The Beijing Olympics featured a number of security technologies to ensure that visitors and participants were safe and that systems and applications remained tamper-free. Among these technologies was RFID, which was used for the sales and verification of admissions tickets to eliminate counterfeiting, provide faster check-in at events, and protect against unauthorized access to certain areas.

ASK-TongFang, a joint venture of French company ASK SA and Tsinghua Tongfang Ltd. of China, provided RFID contactless inlays for the 12.2 million tickets used at the Beijing Olympics. The tickets included anticounterfeiting printed security features provided by China Bank Note.

ASK-TongFang RFID tickets are based on ASK's technology that uses silver ink-printed antennas, which were manufactured at the company's plant in Miyun, near Beijing. It's believed to be the first time RFID technology was used at an Olympics.

Tsinghua Tongfang donated the RFID system, including the RFID inlays, gate readers and software, as well as related services, to the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee (BOCOG).

In keeping with the "Green Olympics" theme of the Beijing Games, ASK-TongFang noted that its products are environmentally friendly, using recyclable paper and silver ink.

ASK and Tsinghua Tongfang hope that use of the technology at the Beijing Games will boost contactless technology deployment in China. ASK also provided RFID technology to the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, in 2006. Turin public transport authorities and other organizations used contactless technology for a variety of cards and tickets.

ASK-TongFang, founded in 2005, says it can deliver up to 200 million units per year of paper-based tickets, inlays, and labels. Applications for its products include access control, logistics, asset management, and anticounterfeiting.

Ticketing wasn't the only application of RFID technology at the Beijing Games. According to BOCOG, RFID was among the technologies used as part of a food safety tracking system set up by the city of Beijing.

With this system, which also used global positioning satellites, officials were able to monitor the entire process of food circulation at Olympic-designated hotels, venues, the Olympic Village, food production areas, logistics centers, vehicles, and hospitals.