RFID Center Forms Global Alliance

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. and ORLANDO, Fla. — The University of Arkansas RFID (radio-frequency identification) Research Center - along with research centers in Germany and Italy - is leading the efforts to found the Global RF Lab Alliance, a confederation of radio frequency-focused laboratories from around the globe.

The alliance’s objective is to provide a mechanism for communication and research collaboration among the radio-frequency labs. The formation of the alliance was announced on May 1 at the RFID Journal LIVE! conference in Orlando, Fla. Eight academic radio-frequency research centers worldwide are charter members.

“As RF technologies become more pervasive, it will become increasingly more important for research to expand beyond individual labs,” said Bill Hardgrave, director of the UA RFID Research Center and executive director of the Information Technology Research Institute. The center is housed in the research institute, which is part of the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

“The alliance is needed because there are a growing number of RF labs throughout the world and, although each is doing great work, there is little collaboration among the labs. This lack of communication and collaboration often results in duplicate research and less than efficient research funding,” added Hardgrave.

Antonio Rizzi, director of the RFID Lab at the University of Parma, Italy, said, “RF technologies are global issues so we need to approach the research with a global perspective. Many corporations working with our lab will appreciate the possibility to have other labs around the world to refer to for their worldwide RF deployments.”

The third originator of the alliance is the LogDynamics Lab at the University of Bremen, Germany. Dieter Uckelmann, lab director, said, “We have gathered together a group of RF research labs that have proven to be centers of excellence. By working jointly within the alliance, we believe we can advance the field of RF technologies and solve real-world business issues more effectively and more quickly.”

Charter members also include the Center for Food Distribution and Retailing at the University of Florida; Georgia Tech Research Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong; LIT Korea — Pusan National University, Pusan, South Korea.

The Global RF Lab Alliance will focus on the retail and fast-moving consumer goods; automotive; aviation; logistics and courier express and parcel; cold chain; and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Technologies researched will include RFID, RTLS (real-time locating system), middleware and advanced data processing. Research topics can be cross-functional either in terms of industry or in terms of processes such as supply chain automation, product life cycle, cold chain, food quality and pharmaceutical applications.

To capture and publish its research, the Global RF Lab Alliance will create the International Journal of RF Technologies: Research and Applications. The journal will be published by Taylor & Frances, one of the world’s leading publishers of academic journals. The first issue is expected to be published in 2008.

Hardgrave added: “In addition, the Global RF Lab Alliance will provide wonderful opportunities for the exchange of professors and lecturers as well as educational opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. Students and faculty can participate in research carried out by other alliance members.”

The Global RF Lab Alliance is based on the idea that members can increase their own value through mutual sharing of resources, either human or technical, and expertise. For instance, the alliance labs can leverage each other’s competencies to better handle global research projects. Additional labs will be invited to join the alliance as it grows. Each member will maintain its own identity.

For more details on the Global RF Lab Alliance, go to http://www.grfla.org

The University of Arkansas RFID Research Center officially opened its laboratory in the Fayetteville Industrial Park in June 2005. The laboratory primarily conducts research into the most efficient use of RFID and other wireless and sensor technologies throughout the supply chain.