The Open-Source Door Is Ajar
In early 2005, rumors were swirling inside the RFID industry that a handful of companies, including Re-factored Networks, i-Konect and N4, were creating open-source middleware, which they planned to offer for free to end users, charging only for installation, support and integration services.

"We thought RFID open-source software would really move the industry" by making the technology easier and cheaper for companies of all sizes to adopt, says Tom Rose, cofounder of i-Konect.

RuBee: a possible alternative to active UHF tags used for tracking assets containing liquids or metal.

But Re-factored Networks folded, and i-Konect is too focused on its core RFID systems integration business to dedicate the resources required to bring its beta open-source RFID middleware, called Singularity, to completion. Rose says people in academia and the government, as well as commercial technology integrators, are interested in Singularity, but they want a finished product. Problem is, i-Konect can't finish it without a partner willing to share some of the development costs, time and risks.

Still, open-source middleware may yet do for the RFID industry what Linux, the free operating system, did for software developers. N4 convened a group of software developers, under the moniker RadioActive, to develop its open-source middleware. The company says it plans to release the software—called Fusion—very soon.

And Humberto Moran, founder of Open Source Innovation, believes open source holds tremendous promise for the RFID industry and end users. But first, he says, three things must happen: More members of the open-source software community need to learn about RFID; the RFID community needs to know about open-source software; and the commercial sector needs to invest in the software development.