When the 2008 Summer Olympic Games open in August, the event will put more than athletes in the spotlight. The bright lights will also shine on high-tech ticketing and food-tracking systems built on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.

The XXIX Olympiad incorporates the "latest domestic and international scientific and technological achievements" and serves as a window to showcase the city's own "achievements and innovative strength" as millions descend on China, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

It is estimated that 3 million athletes, journalists and spectators will gather in Beijing for the Games. Millions more around the world will watch on television. As China savors the attention, AIM Global president Dan Mullen believes the interest in RFID reinforces the idea that the technology has matured enough to support major large-scale events.

In fact, success at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games--and at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Summer Games in September--could mean RFID companies will see orders for 70 million tickets to support the Universal Exhibition 2010 Shanghai as well.

Test runs

Michael Liard, research director for RFID and contactless technology at ABI Research, said China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) prepared for the use of RFID technology at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by running several test programs, most notably in the six major Olympic cohost cities of Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Dalian, Chengdu and Nanjing. The selected cities deployed RFID applications focused on agriculture to ensure food safety, event ticketing, public security, manufacturing and supply chain management.

France-Sino ASK AG and Tsinghua Tongfang Ltd. formed a joint venture, ASK-TongFang, in September 2005 to provide RFID-embedded tickets for the Beijing Games.

The ASK-TongFang wafer-thin chip die and silver-ink printed antenna embedded into the paper tickets are intended to battle counterfeiting, provide speedy check-ins for visitors at venue gates and guard against unauthorized access to specific areas of the Olympics compound.

The 1-kbyte memory chip embedded in the tickets does not carry personal identifiable information, but links to a database. The tickets, manufactured in Miyun, near Beijing, were delivered to the Bank of China in March. "The 13.56-MHz HF chip embedded in the ticket stores a unique serial number to ensure authenticity," said Thierry Burgess, general manager of ASK in Los Angeles.

Industry insiders estimate that ASK-TongFang sponsored the 14 million tickets and 1,000 readers at a cost of $7.2 million (50 million renminbi). The investment serves the Beijing Games as well as September's Paralympics Summer Games.

Tsinghua Tongfang company RIA is providing the software and systems to support the Beijing Games, along with three types of RFID readers that control doors and cameras throughout the facilities. Some are handheld; others connect directly to computers.

Having greater control to prevent counterfeiting was a key consideration in adopting the technology, but the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will also rely on RFID to help security personnel monitor Olympic hotels, venues, manufacturers, distribution centers and hospitals. The technology also supports a food safety tracking system.

Food management

Olympic organizers are closely monitoring food deliveries to the estimated 10,700 athletes and 31 competition venues in Beijing and in six venues outside the city. The infrastructure relies on an RFID system that monitors production, processing and transport.

Recent safety and quality control issues in China's food supply chain have generated negative attention ahead of the Games. Indeed, the U.S. Olympic Committee recently announced that the team from the United States would bring its own food to Beijing because of food- safety concerns.

That's an unnecessary step, according to Linda Wong, trade assistant at Aisino Corp., which developed the food management application last year. "We are protecting the food services and improving food safety for Olympic athletes and visitors," Wong explained. "Maintaining the quality and the safety of imported foods is our first concern."

Laurie Sullivan is a freelance journalist based in Irvine, Calif.