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| EPCglobal and Auto-ID Labs |
- What is EPCglobal?
- EPCglobal is a not-for-profit joint venture set up by the Uniform Code Council, which licensed the EPC technologies developed by the Auto-ID Center, and EAN International, the bar code standards body in Europe. EPCglobal is an umbrella organization overseeing local chapters that will work with companies to encourage the adoption of EPC technologies. EPCglobal will issue EPCs to companies that subscribe to its service.
- What is the difference between EPCglobal and EPCglobal US?
- EPCglobal is an umbrella organization that oversees local EPCglobal chapters. EPCglobal US is the chapter that will issue EPCs in the United States. It is a subsidiary of the Uniform Code Council. Other chapters of EPCglobal have been set up around the world.
- What is the Auto-ID Center?
- The Auto-ID Center was set up in 1999 as a not-for-profit consortium to develop a system for using the Internet to identify goods anywhere in the world, using something called the Electronic Product Code (EPC). It was originally supported by the Uniform Code Council, EAN International, Procter & Gamble and Gillette, and was based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Over time, it received funding form large companies who wanted to use RFID to track goods, and who believed an open standard was critical. Other labs were established in England, Switzerland, Japan and China. In October 2003, the center closed its doors and was transitioned into two separate organizations: EPCglobal took over the commercialization of EPC technologies, while Auto-ID Labs continued the research and development role of the Auto-ID Center.
- What are the Auto-ID Labs?
- The Auto-ID Labs are nonprofit research labs, headquartered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that do primary research into the development of EPC and related technologies. The labs were part of the Auto-ID Center. The name was changed when the Auto-ID Center ceased to exist after October 2003.
- What type of research are the Auto-ID Labs doing?
- The Auto-ID Labs are focused both on the development of the EPC network technology and applications for the technology. Work is being done to develop standards for sharing data. The labs have also set up special interest groups to research ways of embedding tags in packaging and solving problems reading tags on certain types of products, and to develop standards for using EPC and other technologies to reduce counterfeiting of products.
- Is EPC technology just for use on consumer products goods?
- The original vision was for EPC technology to be used on all types of products, not just consumer products. Having a single numbering scheme would make it easier to track goods not just within an industry but across industries as well. Goodyear, for instance, sells tires to automakers and to Wal-Mart, and it would be better to use one numbering scheme to track all their tires. But many industries have their own numbering systems, and EPCglobal is now working on a "translation engine"—a software system that would convert EPCs into industry-specific numbers and back again. Many industries are moving toward adopting EPC technology, including pharmaceuticals, defense, electronics and computing.
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