Dec 17, 2020I feel confident in speaking for most people when I say that the end of 2020 couldn't come fast enough. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, the political chaos in the United States and abroad, the increasing civil rights violations and racially motivated violence, the terrible financial hardships felt by individuals and businesses alike, and the abundance of natural disasters—not to mention the murder hornets—the past twelve months have been emotionally exhausting. I, for one, am ready for a change.
Thankfully, a lot of changes are right around the corner, with multiple COVID-19 vaccines being offered in record time, a new Presidential Administration entering the White House in 2021, a push for diversity and reforms offsetting the disturbing rise of bigotry and fascism, and companies recovering from the financial crisis after having successfully transitioned to remote-employee setups.
The world a year from now will be a very different one than the world of today, which is extremely different from the world of a year ago. Adaptation and versatility are a must in such an environment, which is why RFID Journal took all of our events to a virtual platform in 2020, and why we will continue to offer online conferences throughout 2021. Here's what we have in store.
Internet of Things 2021
Feb. 23, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a broad term covering technologies that provide network connectivity to everyday objects, ranging from wearable computers to common products. What's behind the excitement about the Internet of Things? How will companies benefit from IoT technologies? What will be the impact on consumers? What strategies should companies use to take advantage of the IoT, and which technologies will dominate it? This virtual event will feature case studies from early adopters, with industry experts, market leaders and analysts sharing their insights about overcoming technical, user and governmental challenges, as well as how to create effective business models.
RFID in Health Care 2021
Mar. 16, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
In the health-care field, hospitals and other medical facilities are employing RFID and IoT technologies to improve patient safety, increase asset utilization with real-time tracking, boost revenue with automated billing and reduce the incidence of medical errors using track-and-match applications. As of this past fall, more than 60 million coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide. This virtual event will explore how RFID and the IoT are identifying and tracking COVID-19 outbreaks and enabling social distancing in the health-care environment, as well as the monitoring of vaccine distribution and improvements in efficiency.
RFID in Aerospace/Defense 2021
Apr. 20, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
The use of RFID in the aerospace and defense sectors can help organizations comply with customer requirements and achieve significant benefits internally. Case studies presented by aerospace and defense companies already using RFID will help attendees determine the best technology for their needs, learn best practices from early adopters, find the right technology partners and move forward with adoption.
RFID in the Food Chain 2021
June 22, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
This virtual event is designed to educate growers, food product distributors, beverage manufacturers and processors, systems integrators and other implementers regarding the benefits of using RFID to monitor the location and temperature of food and beverages moving through the supply chain. This virtual event will discuss the current state of RFID, explain how your organization can deploy the technology to achieve such benefits, and provide an understanding of the various applications of RFID in the food industry, including supply chain management, temperature monitoring and food-safety management.
RFID in Harsh and Hazardous Environments 2021
Oct. 26, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Companies in the oil and gas, chemical, mining, construction and energy industries are using radio frequency identification technologies to improve operational safety and efficiency, as well as achieve strong financial results. In this virtual event, the presenters will examine how RFID can be used for asset tracking, personnel safety and equipment maintenance, as well as to speed up production and shipping processes in harsh and complex environments.
Deploying Wireless Sensors 2021
Dec. 7, 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM
RFID and wireless sensors power the IoT. RFID systems can identify and track devices, while wireless sensor networks gather and provide information from interconnected sensors. There are challenges in transforming RFID systems with identification capabilities into sensing and computational platforms, as well as considering them as architectures of wirelessly connected sensing tags. Integrating RFID with WSNs provides not only an item's identity and location, but also information regarding the condition of an object carrying a sensor-enabled RFID tag. This virtual event will show how the technology can be used for environmental monitoring and forecasting, health care, smart homes, intelligent transport vehicles, warehouse management and precision agriculture.
RFID Journal LIVE! 2021
Sept. 26-28, Phoenix, Ariz.
RFID Journal LIVE! is the world's largest conference and exhibition focused on radio frequency identification and related technologies. The upcoming LIVE! event will feature more than 150 exhibitors from 26 countries showcasing best-in-class RFID tags, readers, software and implementation services. Innovative new products are introduced at LIVE! each year, so attending means being among the first to see the newest RFID products. RFID Journal plans to make LIVE! an in-person event again next year (depending on the pandemic's status), with the conference slated to take place in Phoenix.
We hope you will join us at some or all of these events, which are designed to help your company survive and thrive in the tumultuous world of today and the hopefully more optimistic world of tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday season, and that you continue to practice social distancing and self-quarantines while widespread vaccination efforts continue. There is an end in sight to the depressing status quo, if we can all just keep our heads, remain patient and positive, and take all the necessary precautions. We want to see you at LIVE!—but more importantly, we want to see you alive.
Rich Handley has been the managing editor of RFID Journal since 2005. Outside the RFID world, Rich has authored, edited or contributed to numerous books about pop culture.
