As the use of RFID explodes, the technology is being integrated into more and more consumer-facing applications. That was evident last week when Burger King announced that it is rolling out Coca-Cola’s RFID-enabled Freestyle soda machines to all 850 of its company-owned stores.

In another interesting consumer-facing use case, the Tampa Bay Lightning have embedded RFID into 10,000 team jerseys given to season ticket holders. The loyalty program allows fans to buy discounted items at the retail store and at concession stands.

Our final issue of 2011 looks at these applications as well as some of the more interesting consumer-facing use cases that developed this year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the high-tech soda machines will be rolled out by April. The machines rely on Indy chips produced by Seattle-based Impinj.

RFID-powered soda machines will be arrive at many Burger Kings by April.

The move will boost the install base for the soda machines by nearly 50 percent. The machines are currently operating in 1,772 locations, including movie theaters and restaurants. In what could be a huge endorsement for the Freestyle machine, Burger King has also reccomended that its 7,000 US franchisees also install the machines.

Freestyle is a touch-screen operated soda dispenser that allows users to mix and match their own personal drinks, dispensing more than 120 sparkling and still beverage brands from one machine. Users will be able to test flavors never before available in the U.S., such as caffeine-free Diet Coke with Lime, Fanta Peach and Minute Maid Light Orange Lemonade.

The Freestyle system is an example of the vast market opening up for applications that add RFID to devices that are not primarily RFID readers. The Freestyle system uses RFID to track the flavor cartridges inside the machines. Each drink dispenser has four Impinj Indy chips inside that provide the ability to read the tags in syrup cartridges so that the machine can trigger supply chain replenishment.

The solution also allows Coca-Cola to guarantee that flavor cartridges are authentic, and to recall or shut off a tap for a certain flavor when necessary. The Freestyle machine is a great example of UHF RFID’s value – the technology is embedded and used in such a way that it provides real business value and improves consumer experience.

“The ability to customize your own beverages combined with the quality that Coca-Cola Freestyle delivers to our guests is a perfect addition to our most recent new menu offerings,” said Steve Wiborg, president North America, Burger King Corp. “Adding Coca-Cola Freestyle further enhances our guest experience. We’re excited to be the largest franchise system in the U.S. to roll out the fountains in all company owned restaurants.”

Burger King hopes that the The Freestyle machiens will jump start beverage sales, which have been falling for several years. The NPD Group reports that there has been a six percent drop in total beverage servings (excluding tap water) at restaurants over the last five years, representing a decline of 2.7 billion servings.

Now, the University of Dayton Research Institute is in the spotlight. The school, long a pioneer in RFID research, says that American Thermal Instruments of Moraine, Ohio, has licensed University of Dayton Research Institute researcher Bob Kauffman’s SMART technology to develop and manufacture monitors that will report unsafe temperature changes in products ranging from perishable items like fruit to train wheels while they are in transit.

Utilizing the SMART (Status and Motion Activated Radiofrequency Tag) system, monitors for perishable items such as food and medicine will be located in shipping containers for transport from production facility to distribution center to store shelf. Similarly, monitors for transportation applications will be attached to components whose controlled temperature is critical to the integrity of the vehicle.

A handheld scanner can be used at checkpoints along the way to quickly and easily check for temperature issues without having to open packaging. According to the University of Dayton web site, the RFID system could be on the market within 18 months, if not sooner. The company has already signed clients from the restaurant and transportation industries to use the temperature monitors.

“Temperature changes affect the taste, freshness, appearance and viability of food products,” says ATI president Randall Lane. “Every hour that a case of lettuce spends in temperatures that are too high means one less day of shelf life, which is significant for a produce company that ships more than seven million cases a year.

“But there are also instances where unsafe temperature fluctuations cause more than just expensive waste. They can be dangerous. For example, we monitor heart stents, which are made of metal. If a stent gets too hot in transit, it won’t open up and work properly once it’s been implanted. A case of vaccines worth millions of dollars can be rendered useless if they’re allowed to warm up for even a brief period of time.”

According to reports, three hotels in Hawaii utilizing the technology have dramatically reduced shrinkage. High cotton prices are driving the adoption of RFID-based solutions for this market.

Bob Moore, chairman & CEO of iGPS, says that cost-effective technology that allows products to be traced through the U.S. supply chain might have helped contain the spread of hydrolyzed vegetable protein products contaminated with Salmonella.

The list of recalled products containing the contaminated HVP has now topped 100, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is expected to grow as the popular food additive is found in everything from soups, sauces, chili, stews, hot dogs, gravies, chips, dips and dressings.

“Fresh on the heels of the nationwide Tylenol recall, this HVP recall once again illustrates the need for tighter controls in the U.S. food supply chain,” Moore said in a prepared press release. “In this case, we see how one common ingredient can disrupt the nation’s food supply and potentially threaten millions of people. We hope this reality will hasten Senate consideration of product tracking technology and action on critically important food safety legislation.

The Senate has not yet scheduled action on the food safety bill, which the House passed overwhelmingly last year.

iGPS operates the world’s first pallet rental service providing manufacturers with lightweight, recyclable all-plastic pallets embedded with RFID tags.  Unlike the more than one billion wood pallets in circulation, the RFID tags in iGPS plastic pallets allow products to be easily traced at numerous points along the supply chain, providing a way to pinpoint and contain contaminated products.

Although the alcohol monitoring system is far more ideal for expensive top shelf liquors than a bottle of Bud, it could also be applied to kegs of beer, for example, to confirm that revenue matches the numbers of beers dispensed.  A keg of beer yields about 165 12-ounce glasses of beer. (See, I did learn something in college!) At $3 apiece, projected revenue from a keg is $495. A bartender could find himself in hot water if he shows significantly less revenue on a key that is tracked with RFID technology.

According to Clear View Technologies, the alcohol beverage operations of nightclubs, bars, hotels, casinos and sports venues have historically suffered from inventory and margin loss far exceeding any other business sector. Studies have shown inventory losses up to $37 billion annually, with pouring costs averaging 25 percent across the industry, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Clear View Technologies says its RFID-enabled BarMaster solution will increase the value of the business and yield a return on investment many times over by immediately reducing losses due to theft, shrinkage, sales fraud and improper free-pour behavior, while reducing time spent on inventory.