to the side like Violet's previous Nabaztag device remains to be seen. I still want one, of course.
Tempted by the possibilities of tagging your objects to make your PC a bit 'smarter', or is the very thought of RFID technology as anything other than a privacy-invading tool of evil anathema? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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lots of possibilities...
I could only think of smutty applications for such things...
Hope that they're not that tech savvy and give it to them as a "pretty keyring" present?
On a more serious note, $25 for 12 ID tags that you can assign to anything isn't really that bad.... Even the $70 starting price it's not too high considering the potential uses...
How about put smartphone down and it opens up the wireless sync/bluetooth connect program?
Store one in your wallet that opens online banking (not passwords obviously!) or all your favourite e-shops in tabs?
The thing I want to use this kind of thing for is a program that can keep track of my food inventory. All I have to do is rig it up to some scales and then every time I put something back in the cupboard I just sit it in the scales for a few seconds and it updates my database with how much I just used. Then I connect that up to a recipe database which I can ask query to find out what meals I can make with the food I have on hand.
What I was referring to is that for some banking and for most online shopping you need to go get your credit/debit card to enter the details anyway (Natwest even have an annoying card reader thing now so you need your card to use internet banking!) so having a chip in your wallet that opens the sites means you can just grab your wallet in payment anticipation and the sites open automatically...