Remotely scannable IC chips that can access vast amounts of constantly updated information and cost only pennies could be close to reality. New technological developments and a decline in chip cost hold the promise of an automatic data and identification system that uses the Internet.

Sanjay Sarma, Daniel Engels, David Brock, "Radio Frequency Identification and the Electronic Product Code", IEEE Micro, vol. 21, no. , pp. 50-54, November/December 2001, doi:10.1109/40.977758