UCLA's WINMEC Starts Green RFID Research Project

WINMEC is part of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). The projects will look at green methods applied to wireless and RFID-based electronic products.

Some of the questions Students in WINMEC's program will try to answer include:

1) Does it make sense to put tags on items to monitor recyclables?

2) What type of recycling problems do RFID tags create?

The group might also attempt to design an environmentally friendly tag to avoid creating what some experts call an electronics wasteland.

One WINMEC student will research biodegradable materials inside toys that manufacturers can use to connect RFID chips or sensors with antenna.

Interest in embedding sensors into toys and clothing has increased, especially by manufacturers held accountable for making sure textiles, plastics and metals are disposed of separately.

And with more toy manufacturers combining materials, it's become increasingly difficult. Take Pleo from Ugobe, for example. The cute lifelike robotic dinosaur has more than 40 sensors for sight, sound and touch on his head, back and feet. Sensors inside the joints simulate pain, which prompts a yelp and possible limp. Each dinosaur is capable of developing its own personality. There is a multimedia memory card where responses to actions are stored and personalities created.

"I don't know exactly what can be done, but I have an idea," say Rajit Gadh, WINMEC director and a professor in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA.

Gadh says price drives RFID adoption these days, but that could change as consumers become green conscious. Many will begin to closely weigh the pros and the cons of the materials used in manufacturing before making purchases.