At a swanky club in downtown Beijing, entrepreneur Edward Q. Zeng wants to help people see the possibilities of RFID technology in China.
In his vision of the future, as soon as a guest enters the club a hidden RF reader will note the arrival and tell the bartender to prepare "the usual" — in this case, a Glenfiddich 18-year single-malt scotch, straight up, with a Cuban Cohiba on the side. Smart shelves will determine when liquor supplies are running low, and smart cards might even keep track of how much you drink, to avoid any embarrassing arguments over the bill.
But tonight Zeng, an influential voice in the Chinese RFID standards community, is dealing with a more prosaic reality as he entertains a bevy of tech executives and government regulators at the unofficial opening of his club, called Touch.
