The Future of ADC

Special correspondence from EAN International for the logistyka.net.pl portal.

Researchers at the Auto ID Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in cooperation with the EAN.UCC technical committees, are developing a new vision for ADC. It is based on the so-called ePC – Electronic Product Codes (Electronic Product Code).

Special correspondence from
EAN-International
for the logistyka.net.pl portal.

Researchers at the Auto ID Center of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, in cooperation with the technical committees of
EAN.UCC, are developing a new
vision for
ADC. It is based on the so-called ePC –
Electronic Product Codes (Electronic Product Code).

ePCs are to be
placed on all objects, i.e., products, assets, etc. Similarly
to the currently used
EAN/UPC codes, object identification is to be
separated from information, which will ensure flexibility for the system. When changing
some feature of the identified object or its purpose, the identifier
will remain the same. The information will be stored in databases.

Unlike the current system, categories of objects will not be
identified, but rather each individual object. Thus, not only will every car engine have a separate identifier, but also every hair dryer, tube of toothpaste, and bag of crisps. While it is easy to imagine
marking countable items, the problem remains how to mark so-called
bulk materials, e.g., gasoline, grain, etc. However, this is only a matter of establishing
appropriate conventions.

Another feature distinguishing the planned system from today’s
will be the way data is placed, which will be available on the Internet. The operating principle
of the ePC can be compared to
today’s internet addresses. ePC
will instruct the computer where to look for information about the identified object.

 ePC will have
the following structure:

A total of 96 bits will enable each manufacturer to uniquely
mark 1.8*10¹⁹ objects. This should be sufficient today as well as in
the foreseeable future.<