RFID chips function somewhat like bar codes—each has a unique signature that can be used to track its movements.

A company called Linen Technology Tracking produces RFID chips that can be sewn into towels and sheets, with the intention of helping hotels keep track of their linen inventory. The chips can be automatically read in hotel laundry chutes, in towel bins by the pool, and perhaps someday at check out, so the staff knows when some light-fingered guest has a towel in their suitcase.

The company's site isn't available to anyone without a login, so the exact details of the system remain foggy, but at least three hotels in Honolulu, Miami, and New York are using the system, the CEO says (via NYT).