Hitachi has developed an radio frequency identification
chip that can be used to track and identifiybank notes, tickets and
other paper products.
At present Hitachi's Myu chip, and many competing chips from
other companies, require antennas through which data is received
and transmitted to a chip reader and power is drawn.
This antenna can be between 5cms and 7cms long, said Keisaku
Shibatani, a spokesman for Hitachi.
Even though the chips themselves are very small, at 0.4mm sq,
the large antenna needed effectively limits their use in certain
applications.
The latest Hitachi chip is the same size as the existing model
although it requires no antenna. This means it is suitable for use
in a range of applications including embedding in bank notes and
documents, said Hitachi.
In May, a Japanese media report said Hitachi was talking with
the European Central Bank on a project to embed euro bank notes
with RFID chips. Shibatani said such a project is not under way at
present.
The announcement confirmed that such a project will soon be
technically feasible, although several other potential hurdles
remain, such as pricing the chips low enough to make it
cost-effective and also combating growing consumer resistance to
RFID.
The company announced one application for the chip. It will be
embedded into tickets for Japan's Expo 2005 fair.
A production schedule for the chips has not yet been decided and
neither has pricing, said Shibatani. The chip operates in the
Japanese RFID band, which is around 2.4GHz.
First announced in 2001, Myu chips contain a 128-bit
identification that is burned into the chip at the time of
manufacture, meaning it is impossible to change the number.
Martyn Williams writes for IDG News Service
