Intellectual property claims, standards dispute, upgrade issues could stall radio frequency identification in short term, ABI reports
Oyster Bay, NY December 15, 2004 Three factors will conspire to put progress in RFID implementation on ice for the immediate future, according to technology consultancy ABI Research.
Erik Michielsen, director of RFID and ubiquitous wireless at the firm, says that "by themselves, none of the three situations is a deal-breaker, but their cumulative effect will be to chill progress in the field for several months or more."
The first is the conflict around Intermec's intellectual property claims to parts of the EPCglobal Generation 2 specification. EPCglobal, the nonprofit organization charged with commercializing electronic product code (EPC) technology, has yet to release its findings on the Intermec IP claims which, ABI notes, remain a stumbling block to faster RFID industry development.
If the EPC Gen 2 standard dismisses the Intermec IP claims as irrelevant, a legal battle is still likely to ensue. If the IP is deemed relevant, licensing issues will delay RFID production ramp ups.
The second difference of opinion is between EPCglobal and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), around the part of the proposed specification dealing with the numbering systems to which RFID tags relate. EPCglobal is hoping to set the issue aside to be dealt with separately in order to speed approval of the rest of the standard.
Finally, there is the issue of upgrades to Generation 2. "Many pre-standard products have been sold on the promise that they are firmware-upgradeable," says Michielsen. "It turns out that often means upgradeable only to single or multi-unit use, but not to the 'dense' configuration which is the only one that really matters. Buyers must scan the fine print and be very sure that their purchases are fully upgradeable, or they risk having to replace all their readers."
With these issues yet to play out, ABI predicts RFID could be in for a cold winter this year.
For more information on trends relating to radio frequency identification, follow this link for an extensive listing of SDCExec.com articles, featuring the latest research findings on the RFID, including adoption, return on investment and barriers to implementation.
Oyster Bay, NY December 15, 2004 Three factors will conspire to put progress in RFID implementation on ice for the immediate future, according to technology consultancy ABI Research.
Erik Michielsen, director of RFID and ubiquitous wireless at the firm, says that "by themselves, none of the three situations is a deal-breaker, but their cumulative effect will be to chill progress in the field for several months or more."
The first is the conflict around Intermec's intellectual property claims to parts of the EPCglobal Generation 2 specification. EPCglobal, the nonprofit organization charged with commercializing electronic product code (EPC) technology, has yet to release its findings on the Intermec IP claims which, ABI notes, remain a stumbling block to faster RFID industry development.
If the EPC Gen 2 standard dismisses the Intermec IP claims as irrelevant, a legal battle is still likely to ensue. If the IP is deemed relevant, licensing issues will delay RFID production ramp ups.
The second difference of opinion is between EPCglobal and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), around the part of the proposed specification dealing with the numbering systems to which RFID tags relate. EPCglobal is hoping to set the issue aside to be dealt with separately in order to speed approval of the rest of the standard.
Finally, there is the issue of upgrades to Generation 2. "Many pre-standard products have been sold on the promise that they are firmware-upgradeable," says Michielsen. "It turns out that often means upgradeable only to single or multi-unit use, but not to the 'dense' configuration which is the only one that really matters. Buyers must scan the fine print and be very sure that their purchases are fully upgradeable, or they risk having to replace all their readers."
With these issues yet to play out, ABI predicts RFID could be in for a cold winter this year.
For more information on trends relating to radio frequency identification, follow this link for an extensive listing of SDCExec.com articles, featuring the latest research findings on the RFID, including adoption, return on investment and barriers to implementation.
