EPCglobal ratifies UHF Generation 2 standard for RFID

Lawrenceville, NJ— EPCglobal Inc. reports that it has ratified its royalty-free UHF Generation 2 candidate specification. This action formally establishes the UHF Generation 2 air interface protocol as an EPCglobal standard for radio frequency identification (RFID) applications.

UHF Generation 2 will allow developers to create better performing RFID solutions to meet the needs of suppliers, manufacturers, and end-users. Industrial users also will be able to drive further EPC-related implementations with standards-based equipment.

EPCglobal’s ratification follows successful testing of prototypes from several technology providers, which shows that UHF Generation 2 can meet the EPCglobal community’s end-user requirements. The organization adds that ratification also demonstrates that intellectual property presented on a licensed basis during the standards development process was not necessary to the standard. Commercially available products are expected the first half of 2005.

‘Today marks both an exciting culmination and a much anticipated beginning in the commercialization of RFID and EPC technology,’ says Chris Adcock, EPCglobal’s president. ‘Many of the world’s leading technology companies collaborated to develop the UHF Generation 2 specification, and we celebrate and applaud their efforts as we launch the royalty-free UHF Generation 2 standard. With this standard in place, technology manufacturers and end-users alike can begin exploring how to deploy the technology in such a way to make a significant impact in improving their own business.’

UHF Generation 2 protocol is a consensus standard built by more than 60 technology companies, and describes the core capabilities required to meet the performance needs set by the end-user community. UHF Generation 2 will be used as a base platform on which standards-based products and future improvements will be built.

EPCglobal’s standard further ensures interoperability and sets minimum operational expectations for various components in the EPCglobal Network, including hardware components. While EPCglobal oversees interoperability and conformance testing of standards-based products, the actual development of these products comes from solution providers worldwide.

EPCglobal worked with the global community of end-users and solution providers to complete a number of activities aimed at building out the EPCglobal Network. The UHF Generation 2 standard is a foundational element in the continued build-out of the EPCglobal Network, a network that combines RFID technology, the Internet and the EPC to provide accurate, cost-efficient visibility of information throughout supply chains.

Concurrent with the ratification of UHF Generation 2, EPCglobal has set up a special committee to consider whether additional numbering features are necessary to the EPCglobal standard. Following the outcome of this work group, EPCglobal plans to submit the Generation 2 standard to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com

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