RFID in Society – Preparing for the Internet of Things. Case Analyses & Evaluation. Part 2 of 4

Abstract

This report is the second of four deliverables stemming from the RCN-financed project RFID in Society – Preparing for the Internet of Things (2010-2017). In addition to articles, conference papers, an exhibition, presentations, media contributions and a project website, the project has published the following reports: Del. 1 of 4: “Case Criteria & Selection” Del. 2 of 4: “Case Analyses & Evaluation” Del. 3 of 4: “Handbook of Methods” Del. 4 of 4: “Final Report & Summary” This second report provides an overview of 9 specific applications of RFID (or similar) technology used in different sectors. The in-depth cases studies conducted show diversity in terms sectors, case-study methods, application areas, and the various user and societal issues that were identified and addressed. The sectors range from transportation (toll collection, ticketing), public services (library, caring services), leisure activities (waterpark, festivals), sporting events (marathon) and retail (grocery, clothing/apparel). Through these case studies, we get a richer understanding of how diverse the application areas, and associated (user/societal) consequences, are/may be in the future. It is pointed out that the case studies have been conducted some time ago (2010-2014), and today there would have been a range of other application areas that would have been relevant to study. At the same time, the cases described in this report provide a good picture of the situation in the years after 2010, when RFID was still the primary enabling technology for an IoT-vision that was scarcely treated in public discourse. Now, in 2017, IoT has become a popular topic in media and public discourse, with a range of applications and innovations on the way.

This report is the second of four deliverables stemming from the RCN-financed project RFID in Society – Preparing for the Internet of Things (2010-2017). In addition to articles, conference papers, an exhibition, presentations, media contributions and a project website, the project has published the following reports: Del. 1 of 4: “Case Criteria & Selection” Del. 2 of 4: “Case Analyses & Evaluation” Del. 3 of 4: “Handbook of Methods” Del. 4 of 4: “Final Report & Summary” This second report provides an overview of 9 specific applications of RFID (or similar) technology used in different sectors. The in-depth cases studies conducted show diversity in terms sectors, case-study methods, application areas, and the various user and societal issues that were identified and addressed. The sectors range from transportation (toll collection, ticketing), public services (library, caring services), leisure activities (waterpark, festivals), sporting events (marathon) and retail (grocery, clothing/apparel). Through these case studies, we get a richer understanding of how diverse the application areas, and associated (user/societal) consequences, are/may be in the future. It is pointed out that the case studies have been conducted some time ago (2010-2014), and today there would have been a range of other application areas that would have been relevant to study. At the same time, the cases described in this report provide a good picture of the situation in the years after 2010, when RFID was still the primary enabling technology for an IoT-vision that was scarcely treated in public discourse. Now, in 2017, IoT has become a popular topic in media and public discourse, with a range of applications and innovations on the way.