This article was originally published by RFID Update.
December 14, 2004—EPCglobal’s highly anticipated second generation RFID standard, widely referred to simply as “GEN 2,” will not be a cure-all to existing RFID shortcomings, according to CEO of Seattle-based RFID tag producer Impinj, Bill Colleran. It will certainly be an improvement over the existing Class 0 and Class 1 specifications, but it won’t be perfect. GEN 2 is a “framework,” emphasizes Colleran, not a solution in and of itself. Success implementing GEN 2-compliant systems will still depend on how well designed they are. Colleran points specifically to a lesser-known aspect of GEN 2 having to do with the distribution of RFID readers. The spec provides for three levels of compliance depending on the concentration of readers within a 1-kilometer radius: the first level certifies those readers that function as the only one in the radius, the second level certifies those that function alongside a few others, and the final level certifies those that can function alongside 50 other readers. Thus, just because a reader is “GEN 2 Compliant” does not mean it will work perfectly in all environments. Examples such as these suggest that even with the ratification of GEN 2, nuance will still be required for successful RFID deployments.
Read the article at RFID Journal
