Saturday, April 9, 2011

Come on. Just staple an RFID tag to my ear and get it over with.

Copenhagen International Airport one recent day was much like that at any airport around the world...

But unlike other airports, the movement of the passengers was being observed in an office here in Geneva, 860 miles away. Stephane Cheikh, innovation manager for the aviation communications and technology company SITA, was using his laptop to demonstrate a new program that tracked travelers’ movements based on the Wi-Fi-emitting devices they carried.

When Copenhagen Airport starts using the program in the next few weeks, airport officials will get a real-time picture of where travelers go and what they do. The officials can use this information to improve the design of the airport, direct the flow of passengers or shift employees to improve the efficiency of security or immigration checkpoints. (more)

...or to pump coupons to your phone to buy stuff you don't need as you approach yet another "Bookstones"?