The Auto-ID Labs network is a research group in the field of networked

radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically Automatic identification system, identify and Tracking system, track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver ...

(RFID) and emerging sensing technologies. The labs consist of seven research universities located on four different continents. These institutions were chosen by the former Auto-ID Center to design the architecture for the

Internet of Things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other com ...

together with

EPCglobal The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is designed as a universal identifier (using a idiosyncratic numerical code for each different commodity) that provides a unique identity for every physical object anywhere in the world, for all time. The EPC stru ...

. The federation was established in 1999; the network they have developed is at the heart of a proposal sponsored by EPCglobal and supported by GS1, GS1 US,

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

, and others to use RFID and the

Electronic Product Code The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is designed as a universal identifier (using a idiosyncratic numerical code for each different commodity) that provides a unique identity for every physical object anywhere in the world, for all time. The EPC stru ...

(EPC) in the identification of items in the

supply chain In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, activ ...

for companies. The areas of expertise range from hardware to software to business research related to RFID.

History

The Auto-ID Labs is the research-oriented successor to the MIT Auto-ID Center, founded by

Kevin Ashton Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

, David Brock, Dr. Daniel Engels,

Sanjay Sarma Sanjay E. Sarma (born May 1968) an Indian mechanical engineer who is the Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) professor of mechanical engineering and the Vice President for Open Learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technolog ...

, and Sunny Siu with funding from

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...

, the Uniform Code Council, and a number of other global consumer products manufacturers. The MIT Auto-ID Center was created to develop the Electronic Product Code, a global RFID-based item identification system intended to replace the UPC

bar code A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or on ...

. In October 2003, the Auto-ID Center was replaced by the newly founded research network, the Auto-ID Labs and EPCGlobal, an organization charged with managing the new EPC Network. Auto-ID Labs is responsible for managing and funding the continued development of EPC technology.

Research topics

The research topics of the labs have gone beyond RFID-only research and now also includes sensor networks and new emerging sensing technology. Basically, the research can be grouped into three main areas: hardware, software and business layer. On the autoidlabs.org website, the Auto-ID Labs continuously publish their research results and provide an archive with over 150 white papers and academic publications. The following parts outline how the research is organized.

Software and network

*Focus group:

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

KAIST The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first public, resear ...

*Future system architecture *EPC network *EPC Global Network Simulator *Middleware *Integration with existing systems

Hardware

*Focus group:

Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...

*RF and chip design *Class 2 and higher tags *Tags with memory, battery, sensors and actuators *Enhanced reading rates in challenging environments

Members

The research network consists of the following seven research institutions: *

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(United Kingdom) - Cambridge Auto-ID Lab *

(China) - Fudan Auto-ID Lab *

(

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

) - KAIST Auto-ID Lab *

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

(Japan) - Keio Auto-ID Lab *

(United States) - MIT Auto-ID Lab * University of St. Gallen/

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

(Switzerland) *

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

(Australia)

References

External links

Auto-ID Labs Global alliance

University of St. Gallen/ETH Zurich Auto-ID Lab

University of Adelaide Auto-ID Lab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auto-Id Labs Automatic identification and data capture Radio-frequency identification Internet of things