The Change Mariner

RFID: Quick Grocery Checkout

GoMemphis:

You may know how hard it can be to get a package just right so a scanner can read the bar code at a store's self-checkout line.

So imagine just walking up to the checkout station, leaving the items in the basket and letting a radio frequency identification scanner ring up those items from 4 or 5 feet away.

That may seem like science fiction, but as Alien Technology Corp. chief executive Stav Prodromou said Friday, Wal-Mart has already mandated its top 100 suppliers to start using RFID tags by Jan. 1, 2005.

Alien Technology makes RFID devices.

Amazon Price:

Amazon Price: