Electronic tag poised to disrupt single-use RFID technology

Researchers from Glasgow University have developed a new electronic tag that could serve as an environmentally friendly alternative to the roughly 30 billion-plus single-use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that are landfilled each year.

According to its developers, the new wireless tag system can reportedly identify objects and measure temperature without using microchips.

The tags are manufactured using inexpensive coils and a sensing material derived from a type of silicon rubber (PDMS) and carbon fibers. The coils are smaller than those employed in credit cards, and they absorb electromagnetic signals from a hand-held reader via electromagnetic waves.