Vibram Fivefinger Shoes and RFID

You probably didn’t know this about me, but I am very avid exerciser. I just bought a pair of Vibram Fivefinger shoes yesterday and the pain in my right calf is telling me they did their job well. 

You see Vibram Fivefingers were developed a couple of years ago to simulate being barefoot. The sole is thin, barely even there, and each toe has a special, independently movable socket for it to fit into.

Soon after they were developed, people began to run in them. There were studies done to show that you run differently when in these shoes because you do not have a “heavy heal strike” (landing on your heel during stride). The shoes cause a person to run more on the balls of his feet. This switch causes the impact of the running to be taken off of the joints (which happens during a heavy heel strike) to the actual muscles in your legs and foot (which is why my calf burns so badly this morning). This change is much better for your body in the long run (no pun intended). 

What does this have to do with RFID? Well, first of all, it could be a metaphor. Barcodes symbolize the old style of shoe, still useful in certain circumstances, but losing ground in many industries. RFID symbolizes the Vibram Fivefingers , far more effective and efficient, slow to become accepted, but quickly gaining ground (again, no pun intended).

Second, Vibrams revitalized an industry (runners across the country swear by these shoes) through innovation. RFID has the ability to revitalize almost any industry. It has revitalized the video rental industry through Redbox. It will soon revitalize the car rental industry (see “RFID refuses to take a backseat” post). There is definitely going to be new and exciting integrations into almost every aspect of life. View http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xNhL39uD7I for a possible glimpse of the future.

Third, it is beneficial to the consumer. Vibram Fivefingers are helping people with knee and hip pain to run again. Taking the impact out of their joints and into their muscles allows them to run with greatly reduced pain. Simply put, it is better for them.

RFID is the exact same. Though it has not been met with open arms by many skeptics, it truly is helpful to the consumer. It saves time (library self-service checkouts). It increases customer experience (automatically refillable cups on cruise liners). It saves money (hospital surgical inventory management). It can even save lives (hand hygiene compliance systems).

Though there are still many skeptics out there, people are starting to realize the powerful advantages of RFID to both the consumers and the business owners. I urge you to have an open mind and push your friends to be open minded as RFID begins to be integrated more and more into our everyday lives.

Do you need RFID in your industry? Do you have an idea for an innovative new RFID application for your business? Ron Pulvermacher has more than 20 years of experience in the world of RFID. If you would like to take advantage of his expertise, call Matrix Product Development at 608-834-1661. Call today.

Many thanks to Kriss Szkurlatowski for the picture