Touch: Exploring RFID

Abstract

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that has seen much hype and controversy. Small, wireless, battery-less RFID tags have become embedded in many everyday objects; from travelcards in every major metropolis, to mobile phones, library books, passports, tickets and a wide range of consumer goods, there are now over a billion tags in use worldwide. Some say that the technology offers a new era of smart objects and frictionless commerce, but others are protesting the drive towards the digitisation of everyday life. The Touch project was started in 2006 to explore RFID technology through a broad set of design processes. The intention was to create a diverse range of applications, tangible prototypes, future visions and communicative media, in order to offer the design community and a wider public a better understanding of the opportunities and consequences inherent in this new technology. TWO CRITICAL QUESTIONS WHICH OUR WORK AIMS TO RAISE: How does design involve itself in an emergent and inherently invisible technology? How can a 'raw' technology that is largely defined by engineers and marketers be reframed to offer greater room for play, design experimentation and critique? IMAGES CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timo/tags/touch/