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November 02, 2004
RFId bracelets at Kindercity
I wonder about getting kids used to surveillance technologies like RFID. I've already spoken about the risk of having children grow up into adults who are convinced that no one trusts them - what about children who grow up into adults and expect/depend on a system that tracks them all the time? This story, about a kids playground that uses RFiD bracelets, suggests that children will come to expect this kind of treatment (and the convenience that comes with it) and not even dream about the issues it might contain. How big a leap is it from wearing this bracelet at the park to wearing it all the time? What sort of "candy" would retailers have to offer to get kids to sport these bracelets everywhere they went? Free bubblegum at the door for a bracelet wearing kid? What kind of information could they access/store/share about children using this sort of technology?RFId bracelets at KindercityKindercity, a science park for children in Zürich (Switzerland), tags its young visitors with an RFId microchips.
Instead of paper tickets, kids get bracelets on their arrival and as soon as they approach a particular attraction, the bracelet is activated. They are identified, and the price of the entrance is automatically taken from their account (just like an electronic wallet.) So they pay only for the attractions they visit.
Via Nouvo.
Source: we make money not art
Posted by Richard Smith at November 2, 2004 10:31 AM
![03-kindercity_10302004-243x154[1].jpg](http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/yyy/03-kindercity_10302004-243x154[1].jpg)