As my academic year was coming to close at Boston College this spring, I began to look for a summer internship focused on technology market research and consulting. After noticing a posting by VDC Research that had these keywords, I eagerly applied. Eager to impress in my interview with the VP of AutoID & Data Capture, I ventured towards Wikipedia to help me understand what AIDC meant and what I was getting myself into. I was instantly overwhelmed by all the acronyms appearing on the page: I thought, what are RFID, RTLS, NFC, 2D, etc.? So, I read and prepared for the interview. I secured the internship and was eager to start.
I headed into my first day thinking about all of the technologies to which I would be exposed. After all, AutoID & Data Capture encompasses many disparate technologies. I received a crash course in AutoID from the practice’s VP. But, after the first day, I was immediately intrigued by RFID. I went home to my roommates that night and explained to them how their EZ-Passes and Charlie Cards worked. I felt enlightened understanding this technology and the applications it enables – many of which I’ve taken for granted for so long in my day-to-day life.
Having worked for VDC for nearly a month now, I’m enamored by the world of RFID. The numerous, often innovative applications of RFID, ranging from enabling automatic filming of action sports, to enabling self-serve beer and wine taps, and even the creation of “Real World Mario Kart”, make RFID technology compelling. Now I find myself going on Facebook just so that I can post cool articles about RFID on my friends’ walls. A multitude of exciting uses, combined with the cost saving benefits and value propositions RFID offers to many industries, will keep me intrigued by RFID for some time.
(This blog post was written by Nicholas Reposa. He is currently a Researcher in VDC’s AutoID & Data Capture practice.)
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