For example, once you buy a product from a store, some of the information could cease to be available to anybody, even the manufacturer of the store that sold it. No system is completely secure, but Internet security is very good, and it offers a strong layer of protection. Personal protection ePC data identifies physical objects, not people. The system does not associate you with the objects you buy. It is therefore vitally important that the system is safe enough to gain public acceptance.
Cost is a major consideration.
We are expect that this will happen, but it is hard to predict how soon. We do foresee costs reaching around 5 cents in the by 2001, however, which paves the way for may interesting early applications. More technically, we do not believe conventional silicon chip based technology can go much below this price point at any volume. To get below the 5 cent barrier, we expect to need breakthrough new memory technologies, perhaps using magnetic materials, printed integrated circuits, or organic techniques. Much work is this area is being led by our colleagues at the MIT Media Lab, under Professor Neil Gershenfeld.