Anchorage, Alaska-Based Firm Uses Radio Frequency Identification.

Byline: Robert Howk

Dec. 21--Microchip radio technology that has been used to identify lost dogs, start cars remotely and keep track of livestock is moving rapidly into the mainstream marketplace.

And in the past year or so, at least one local company, and the University of Alaska, have been homing in on the emerging business.

Known as radio frequency identification, or RFID, the process uses ultra-miniature microchips -- some as small as a speck of pepper -- to emit a unique digital code. They can be made to constantly transmit signals, or to be activated when contacted by a scanner.

The chips are coupled with an antenna and the whole package, or "tag" can be smaller than a postage stamp.

The minuscule devices are fast, allowing businesses to track inventories in seconds instead of days. They can track people, and their purchases, too.