RFID For Dummies®

Chapter 21

Ten (Or So) RFID Standards and Protocols

In This Chapter

Understanding the role of EAN.UCC, EPCglobal, and UCCnet

Working with ISO/IEC standards

Developing standards for container shipments

M any people are touting RFID as a replacement for the bar code, which is universally accepted and understood to have a standard. However, this isn’t quite the truth: There are more than 200 different bar code standards. Similarly, although movement toward universally accepted standards is helping RFID gain ground on the bar code’s turf, you’ll find a variety of RFID standards for specific applications, such as animal tracking or access control cards. These industry-specific applications lead vendors to develop RFID as the market demands them, without any concern for interoperability with other niche applications.

The emerging global supply chain and collaboration among international partners has led to attempts to create one global standard within an RFID network. Many issues remain, but the evolution is progressing much quicker than the bar code industry did.

Although the bar code is still the most prevalent Auto-ID technology, the evolution to an advanced replacement — RFID — has ...