A patent submitted to the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office on September 6th of 2005 and published for the first time on Thursday explains how Apple my be looking to incorporate RFID tags into future generations of their products.
The patent filing, entitled “RFID Network Arrangement”, describes a setup in which a network router such as an AirPort Extreme Base Station could hold an RFID transceiver that would contain the device’s configuration. The unit could then communicate with any Wi-Fi enabled device that contained a synchronized RFID tag and pass along information such as authentication and encryption data.
Such a setup could help automatically configure a software setup without having to prompt the user for information such as specific settings, etc. according to AppleInsider.
One advantage mentioned by Apple in the filing is that an RFID-equipped device wouldn’t need to be turned on to communicate with an RFID transceiver. The tags could passively transmit information to each other while completely independent from a power supply or aided by a smaller power supply. Once activated, the devices can transmit information to each other and to compatible devices on a network. This feature could prove useful for devices that lack visual displays as well as input components, the Apple remote and keyboards being examples of this.
If you have any comments or ideas about this, let us know.
A patent submitted to the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office on September 6th of 2005 and published for the first time on Thursday explains how Apple my be looking to incorporate RFID tags into future generations of their products.
The patent filing, entitled “RFID Network Arrangement”, describes a setup in which a network router such as an AirPort Extreme Base Station could hold an RFID transceiver that would contain the device’s configuration. The unit could then communicate with any Wi-Fi enabled device that contained a synchronized RFID tag and pass along information such as authentication and encryption data.
Such a setup could help automatically configure a software setup without having to prompt the user for information such as specific settings, etc. according to AppleInsider.
One advantage mentioned by Apple in the filing is that an RFID-equipped device wouldn’t need to be turned on to communicate with an RFID transceiver. The tags could passively transmit information to each other while completely independent from a power supply or aided by a smaller power supply. Once activated, the devices can transmit information to each other and to compatible devices on a network. This feature could prove useful for devices that lack visual displays as well as input components, the Apple remote and keyboards being examples of this.
If you have any comments or ideas about this, let us know.