Today U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) will hold a press conference at Zebra Technologies’ (Nasdaq: ZBRA) corporate headquarters in Vernon Hills, Ill., to acknowledge Zebra’s leadership role in radio frequency identification (RFID) and to address the benefits RFID technology can bring to the Department of Defense (DoD). The Senator’s visit to Zebra is in conjunction with the $3.5 million in defense appropriations for RFID projects, which the Senator was instrumental in securing for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 federal budget. 

“The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun a program that uses RFID technology to track tag captive deer and elk in the U.S. By tagging individual deer and elk, the USDA will be able to research the movement of the animals and determine how they are contracting chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disorder. At this point, scientists do not know how the disease is spread. The USDA purchased RFID tags and readers from Digital Angel, a St. Paul, Minn., company that makes systems used to wirelessly identify and track people, animals and assets.”

“When it comes to fighting fraud and terrorism, you can never have enough technology. That’s the message from Pakistan, which has tapped Viisage Technologies (Quote, Chart) as part of an upgrade of its smart passport and national ID program. The Billerica, Mass., firm’s biometric and database systems will become part of a wide-ranging security initiative that combines face and fingerprint readers with Radio Frequency Identification (define) and other technologies.”

“JSR 257, as described by the JCP, “looks to fill the [lack] of standardized APIs for contactless communication based for example on RFID, NFC or bar codes in Java applications.” As currently proposed, JSR 257 would set the stage for both one-way and bi-directional data capture and data integration from RFID, barcode and other existing and standard approaches. Also, JSR 257 would use MIDP 2’s General Connection Framework as the common framework for input/output operations [and] for connecting to external resources. ”

“Holomex has worked for 20 years with clients in the packaging, pharmaceuticals, electronics, consumer products, cosmetics, liquor, food and beverages industries, and with governments to protect currency, government cheques, IDs, credit cards, passports and other documentation from forgery. Applied DNA Sciences, on the other hand, extracts and recombines botanical DNA sequences to create unique codes that can help prove product authenticity, detect fakes and protect supply chain integrity. The technology provides protection for corporations, governments and consumers against counterfeiting, fraud, theft, piracy, product diversion and alteration, identity theft and intrusion into secure facilities and databases. The Chinese Government has already committed to using this DNA technology to place DNA-secured holographic labels on 500 million DVDs.”

“Biometric devices were among the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Passports of people entering the United States would be required to contain a special type of computer chip, known as RFID or radio-frequency identification. The chip would contain a digitized facial image of the bearer. Current rules would require them by October 2005. Such biometric passports and visas will help government officials authenticate documents and potentially identify terrorists, officials said.”