Momentum Builds for RFID Tags as Best Bet To Eclipse Bar Codes

摘要

Ubiquitous is the current buzzword in the world of computing. The word suggests a time when people will be able to use a computer anytime and anywhere. According to Ken Sakamura, professor at the University of Tokyo, the foundation of this "ubiquitous computing" society will include so-called radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. These tags will help link information about products and people to communication networks, opening the way to a new phase in the evolution of information technology, according to Sakamura. In the early 1980s, Professor Sakamura formulated the idea of "ubiquitous computing" as his vision for the ideal information-based society. He advocated then and continues to advocate a concept called The Real-time Operating System Nucleus (TRON). Currently 22 Japanese electric and electronic appliance manufacturers form the T-Engine Forum, which promotes a project to develop common software and microprocessors for software based on TRON specifications. Sakamura, the leader of the TRON project, is also an important figure in efforts to establish the Ubiquitous ID Center, which issues and controls the distribution of RFID tags, also named ubiquitous tags.