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Smart doorknob: an exciting RFID application

Smart doorknob: an exciting RFID application

Harry Chen, 4:27am 27 November 2005

Here is what a smart doorknob can do.

“When you approach the door and you’re carrying groceries, it opens and lets you in. This doorknob is so smart, it can let the dog out but it won’t let six dogs come back in.

It will take FedEx packages and automatically sign for you when you’re not there. If you’re standing by the door, and a phone call comes in, the doorknob can tell you that ‘you’ve got a phone call from your son that I think you should take.”

This smart doorknob is part of a MIT research project called “Internet of Things” (see IHT). An interesting thing about this system is that it relies on the extensive usage of RFID tags. When it comes to RFID technology, some people are very worried, and some others are very excited.

Related posts:

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  2. Smart phones recognize users gait
  3. Smart home hacks
  4. Smart Car Knows How to Park Itself and More
  5. New US RFID pass card raises privacy and security concerns

One Response to “Smart doorknob: an exciting RFID application”

  1. Tim Finin Says:

    This is ironic since a common expression is that someone is as “dumb as a doorknob”. In the future we’ll have to use other colorful idioms. Luckily, there are lots of choices.