Over at RFID Lowdown, they've got a list of 51 “cool, surprising and scary” futuristic uses for RFID tags, and hey, not all of them are privacy-threatening. Here are a few:
- Tracking cars for location data and traffic reports and to prevent theft
- Following things through manufacturing/processing, whether it's food or products
- Following things through the supply chain, as it changes from a tree into Kleenex
- Navigation aids for the handicapped
- Replacements for the postage stamp
- Tagging items to prevent theft/shoplifting; tagging Alzheimer's patients who are prone to wandering
- As “dongles” to prevent unauthorized access to computers
- Tagging patients so that doctors don't perform the wrong procedures on them; tagging medicine so that you get reminders to take them or not to take the wrong ones
- Shopping: Having your shopping cart say “people who bought what you boguht also bought…”, dynamic pricing, self-scanning checkout
- Dealing with clutter or large collections of items
- Telling if the soccer ball really did cross the goal line
- RFID-tagged clothes so that your smart closet will tell you not to wear that shirt with those pants
- Sorting garbage and recyclables: so your smart bin can tell you which goes where