Are you interested in reading more information about the AIDC industry? Including a monthly column from yours truly? Well now you can. Scan, The Data Capture Report will now include a monthly column from me on technical issues. The newsletter is available twice a month, by subscription, and you can get the details from http://www.hightechaid.com/scandcr.htm

If you have a topic to cover, a point to make, or even just a comment on how we are doing, then send it to news@hightechaid.com.

â In the Supreme Court case, Festo Corporation v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., LTD. The judges unanimously ruled to restore patent holders' ability to protect their amended patents from "equivalent" products. Bloomberg reported on May 28, that the "ruling may prove to be the most significant Supreme Court patent decision in two decades, affecting as many as 90 percent of the 1.2 million patents now in force, lawyers said.". For more information, see: http://www.ieeeusa.org/releases/2002/052802pr.html

â The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently held a symposium on standards called "Standards in the Global Economy: Past, Present, and Future". The proceedings of this symposium are now available at: http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/216/sp974-pdf/sp974-toc.htm.

â On May 23, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Standards Development Organization Advancement Act of 2002 (H.R. 4849) with bipartisan support (US House of representatives). The bill would limit the potential antitrust liability of standards development organizations whose standards are adopted by the federal government from treble damages to actual damages. See bill language at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.4849:

â The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board has approved the IEEE Standard 802.15.1(R), "Wireless MAC and PHY Specifications for Wireless Personal Area Networks," adapted from portions of the Bluetooth(TM) wireless specification. "The new standard gives the Bluetooth spec greater validity and support in the market and is an additional resource for those who implement Bluetooth devices," says Ian Gifford, Vice Chair of the IEEE 802.15 Working Group. For more information, visit: http://standards.ieee.org/announcements/802151app.html

â The IEEE 802(R) Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Standards Committee (LMSC) recently approved the formation of a new technical advisory group dedicated to addressing radio regulations as they impact developing wireless standards. The overarching objective of the IEEE 802.18 Advisory Group is to act as the 802 radio regulatory expert and interface with national regulatory bodies, such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as well as with international regulatory bodies. For more information, visit: http://standards.ieee.org/announcements/80218app.html

â Super-fast, ultra-tough transistors of gallium nitride could help usher in broadband wireless communications, better hybrid electric cars, compact radars, and dozens of other breakthroughs. Researchers say that high-power transistors could amplify signals at the highest frequencies and power levels of all semiconductors. Read more: www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/may02/gani.html

â NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) are always working on those way out wacky things that we need to know – like what happens to water in zero gravity! In this case NASA performed experiments in which water balloons were popped in zero-gravity environments to see what would happen to the water. Now zero-G can only be maintained in an aircraft for 25 seconds or so, and thus we have a series of 25 second videos showing that water doesn’t splash everywhere when you pop the balloon. Take a look: http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov@836.as/?c38c

â But first, lest we think that reproducibility of the Biometric itself is the only part of the security issue, check out Roger Clark’s work at the Australian National University on the creation of false biometrics based on the template features: http://cs.anu.edu.au/honours/topics.html#biometrics. And then to spark more discussion try this article that helps set the issues on the table: http://www.biometricsdirect.com/Web/smart_card.htm

â IATA (the International Air Transport Association) has said that a global biometric standard needs to be created to allow everyone to be screened in an effective manner. The New York Times published an article (http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-airlines-iata-safety.html?pagewanted=print&position=top ) talking about arming pilots but including a statement that "Some U.S. airlines are already using biometrics to screen employees and the trend is gaining support in Europe, IATA says. But for biometrics to be effective for international air travel, global standards are needed …"

So how can we go about Global Standards for Biometrics? As I reported last month, there was a vote to create a new Biometrics Sub Committee at the ISO JTC1 level. How did it do? Well the ballot closed on June 3, 2002, and a new SubCommittee on Biometrics and the offer from the US to serve as Secretariat has been approved via a majority of the P-members voting (12 to 9).  The new SC is designated JTC1/SC 37. Many of the negative votes seem to settle around the fact that other committees are already doing work in Biometrics (JTC1/SC17 for card based, JTC1/SC 29 (WG11) is looking at Face recognition technology, many of the digital imaging techniques rely on various imaging standards, as well as ISO/TC 68, JTC 1/SC 27 and JTC 1/SC 31). Of course in the USA, INCITS (InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards) has already formed INCITS M1 and they had several meetings. Go to http://www.ncits.org/tc_home/m1.htm for the latest news. If you live outside the USA and are interested in the work of this International Committee, I suggest you visit the web site of your local ISO National Body and get more information. If you are not sure who your National Body is, visit the ISO page http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/aboutiso/isomembers/MemberList.MemberSummary?MEMBERCODE=10 for a list of members.

â In other work, the American Association for Motor Vehicle Administrators (a US organization that controls drivers licenses amongst other things) have already included a section on fingerprints in their standard: http://www.aamva.org/Documents/stdAAMVADLIDStandrd000630.pdf and in the UK, CESG (the Information Security arm of GCHQ) has several documents to help you implement Biometrics and a report on testing of Biometrics: http://www.cesg.gov.uk/technology/biometrics/media/Biometrics%20Advice.pdf and http://www.cesg.gov.uk/technology/biometrics/media/Biometric%20Test%20Report%20pt1.pdf

â And what about other forms of Biometrics, are they secure? The Register, a UK IT News website reports: "Face recognition kit fails in Fla airport" http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/25444.html. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) posted the test results on their web site at: "Facial Recognition System Test ( Phase I ) Summary" http://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy/FaceRec_data.pdf .

The full spectrum of the test seems to be unclear, as does the scientific-ness of the test, but Visionics published a response to the report at: http://ir.shareholder.com/vsnx/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=81549

The ACLU also has a commentary "ACLU Blasts Plan to Use Flawed Facial Recognition System at Statue of Liberty and Other NY Landmarks" which can be read here: http://www.aclu.org/news/2002/n052402a.html

â Finally for this month: The Register reports on some tests performed by the German magazine c’t. "Biometric sensors beaten senseless in tests"; http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/25400.html show that Biometrics may not be ready for the big time. There are several other interesting links in this article.

To put a semblance of officialness into all this (at least from a USA perspective), here is the list of current US government legislations that are working their way towards law: Visit http://thomas.loc.gov/ and submit the bill number in the search engine.

â Last month I talked about the two University of Cambridge computer security researchers who have cracked a chip for less than $30. The full Cambridge release can be found at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/pr/2002051401.html. If you think this is not such a big problem, think about this:

EPROMs and EEPROMs have a tendency to fail if they are subjected to high instances of radiation. Radiation like those produced by equipment used for irradiating food for example. By controlling the amount of radiation, it is possible to erase all or part of a chips memory and then replace it with your own information. It doesn’t matter if we are talking smart cards, RFID chips, or just plain ICs. The problem exists. See this press release from the Compact Flash Association: http://www.compactflash.org/pr/020107b.pdf

â Continuing on the theme of looking for invention. Researchers at the University of Florida have found a way to send wireless signals across the chip. This breakthrough could easily herald a new era for wireless communications including RFID. Integrating the antenna into the chip has been done by others including Hitachi (http://www.hitachi.com/about/pressroom/a-2001-Jul-5-ZZZM9WXNSOC.html and http://www.hitachi.com/products/electronic/semiconductorcomponent/elecrfid/index.html), and the University of Pittsburgh(http://www.postgazette.com/healthscience/20020128antenna0128p2.asp) and is seen as a way to get the cost of the tag down. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17990.html

â And yet more innovation. NASA has developed a way to spray thin film patterns onto almost anything metallic (and some non-metallic surfaces). This includes integrated circuits such as would be used for RFID. Is this the ultimate way to decrease the price of the chip? To see more details visit http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/tech_ops/Spray-on_Circuits2-TOA.pdf

â In the UK, the Government’s program "Chipping of Goods" took a hit as it announced three new partners in trials of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Woolworths, Dell, and EMI are the latest firms to sign up to this the Home Office's Chipping of Goods initiative. The goal of putting the tags on CDs, laptop computers and consignments of clothing is to help stamp out the illicit trade in stolen and counterfeit goods. . http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page5046.asp and http://www.theregus.com/content/7/25047.html . However, the participation of Dell Computers seems to have received a mixed reception: http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132211

â Also in the UK, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) posted a news item about the amount of theft of books, mostly children’s and travel books. About £750m ($1.125 billion) worth of books are stolen a year. There is a proposal to put chips in the spines of the books to help combat this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1958000/1958424.stm

â Most of you have probably been following what news there has been about the MIT "Town Test" and the implementation of RFID to track the supply chain. An article was featured in the Cincinnati News web site and it has been picked up at slashdot.com as a topic for discussion. To read how "real" people feel about this technology visit: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/05/04/0220232&mode=thread&tid=158

â Remember the item about chipping people, well the latest news is that the company (Digital Angel) has started a series of 30 minute commercials on select US Cable channels. For more on this: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/25640.html

And no sooner had I finished typing this than the following news came in, and it appears the company is having some problems: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27917

Send your comments to news@hightechaid.com

• Frontline Solutions – USA:
  In addition to a day full of actionable information and advice, participants in The 2^nd Annual RFID Summit taking place September 23, 2002, at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center as part of Frontline Solutions’ Supply Chain Week, will be the one-of-a-kind RFID User’s Resource Manual that each attendee will receive. This comprehensive take-home manual is an exclusive benefit offered to RFID Summit participants only.
  
  To register or get more information about The 2^nd Annual RFID Summit and Frontline Solutions’ Supply Chain Week USA, call 877/232-0132 or go to: www.frontlinexpo.com

• Frontline Solutions – Europe
  It really will be ….. "THE RFID Event" of the Year!
  
  It is not every day that two industry magazines come together with a common wish to stage the most comprehensive RFID event that the world has ever seen. Frontline Solutions Europe and RF Innovations have done just that and, with the global support of AIM, will present The RFID Event of 2002 in Birmingham, England on 8^th, 9^th and 10^th October.
  
  The Event runs alongside the Frontline Solutions Europe Exhibition. The organizers have announced two distinct tracks, each running for 1.5 days.
  
  The RFID Discovery Track is aimed primarily at people who are relatively new to the technology and will be staged on Tuesday 8^th October from 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.30 – 17.30 and on Wednesday 9^th October from 9.00 – 12.30.
  
  Key topics on the agenda include :
  • RFID – Offering you extra efficiency and extra profitability.
  • The Importance of managing items.
  • A "five minute" coffee break diagnostic.
  • Understanding RFID – the business imperative.
  • A full half day applications forum, demonstrating the breadth of use of the technology across industry and application.
  • Avoiding the pitfalls.
  • The reality on costs.
  • The issues involved in justifying RFID in the Supply Chain.
  • Don’t wait – Next Steps to Implementation.

  Speaker companies already confirmed for this initial program include Intellident; the Technology Innovation Centre of the University of Central England; Tagsys, Texas Instruments; Philips Semi Conductors.
  
  The second track headed "RFID – the New Opportunities" is aimed at industry and more advanced users. This will run on Wednesday afternoon 9^th October from 14.00 – 17.30 and all day Thursday from 9.00 – 12.30 and from 14.00 to 16.30.
  
  Major program headings include :

  • The RFID Experience.
  • Dimensions of Capability.
  • Strategic Opportunities for Radical Applications.
  • Impact of Standards.
  • The need for Universal Protocols.
  • Emerging and Future Developments.

• The Second International Smart Label Conference will be held on October 22-23, 2002 in Rosemont, Chicago, IL, USA.
  
  Conference Objectives. This Conference is designed to bring together smart label providers and end users in order to further the product and market development of this exciting technology.
  
  Keynote speaker will be John M. Hill of eSYNC International. Steve Halliday, President of High Tech Aid and Clive Hohberger, VP of Technology of Zebra Technologies will be Conference Chairpersons.
  
  Additional Conference Information. Additional information about this exciting and significant conference will be available at the following website: www.cbconferences.com or you can contact George Gilfoil, CB Conferences (800-903-9007). Editors Note: At publication time the dates on the web site are wrong.

â The last meeting of ISO/IEC JTC1 SC31/WG4/SG3 (If you don’t know what this means, visit http://www.hightechaid.com/stdsupdate/stds_update3.htm) was held in Tokyo on 6-7 May, 2002. At that meeting some significant steps were taken. The ISO 18000 standard is a standard for RFID Air Interfaces for Item Management in six (soon to be seven) parts. In this meeting 5 of the current six parts were moved on one stage and approval was given to encourage a submission of a new part seven. The full details for this series of standards are:

In Tokyo, Parts one, three and four were voted to move to FCD status, and parts five and six were voted to move to CD status. Part two is currently being revised and will be voted on soon. For more information on the various stages of JTC1 ballots visit: http://www.hightechaid.com/standards/how_does_iso_work.htm

â If you are very interested in RFID Standards and would like to get up-to-date reports on the work that is happening, send me an email to steve@hightechaid.com and I will send you details of how you can subscribe to a standards report.

â And to finish for this month, an eternal question: Why does hair turn grey? The answer courtesy of New Scientist magazine (http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/answers/93body.jsp) tells you all.

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