“John Anderton, You Could use a Guinness right about now.”

We’ve already reported that Yahoo Japan is creating digital billboards with eye scanners, but IBM is taking a different approach to what seems like a Minority Report future to track and deliver a personalized advertisement using RFID chips.

IBM plans on using the RFIDs found in objects you are carrying, like your credit cards and cell phone to deliver a personalized advertisement catered directly to your needs or interests. Using this method over facial recognition or eye scanning enables the billboard deliver an advertisement that is more specific to the individual.

Some RFIDs are only 1/3 of a millimeter across.

RFID chips are these tiny microchips that are always listening for a radio signal sent by some sort of transceiver. Once received, they transmit data back such as name, address, gender and shopping habits (ca-reepy). Most of these chips don’t even require batteries because the radio signal that they receive is actually their power source. These chips are already being used in toll booth EZPasses, credit cards, cell phones and yes even Mittens the cat (this is also the technology that people are using to track their pets).

via: Telegraph.co.uk

For more information including the ethics of RFIDs check out the RFID Journal.