Gillette to test RFID technology

Jan. 7, 2003 — Gillette Co. said it will begin in-store testing of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags in the United States and United Kingdom.

The global maker of razors and other grooming and hygiene products said the RFID tags will be used with a “smart shelf” technology developed for Gillette by the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The shelf uses the technology to monitor the status of products on display and alerts workers when stocks become low or are being stolen, according to a company news release.

If the evaluation project is successful, Gillette said it plans to buy up to 500 million of the tags during the next few years. The tags are being made by California startup Alien Technology.

The tags are made in a process called Fluidic Self-Assembly. The NanoBlock circuits, fabricated in industry standard foundries and suspended in liquid, are flowed over a substrate where the devices settle into stamped holes matching their shape.

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