WhereNet backs new international wireless tag standard

WhereNet backs new international wireless tag standard    Santa Clara-based asset tracking firm WhereNet Corp. publicly put its support behind new international standards for wireless asset tracking systems Tuesday, hoping the support would lead to broader implementation of the technology.
   Recently published by the International Standards Organization, the new standard defines a wireless protocol and an application programming interface for use in real-time locating systems, or RTLS. ISO is seeking to institute the new standard in an effort to reduce multivendor incompatibility in RTLS tracking and encourage the global adoption of the RTLS technology.
   'Standards are valuable because they give end users confidence that a technology has been well vetted by the technical community, they promote interoperability, and they encourage a competitive marketplace. (This new standard) well serves these purposes and begins an era of standardized real-time locating systems,' said Craig K. Harmon, President and chief executive officer of Q.E.D. Systems, the industry's leading consulting and standards advisory organization.
   RTLS are considered one of the fastest-growing areas of the radio frequency identification, or RFID, market.
   The market for these systems, which use active RFID or WiFi-enabled tags to track the location of assets in real time, reached $200 million in 2004. According to industry forecasts, the market is expected to grow to $1.26 billion by 2011.
   RTLS differ from standard active RFID tags by providing real-time location information. An RFID tag is typically read only when passing a reader. An RTLS tag is designed to broadcast its signal, and thus location, at regular intervals.
   WhereNet is a member of the ISO group that wrote the standard, and participates as a member of the U.S. delegation within the international community. Other members of the delegation include representatives from APL, the U.S. Defense Department, and Q.E.D. Systems. Delegations from other countries include representatives from Denso, ETRI, Hyundai, G2 Microsystems.
   The new ISO standard has been ratified by ISO member countries including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.