New Asian Standard for IC Tags

Japan, China, and South Korea are likely to reach an agreement to standardize integrated circuit tags in fiscal 2006, sources said Saturday. A single tag consists of an IC microchip, each side measuring 1 millimeter thick or smaller, which includes an antenna for wireless communication. The product’s details are entered into the chips and can be read by a device through a signal emitted from the antenna. The technology, which may replace bar codes, provides a better method to monitor stock and manage distribution.

IC tags enable cashiers to calculate all of the goods a customer has selected at once rather than scanning the bar code of each item to reach a total. Agricultural products, for example, can be scanned into the equipment in a store and can be accessed by customers, providing them with such details as distribution routes, producers’ names, food additives and records of the use of chemicals and fertilizers. Continue >>