Now, casinos are using chips that contain RFID - radio frequency identification - tags to prevent crooked dealings.

That is just one of the emerging uses for RFID technology, which is beginning to assume a prominent presence in the U.S. economy, experts told UPI's Wireless World.

"I have been doing extensive work using RFID and other competing technologies for casino gaming and other unlikely industries," said Shahram Moradpour, chief executive officer of Cleritec Systems Corp. in San Jose, Calif., a provider of RFID solutions.

Moradpour also has written a book, "RFID Field Guide," and its thesis is compelling: There is an array of new uses for RFID that might not have been foreseen.

Earlier this year, for example, Wal-Mart made national headlines when its vendors began delivering products tagged with RFID chips, streamlining the warehousing process and, in the end, saving consumers cash.

Already, RFID-tagged products have become routine. Now, the technology is finding its way into other venues, from soccer balls to tickets for sporting events.

"Minor-league baseball stadiums - Jacksonville Suns and Nashville Sounds - are using RFID wristbands, along with a smart kiosk, for cashless point-of-sales," said Lauri Harrison, a spokeswoman for Cognitive Solutions in Golden, Colo., a provider of barcode printers.

"Once in the venue, the patron can walk up to a concession stand and purchase food and drink with a swipe of their wristband - no waiting in long lines or waiting for credit card transactions."

Patrons using the system load money into a smart kiosk when they enter the ballpark - either cash or credit or debit cards - and then transfer the value to their RFID wristbands, Harrison explained.

Other sports applications are emerging. This fall, during the under-17 world championship of soccer in Peru, sponsored by the Federation Internationale de Football Association and Adidas, the soccer ball will contain an RFID chip.

This is designed to eliminate instant replays and other human judgment calls in close contests. The RFID chips will be able to determine if the ball has gone over the goal line, or been saved by the goalie.

Water and child safety offer other opportunities for use of the chips.

"I have developed a man-overboard alarm for use on small boats," said Ralph Koerner, an inventor who lives near Palm Springs, Calif.

"Occupants, particularly children and the otherwise at-risk, wear a small active RFID tag around their neck or pinned to their clothing. An alarm is triggered when the tag's distance from the onboard central unit exceeds about 100 feet."

Koerner said the devices have an operating life of five years or more.

"Radio frequency identification technology has begun to capture the attention of a spectrum of businesses," according to a report, "RFID Rapid Deployment and Regulatory Challenges," by the communications group of the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Venable LLP.

The RFID business is expected to be huge. Research by the Yankee Group, an IT consultancy in Boston, indicates RFID technology could save $2 billion to $4 billion annually for the retail industry alone.

The improved sales from streamlining processes, such as point-of-purchase transactions, has not yet been calculated, nor has the impact on the pharmaceutical industry - which is expected to incorporate RFID into labels for drug packaging - and others.

Drug bottles are not the only consumer containers that can benefit from RFID. Experts said wine bottles also can be outfitted with the tags, helping keep track of inventory in small stores, and even determine if a bottle has been moved.

A firm called RSI ID Technologies in Chula Vista, Calif., has developed a smart wine-cellar system with an integrated camera and RFID network.

Each wine bottle in the cellar is tagged with a pressure sensitive label with an RFID transponder embedded within it, pre-programmed with a serial number. An RFID reader constantly queries each bottle to make sure it is still where it is supposed to be.

"When the wine bottle is removed from the shelf, the system immediately prompts the integrated camera surveillance system to take a photo of the person removing the wine from its assigned location," said Amy Peterson, a company spokeswoman.

Germany's lumber industry is generating a lot of buzz using RFID technology from Progress Software Corp. in Bedford, Mass., to "track trees from independent forestries through the supply chain and to the saw mills," said Keith Giannini, a company spokesman. "A unique, nail-shaped RFID tag is inserted into each tree that will be tracked."

Gene Koprowski is a 2005 Lilly Endowment Award Winner for his columns for United Press International.

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