For a long time my colleagues, advisors, and customers have encouraged me to launch some type of forum from where I can share my RFID expertise and express my opinions and perspectives from 10+ years in devotion to the technology and the industry. After considering several options, I have decided to launch an RFID blog whose initial focus will be on the dynamic impact RFID is having on the world of business and society-at-large.
But first, here is a little more RFID background on me and SkyeTek, starting from when I first learned about RFID while experimenting with barcode technology at Southern Illinois Universty, BSEE 1993. My career began at RFID startup company ID Technologies; in Boulder, Colorado (1994-1996) where we developed some of the world's first programmable transponder ICs, and readers too.
Then I joined Motorola Indala in San Jose, California (1997-1999) where I designed, researched and patented tags, readers and systems.
Returning to Boulder in 1999 as a consultant I built a series of successful RFID-enabled products including ScripTalk, the talking Rx pill bottle reader for the visually impaired. Faced with consulting opportunities too many to handle, I founded SkyeTek to build and mentor a larger team of RFID engineers.
As RFID-enabling products with RFID readers became popular work, I soon realized SkyeTek should transform itself into a product company with a focus on embedded RFID reader technology. The idea was to design SkyeTek's own IP into high volume products as a more rewarding alternative to simply engineering for hire.
Thus SkyeTek released its first OEM reader module in late 2002 with a business model to enable OEMs to better license, integrate and utilize RFID reader technology. As a good engeineer I could not single-handedly capitalize on the overwhelming demand for this new technology, so I reached out to the Colorado business community (2003-2004) where I found many new friends, colleagues and investors willing to offer advice, effort and money that would obviously be required to take SkyeTek to the next level. Suddenly I had expanded beyond my engineering background and into the world of business. Yikes!
Today as Chief Technology Officer I am a proud member of a growing SkyeTek team whose business is successfully up and running with marquis customers and premier investors as proof points that our technology, IP and market strategy will continue to accelerate the pervasive adoption of RFID across 1000s of new applications, well into the 21st century.
Tagnostic™
SkyeTek defines itself through its commitment to open-architecture and open standards as keys to enabling the broadest, most widely accepted uses of the technology. For example the obvious meaning of our word Tagnostic™ (tag-agnostic) describes how SkyeTek RFID reader technology can read any tag protocol, making our embedded software technology forward compatible, software upgradeable, and data definable. SkyeTek is exploring several requests to license the use of the term tagnostic. A formal licensing program will be announced in the 4Q 2005. Please contact SkyeTek for details.
ReaderWare™ — Disaggregating the RFID Reader
Recently, SkyeTek officially announced ReaderWare™ - a revolutionary open software architecture for the RFID reader. ReaderWare makes it easy to embed RFID reader technology into hundreds, perhaps thousands of existing and new applications.
Because the industry has delivered RFID readers as vertically-integrated, monolithic hardware devices, the RFID industry has not kept pace with the changing needs of a marketplace calling for an increasing number of requirements that span a widening continuum of applications. By disaggregating the RFID reader into its constituent hardware and software components, ReaderWare solves this problem by opening the black-box nature of the RFID reader with an ‘a la carte menu' of reader technology building blocks that OEMs use to add RFID reader technology, incrementally, to new or existing systems and equipment, with minimal impact on size, power and cost. Furthermore, ReaderWare enables value-added software development to occur ‘on-reader', pushing intelligence far to the edge.
Licensing Reader Technology
By taking a software-centric approach to reader technology SkyeTek makes it easy for OEMs and developers to design their own hardware or to license a SkyeTek hardware reference design. In either case, ReaderWare allows adding (and paying for) only the minimum amount of RFID software needed to enable a specific application.
Developers Wanted
SkyeTek is inviting developers to experience the ease by which RFID reader technology can integrate into new and existing products and equipment. Application code and script files can now run ‘on-reader' with access to powerful Tag Protocol Libraries and Radio Drivers provided by ReaderWare. Developing software to customize an RFID reader for a specific application, or developing a totally new application-specific reader are both made easy by ReaderWare.
Standardization
Opening the internal workings of the RFID reader is a good idea, but standards are required for gloabl acceptance of the ReaderWare architecture. ReaderWare 1.0 is now available with the initial Library and Driver API definitions, but SkyeTek is extending an open invitation to developers, OEMs and industry peers to contribute to the evolution and improvement of this important open software architecture. Please inquire via email or comments to this blog.