RFID is already being used in many ways: cars use it to make payments at tollbooths, more than 50 million pets and 20 million livestock have RFID tags, and museums use them to guard their artworks. But now RFID is about to be used to track everything, everywhere, from the factory right into your home. RFID is the basis for 6,000 patents filed for wireless payments, keyless entries, laundry tagging, and much more. It works by way of an Electronic Product Code (EPC) embedded in a microchip the size of a piece of glitter.

In 1999, the Auto-ID Center was founded to pursue RFID uses. Today, 103 companies are members. It can tell stores when to restock popular items and track stolen items, saving companies millions. RFID has the potential to be the most invasive consumer technology, but supporters are working on safeguards, such as "kill codes" for tags after checkout. The Auto-ID Center is issuing its first RFID privacy guidelines.

Wal-Mart has given its top 100 suppliers until 2005 to have EPC codes on all pallets and cases. DHL Worldwide Express has found that RFID scanners identify packages inside passing cargo containers at a rate of 300 items per second. The U.S. military tags air pallets and critical cargo, like tanks, so that commanders always know where they are. The Department of Defense tracks humans with RFID, and prisons use it to monitor guards and prisoners. Car companies are using it to thwart theft. American Express is using it in key chain cards for quick purchases.

So far, Europeans have made the biggest investments, but it is gaining use in China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.