Alcatel-Lucent Ventures launches online identification service `tikitag' in India

07 January 2009

Alcatel-Lucent Ventures, the Indian arm of Alcatel-Lucent, has announced the launch of a new online content application `tikitag' in India.

Tikitag enables consumers and third-party application developers to enhance the value of everyday items by connecting them to online content or applications using identification technologies like Radio Frequent Identification (RFID), the company said in a release.

The tikitag service enables the launching of online applications by simply touching an RFID device such as a cell phone to an item tagged with an RFID chip.

''Applications can be diverse, and in a variety of environments. In an in-home application, for example, a father can use `tikitag' to link his toddler's teddy bear to an online story about that same bear; in an outdoor environment `tikitag' makes it possible for a visitor to an art gallery to wave his RFID-enabled mobile phone at a painting and then see the painter's Wikipedia profile appear on the phone's screen,'' it said.

Among other possible uses, such as in a business or logistics environment, the company said, a cleaning company can possibly use it to record that a room has been successfully cleaned through a simple touch of an RFID-enabled mobile phone to a tikitag-linked RFID tag that has been placed in the room.

'Tikitag' offers a starter package e-commerce web sites worldwide via its e-store. The package includes a USB-enabled RFID reader and 10 RFID tags, and provides access to a community website where users can create and share new and off-the-shelf `tikitag' applications.