"RFID in your underpants," said radio talk show host Keith Larson, and the comic accusation has stuck to privacy discussions about radio frequency identification ever since.

As long as RFID tags were kept in the warehouse or distribution center, the public had no immediate need for concern. They were out of sight and out of mind, or underpants. RFID tags and their readers help identify with greater detail, and from a distance, thousands of pallets and cartons. Their use in warehousing is, as