Britain establishes national RFID center

By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 2/14/2005

Britain is also asking where the RFID puck is going next. The UK recently opened a new National RFID Centre in West Yorkshire (44-1422-368368), that has both regional sponsorship and backing from the government’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The center is the result of a study last year. In the middle of 2004, the DTI sent a group of businessmen and academics to visit thousands of businesses and organizations to see what their vision was for electronics across the UK over the next 20 years.

“One of the points that emerged is that automatic identification technologies, particularly RFID, are key to our remaining competitive,” says Ian Smith, CEO of AIM UK, an affiliate of AIM Global, the association representing the automatic identification industry.

The new National RFID Centre is the result of that project. Smith, who is also a director of the new center, says the UK will follow the same model for the development of RFID as it did with bar codes twenty years ago. “The national center will be funded by the eight regional development agencies in the U.K.,” says Smith. “Each agency will also be responsible for development in their area.”

The first step to get RFID going is a seven-month pilot program in the Yorkshire and Humber region, where AIM UK is headquartered. Twenty RFID specialists are doing free consultations to businesses in the region, while international experts are working on business developments. “We’ve arranged 24 seminars and Web conferences that will be held between now and the end of March,” Smith said. “We’re also developing 100 guides to assess the potential for the use of RFID in different industries and applications.”

The other seven regions will launch programs after the first pilot is completed.

While UK manufacturers and retailers are watching what’s happening at retailers like Wal-Mart and Metro, Smith says the RFID Centre will look for applications beyond EPC and the retail supply chain.

“Too many people see RFID and think EPC,” says Smith. “While we believe the retail supply chain is coming, there are applications in manufacturing for RFID today. Those are the applications we’re working on now.”