Wednesday, February 04, 2004

On February 12, the Silicon Valley World Internet Center is hosting a debate titled, "IPv6 vs. EPC: A FACE OFF ON THE RFID BATTLEGROUND".  Electronic Product Code (EPC) is a numbering specification for the unique Serial Numbers of RFID Tags.  Presumably there are enough EPC codes to number every significant object on Earth. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a proposed new numbering system for the all the computers on the public Internet that will support vast Internet expasion. The question is, what is the next standard unique numbering system, EPC or IPv6?  This should be an interesting debate. 9:19:40 PM    comment []

In the Australian publication CommsWorld, Richard Chirgwin offers commentary on EPCGlobal's decision to select Verisign to implement the authoritative root Object Naming Service (ONS) infrastructure.  ONS is a derivative of the Internet's Domain Name Service (DNS) used to associate a name or owner with each unique Electronic Product Code (EPC) or RFID Tag Serial Number. Chirgwin criticizes EPCGlobal's decision to effectively grant Verisign a monopoly, but he assumes that ONS will be widely used.  I don't believe it will.  Most RFID deployments during the next several years will operate with a closed set of Serial Numbers and consequently will not require an authorative, universal ONS infrastructure.  As an example, Wal-Mart has already announced that they will not use ONS. 9:16:54 PM    comment []

BusinessWeek has a feature on the current Tech Rebound that seems to be developing these days.  RFID is described as a golden opportunity for technology firms.  The feature also includes an interview with Wal-Mart CIO Linda Dillman.  The focus of this piece is using RFID in warehouse, distribution and retail for tracking the location of products and inventory management. 9:53:56 AM    comment []