Is it time for the RFID hockey stick?

In tech adoption, there is a phase where rapid uptake and expansion occur once maturity has begun and the early adopters have proven the concepts. What I’m seeing at this show, is that passive RFID is very close to that phase. However, there are remaining barriers, and they are no longer in the fundamental technology, or the price of the tags. Instead, they lie in the complexities of managing and integrating a more complex and distributed sensor network than bar codes presented.

If the gains of RFID are to be realized, they require local intelligent networks with low latency interaction, which is contrary to the trend of centralizing data centers. They require more intelligent devices, but not based on fragile software servers, but rather rugged , independent, and dedicated appliances. And this infrastructure should be managed in an automated and remote way.

When it simple enough to implement, and economical enough to support, we’ll be there.