SINGAPORE : A*STAR is pushing ahead with efforts to help Singapore firms adopt radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to enhance their business growth.

Four agreements, signed on Thursday, will see the technology being used in the retail, healthcare, pharmaceutical and logistics industries.

MediaCart Asia will invest S$2.5 million into developing RFID-enabled shopping carts. This will help retailers to better understand consumer buying behaviour.

Under a second agreement, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries will be able to tap RFID technology in the dispensing of medication.

Lim Chuan Poh, chairman of A*STAR, said: "The RFID will be used for electronic inpatient medical records (eIMR) and tracking to enhance patient safety by ensuring that the right medications are administered at the right time to the right patient.

"In addition, SCS (Singapore Computer Systems) will also be incorporating A*STAR's SmartShelf RFID technology into its iPharm Healthcare Solutions for better inventory management and tracking of drugs, medical equipment and staff."

Meanwhile, a third agreement was signed to develop a system to track the shelf life of food at food and beverage establishments.

And the last agreement signed is aimed at helping to develop infocomm software for the logistics industry.

Adopting RFID technology is seen as a key growth strategy for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is expected to help these firms increase their operational efficiency and better service their customers. - CNA /ls