Digital World Tokyo | Japanese RFID tech batters down doors in West

Japanese RFID tech batters down doors in West

May 9th, 2008

We recently lifted the lid on just how useful – not to mention pervasive – RFID technology is in Japan, so it’s with a glad heart that we bring you news of a move that’s sure to help it spread more quickly in the West.

The FeliCa RFID technology at the heart of almost all the wireless e-cash and ticketing goodness in Japan looks set to reach North America after Sony announced a new scheme to help companies develop systems there to use it.

Sony’s FeliCa System Integrator Application Developer (SIAD) program will focus on delivering the know-how gained in Japan through support and training resources to anyone looking to add RFID to their existing businesses.

That could be anything from creating a system for cinemas to put movie tickets in their customers’ phones to a full-blown e-cash rollout for giant retail chains.

Jeff Hilliard, boss of Compudigital, an early SIAD member, spelled out the benefits: “FeliCa technology is on the edge of the technology curve, has unlimited application potential and opens up a whole new world for developers.” And, especially, for customers too, he might have added.

As the Far-Eastern experience has already shown, once IC chips and their RFID applications open the door to wireless transactions of every kind, there really is no going back. Watch this space.

(Crossposted to TechRadar)