One of the most important roles that standards play in global trade is to streamline the unification of technologies and solutions used by enterprises, and consequently, to improve the integration and cooperation capabilities of companies in global supply chains. EPCglobal, created by GS1, is one such standard. Barcode identification technology has developed and spread throughout the world. Due to economies of scale, this technology is now very inexpensive.
The main reason for its widespread use, however, is the application of global GS1 system identifiers, which uniquely identify, for example, a product, a collective package, or a pallet on a global scale. A natural process is the replacement of barcodes
with new forms of data carriers, and consequently, the creation of new standards. Tags, or transponders, built from a microchip and equipped with an antenna that allows them to be activated using radio waves, are the next step in the evolution
of identification standards. They store information in binary form, and appropriate readers process it into a numerical form. This technology (RFID – Radio Frequency Identification) significantly increases the amount of data that can be recorded about a specific object. One
of the innovative solutions based on this technology is the Electronic Product Code (EPC), to which the EPCglobal standard applies. The Electronic Product Code is often called
technology has led to the construction of so-called passive RFID tags – information can be read from them without the need for external power sources. Thanks to its capabilities, RFID technology will soon meet the expectations
of individual product identification, transport packaging content, and the ability to track the flow of goods in online mode. Contrary to appearances, RFID technology is not a technological novelty at all, but its potential has only been harnessed for a few years. Combined with the Internet, this technology has led to the development of the EPC concept. Work on the EPC system is being conducted by the Auto-ID Center – a scientific laboratory at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the USA, which was established in 1999 to design the next generation of the barcode. For 5 years, the concept of such a technology was shaped, which could be accepted by participants in the global supply chain. The founders of the Auto-ID Center, which include companies such as Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and UCC Inc., gained the support of dozens of international corporations and organizations, including EAN International. As part of this project, the Center
also cooperates with other laboratories around the world: the University of Cambridge laboratory in the UK, the University of Adelaide in Australia, Keio University in Japan, Fudan University in China, and USG/ETH in Switzerland. The EPCglobal Inc. organization was created to bring research results to the market – currently, more than 100 companies are funding research
on EPC. EPC as a solution covers much more than just the code itself – it is a combination of the Internet and RFID technology based on several assumptions:
• only an identification number is stored in the tag,
• special software is used – middleware, which acts as an interface between the RFID reader and the application and the Internet, used to manage the flow of information throughout the EPC network,
• information about each object is stored in a public network, and access to it is provided
via the ONS (Object Naming Service), similar to DNS (Domain Naming Service) for websites,
• prices of tags and readers show a downward trend, and the devices are adapted to currently functioning standards,
• tags and readers are compatible with an open, global identification standard, ensuring that they will work together regardless of the country of origin.
• special software is used – middleware, which acts as an interface between the RFID reader and the application and the Internet, used to manage the flow of information throughout the EPC network,
• information about each object is stored in a public network, and access to it is provided
via the ONS (Object Naming Service), similar to DNS (Domain Naming Service) for websites,
• prices of tags and readers show a downward trend, and the devices are adapted to currently functioning standards,
• tags and readers are compatible with an open, global identification standard, ensuring that they will work together regardless of the country of origin.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty” 4/2006.