Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Mini Introduces RFID-Activated Billboards

Posted by kdawson on from the L.A.-Story-meets-Minority-Report dept.

frinkster writes "MINI USA has placed interactive billboards in 4 US cities (Chicago, Miami, New York and San Francisco) and invited a few hundred MINI owners in those cities to join their targeted 'advertisement' pilot program. The owners sign up on MINI's website and receive an RFID keyfob in the mail. When that MINI owner drives by the billboard, a targeted message appears. Each owner tells MINI what to show when they drive by, such as 'Jim, you are one sexy beast.' If the pilot program is successful, MINI plans to put up more billboards in more cities and allow every owner to participate. MINI swears that no personal information in contained in the keyfobs and that all communication between the MINI and the owner is subject to their privacy policy and thus the program is completely safe. But how well will they keep their billboard logs away from the prying eyes of law enforcement or private detectives? And what are they doing to prevent 'hackers' from changing the personal messages to insults, such as 'Jim, nice to see you finally emerge from your mother's basement'?" MINI calls the interactive billboards "Motherboards."

28 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Ya... by Swimport · · Score: 4, Funny

    This has good idea written all over it.

    1. Re:Ya... by CaptainDefragged · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes, just what we need. Yet another distraction from the task of driving. I wonder how many people will be killed because they were too busy reading their personalised billboard. Motorists need less distractions not more.

      --
      Don't tailgate - the end is near!
  2. More like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Jim, I'm finally glad to see you emerge from your mother."

  3. Fun! by ruiner13 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This could be fun to put out fake terror warnings on billboards to get people to drive faster :)

    --

    today is spelling optional day.

    1. Re:Fun! by linefeed0 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Fun? If you think jail is fun, and you would like to share this man's fate, I suggest you do so.

  4. Bigbrotherboards by CranberryKing · · Score: 4, Funny

    Great. How soon until it says "Jim! You are being detained."

    Believe it.

    1. Re:Bigbrotherboards by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Hi Akbar! It looks like you have traces of explosives on your car. Please pull over by the black helicoper up ahead."

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  5. insert bad joke here by BadERA · · Score: 3, Funny

    Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor, not an billboard trigger.

    --
    I am, therefore you think.
  6. There's nothing like a Hummer by genessy · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Jim - You should have got a Hummer!"

  7. What range? by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What range are they imagining for RFID? I have always heard that driving past a billboard (unless it was *really* close) wouldn't be close enough for the transmit distances of RFID.

    If RFID is readable at distances of 50-100 feet or so, that's opens a bunch of issues people have been saying can't happen.

    Anyone with any more detailed knowledge about RFID care to chime in on this?

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:What range? by man_ls · · Score: 3, Informative

      Active (Powered) RFID and a good antenna will net ranges much greater than 100 ft. You never hear about the Active sort terribly often, but it's out there, and is appropriate in a situation like this.

    2. Re:What range? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Putting the RFID reader in a mile marker nearer the road (or in the road itself) and then relaying the information to the billboard via another, longer-distance technology, gets around the billboard-range problem.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    3. Re:What range? by BlahSnarto · · Score: 2, Informative

      I just googled RFID longrange and
      came up with a few interesting links

      http://www.ela.fr/

  8. No, they don't. by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Informative

    MINI calls the interactive billboards "Motherboards."

    Um, the FA actually says:

    Look MINI USA to roll-out the Motorboard program to a wider MINI-owning audience later in 2007.

    Looks like somebody does need to get out of his parents' basement...

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  9. Jim... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Owning a MINI does not make you gay Jim"

  10. Minis are underpowered by smitty97 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Jim! You Could Have Had a V8!"

    --
    mod me funny
  11. Correction... by eta526 · · Score: 4, Informative

    MINI is calling them Motorboards, not Motherboards. The article is incorrect.

  12. You get a RFID tag IN THE MAIL? by Dekortage · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This means that the billboards will display their messages whenever the MAIL DELIVERY TRUCK drives by. Nice. And I'm betting a number of tags will mysteriously get lost in the mail and end up on eBay. Other issues:

    • If it's a keyfob, then it will also trigger the signs when someone is driving their OTHER non-Mini vehicle. Many families have two cars, and people drive other cars.
    • The article says "When the boards detect that you are about the drive by, they deliver a personal message based on the information you originally gave." In other words, when you're driving 70mph down the road, make sure you look up for your important message from your car manufacturer -- and then miss your turn.
    • Opposite extreme: you're stuck in traffic for 50 minutes underneath the sign.

    And there are too many ideas for mischievous messages... "Mini announces recall of your vehicle's braking system" for example.

    --
    $nice = $webHosting + $domainNames + $sslCerts
    1. Re:You get a RFID tag IN THE MAIL? by smitty97 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      when you're driving 70mph down the road, make sure you look up for your important message from your car manufacturer -- and then miss your turn.

      "Jim! TURN HERE-> "

      --
      mod me funny
    2. Re:You get a RFID tag IN THE MAIL? by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This means that the billboards will display their messages whenever the MAIL DELIVERY TRUCK drives by.

      Ok, but it's still advertising by Mini regardless of what vehicle is near it. What difference does it make which vehicle triggers it?

      And I'm betting a number of tags will mysteriously get lost in the mail and end up on eBay.

      What makes you say that? I've never had anything stolen from my mail, which I actually find kind of remarkable considering how many people have access to it. In either case, the post office has pretty good security... why would you expect this to be stolen more than any other package?

      If it's a keyfob, then it will also trigger the signs when someone is driving their OTHER non-Mini vehicle. Many families have two cars, and people drive other cars.

      Ok. And?

      It's still kind of cool, and it's still eye-catching advertising for Mini (regardless of which specific make and model of car is driving by) so I don't see why this would even be an issue.

      The article says "When the boards detect that you are about the drive by, they deliver a personal message based on the information you originally gave." In other words, when you're driving 70mph down the road, make sure you look up for your important message from your car manufacturer -- and then miss your turn.

      If you frequently miss turns because of billboards, even animated ones, you're probably not fit to drive in the first place. Again, I don't see why this would be an issue.

      Opposite extreme: you're stuck in traffic for 50 minutes underneath the sign.

      That would be the exact same as if you didn't have the keyfob, except perhaps mildly less boring. Once more, I don't see how it's an issue.

      You're not very good at this whole "let's make up some issues so I sound smarter than the entire ad agency" post thing.

      --
      Comment of the year
  13. Re:Minorityreport tags by Bassman59 · · Score: 4, Informative

    What trolls tagged this 'minorityreport'? I fail to see the relevance. In Philip K Dick's dystopian future, you'll be followed by annoying ads that target you specifically. The trigger for the ads in the future is that you'll have some kind of ID implant that gets read by the adbots. The MINI keyfobs are an external version of that ...
  14. And the question is, ???WHY???? by wowbagger · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And the question I have is, Why? Why would I *want* to be a part of this? Are they going to pay me to endure the targeted advertising?

    This makes as much sense to me as signing up for a free poke in the eye.

    --
    www.eFax.com are spammers
  15. My Favorite by wsanders · · Score: 2, Funny

    A friend of a friend once hacked one of those generator-powered message signs that the Highway Department leaves running, unlocked everywhere, with this message and the 800 number of the highway department:

    YOUR WEB SITE HERE
    1 - 800 - USA - MINI

    (or whetever their number is)

    --
    Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
  16. Fighting back with RFID readers by parvenu74 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is there something about RFID -- or "active" RFID -- that allows only a certain set of RFID readers to be able to read the chip? What I want to know is: how do I get an RFID reader? I want mount an RFID reader in front of my house and log all of the cars that come by, when they come by, if they are staying within "view" of the RFID reader for a certain amount of time (like, say, arriving an hour after I leave for work and leaving an hour before I return), etc. Pretty much every car is going to have RFID tagging in the near future, if only by way of the RFID chips being placed in new tired these days, so the only "hard" part will be correlating the RFID to a person's identity, but if the RFID can trigger a video recorder then this challenge is narrowed down. Also, I want RFID stickers I can surreptitiously plan on the neighborhood brat's skateboard and bike so I can confront his parents and/or press charge with evidence in hand.

    And above all else: I want an RFID jammer! Why? BECAUSE I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!

  17. KeyFobs still linked to PID by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 3, Insightful
    MINI swears that no personal information in contained in the keyfobs...


    Doesn't really matter. All you need to know as a marketeer is the unique ID of the FOB. When the FOB was registered your name, etc. goes into the master DB in the sky and from that point forward any POS or PO-Advertisement that sees your FOB will have access to your personally identifiable consumer portrait.

    The "see some stupid phrase on a billboard as you're driving to your lifeless cube" game is just a way to train various peons to be good consumers and hang onto their FOB.

  18. Brilliant marketing by Rodness · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They just got every egomaniac out there to carry around yet another 'MINI' branded keyfob on his keychain and show it off to friends, thus greatly improving their word-of-mouth brand recognition. And they've managed to make (some) people WANT to look at 'MINI' branded billboards.

  19. I welcome our targeted advertising overlords. by Jaqenn · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think that I *would* carry a keychain if it could made me see mostly ads for things I've already expressed interested in. Give up my pharmaceutical and home mortgage billboards for anime and videogame billboards? Sign me up.

    --
    You are awash in a sea of fiercely stated opinions. Obvious exits are: 'File->Quit', 'Reply', and 'Page Down'.
  20. NON-customizable message... by sloth+jr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    According to the linked article, the message isn't customizable by you at all - you simply have to give Mini USA typical marketing demographic info, sign up for their spam, and then THEY get to choose the message.

    Bleah.