I don't know how near "near" is, but if a locator for these unpowered tags could work at a range of, say, a few metres, such that I could tag my keys and find them in the morning when they've slipped behind the sofa cushions, that would be pretty killer...

Put a detector near every exit, and in each room and you could see an overview of where every child at the nursery at any given moment. Sew the tag into a piece of clothing to make sure it doesn't get lost (depending on size).

Would make for a straightforward system and could even be set up to set off alarms if a child goes beyond a certain boundary within certain times.

Or a restaurant, have a delivery tray, unique to each table with a tag on it, when the tag exits the kitchen you can use a smart display in the table, or even a flashing light to indicate that the food is on the way.

So many ideas.......

Tag the inmates so if and when they escape, there's a chance of finding them.

Don't want ugly bars on windows? Have Tikitags instead!

You can stick tags on your rolling stock so you know where it is, and computerize your waybills. Might be cheaper than infra-red detectors and reed switches, but it does depend on the detect range of the readers.

Actually, if it's cheap enough and you can run a network of readers off a PC then there are as many possibilities for this as there are for RFID, if not more.

4cm read range. The key finding and kid tracking applications are more suited to longer range RFID- a few metres is common. Kid tracking based on RFID has been used for some time in at least one theme park (Legoland) and nurseries and enclosed play areas in pubs often have clothing-based exit alarm systems that I wouldn't be suprised to see using RFID.

Even these short range things are already out there in the field as RFID based access control- in ID cards for office doors and key fobs for disabled toilets for instance.

If it could use the human body as an antenna it may be interesting- a wristwatch type device that tells you if you've dropped or left something out of your pocket would be neat. But it's highly unlikely to, since the RF that gets to the tag has to be powerful enough to power the tag, and I woudln't be happy with that on me.

"Or a restaurant, have a delivery tray, unique to each table with a tag on it, when the tag exits the kitchen you can use a smart display in the table, or even a flashing light to indicate that the food is on the way.

So many ideas......." in search of a problem.

Let me guess, you were involved in the discussion behind this article: http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/The_Complicator_0x27_s_Gloves.aspx

Does that mean I have a Tikitag toe?

<tumbleweeds>

Well, there's always this - it does need batteries, though, and the similarity to a tricorder will either put you right off, or make you place an order on the spot...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=99293

Attach one to each cat, with a sensor on each door (capable of divining the direction in which the felines slink), and then when I go out for the day I would know if they are in or out, meaning I may not have to waste precious time searching for them to ensure they dont set off the motion sensors on my burglar alarm.

Stick one on your finger and a detector on your nose so you can monitor to see if your nose picking habit has become excessive.

You have just won **Pun of the Week**

Good work!