WIRED Staff
Science

Slideshow: Retail-Safe RFID Unveiled

IBM says its Clipped Tag technology offers a new way to protect consumer privacy while preserving useful inventory-tracking data. By Mark Baard.
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A demonstration of how a consumer can remove part of the antenna from a Clipped Tag.Photo: Courtesy of IBM

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The Clipped Tag (note the tear lines, which go through the antenna) can be made with standard RFID printing equipment and materials, said Moskowitz.

Photo: Courtesy of IBM
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The Clipped Tag garment hangtag may be torn at the point-of-sale by the consumer to remove parts of the antenna. The result in one test was a reduction in tag read range from 30 feet to about 1 inch, said IBM researcher Paul Moskowitz.

Photo: Courtesy of IBM