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Barcode | RFID
EPCglobal works with its End User and technology provider community to standardise
all aspects of the EPCglobal Network, including:
• Electronic Product Code™ (EPC)
• ID System (EPC tags, readers and interface protocols)
• EPC Middleware
• Object Naming Service (ONS)
• Physical Markup Language (PML)
• EPC Information Services (EPCIS)
• EPCglobal Network Reference Architecture
Our goal in standardisation is to provide complete and workable technical specifications
and standards that can be used by a broad range of industries to optimise the
efficiency of their supply chain operations.
Use this Standards and Technology area to access EPCglobal published specifications
and to learn more about the EPCglobal Standards Process.
Specifications provide the overall system definition and how functional requirements
are partitioned across various subsystems. They signify the output that advances
a community toward a common objective, namely, to create an EPCglobal Network
that End Users can examine for their supply chain implementations.
The set of specifications that comprise Version 1.0 provide many of the building
blocks required to implement an EPCglobal Network. The Version 1.0 Specifications
are at various stages of completion. Some have reached recommendation status,
where final approval is imminent. Others are in working draft form where additional
definition is required. We would encourage you to examine them closely and become
involved in the on-going definition process.
All Version 1.0 Specifications are currently available to EPCglobal Subscribers
and the general public. EPCglobal will launch a solution center for subscribers
during the summer of 2004 to access board ratified standards and other implementation-related
information information to enable the adoption of the EPCglobal Network. Look
for more information coming soon.
NOTE: Click the below titles to download Version 1.0 Specification files.
- EPC Tag Data Specification Version
1.1 -- This EPCglobal Board Ratified
specification identifies the specific encoding
schemes for a serialized version of the
EAN.UCC Global Trade Item Number (GTIN®),
the EAN.UCC Serial Shipping Container Code
(SSCC®), the EAN.UCC Global Location
Number (GLN®), the EAN.UCC Global Returnable
Asset Identifier (GRAI®), the EAN.UCC
Global Individual Asset Identifier (GIAI®),
and a General Identifier (GID).
- 900 MHz Class 0 Radio Frequency
(RF) Identification Tag Specification. This
document specifies the communications interface
and protocol for 900 MHz Class 0 operation.
It includes the RF and tag requirements
and provides operational algorithms to
enable communications in this band.
- 13.56 MHz ISM Band Class 1 Radio
Frequency (RF) Identification Tag Interface
Specification. This specification
defines the communications interface and
protocol for 13.56 MHz Class 1 operation.
It also includes the RF and tag requirements
to enable communications in this band.
- 860MHz -- 930 MHz Class 1 Radio
Frequency (RF) Identification Tag Radio
Frequency & Logical Communication Interface
Specification. This document specifies
the communications interface and protocol
for 860 - 930 MHz Class 1 operation. It
includes the RF and tag requirements to
enable communications in this band.
- Physical Markup Language (PML)
Core Specification, Extensible Markup Language
(XML) Schema and Instance Files. The
PML Core specification establishes a common
vocabulary set to be used within the EPCglobal
Network. It provides a standardised format
for data captured by readers. This specification
also includes XML Schema and Instance files
for your reference.
RFID
01. What is Radio Frequency Identification(RFID)?
02. What is the Electronic Product Code (EPC)?
03. What is the EPCglobal Network?
04. How does the EPCglobal Network function?
05. What is Version 1.0 of the EPCglobal Network?
06. What are the benefits of EPC technologies?
07. Will EPC tags replace bar codes?
08. My company is not in the consumer
products industry. Will the EPCglobal Network
offer solutions to
entities outside the retail space?
| What
is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)? |
RFID
stands for radio frequency identification.
It is a technology that has existed
for decades. At a simple level, it
is a technology that involves tags
that emit radio signals and devices
called readers that pick up the signal.
RFID technology is a fundamental element
of the EPCglobal Network.
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| What
is the Electronic Product Code (EPC)? |
The
Electronic Product Code™ (EPC)
is the next generation of product identification.
The EPC is a simple, compact “license
plate” that uniquely identifies
objects (items, cases, pallets, locations,
etc.) in the supply chain. The EPC
is built around a basic hierarchical
idea that can be used to express a
wide variety of different, existing
numbering systems, like the EAN.UCC
System Keys, UID, VIN, and other numbering
systems.
Like many current numbering schemes used in commerce, the EPC is divided
into numbers that identify the manufacturer and product type. But, the EPC
uses an extra set of digits, a serial number, to identify unique items. The
EPC is the key to the information about the product it identifies that exists
in the EPCglobal Network.
An EPC number contains:
1. Header, which identifies the length, type, structure, version and generation
of EPC
2. Manager Number, which identifies the company or company entity
3. Object Class, similar to a stock keeping unit or SKU
4. Serial Number, which is the specific instance of the Object Class being
tagged
Additional fields may also be used as part of the EPC in order to properly
encode and decode information from different numbering systems into their
native (human-readable) forms.
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| What
is the EPCglobal Network? |
The
EPCglobal Network is a set of technologies
that enable immediate, automatic identification
and sharing of information on items
in the supply chain. In that way, the
EPCglobal Network will make organisations
more effective by enabling true visibility
of information about items in the supply
chain.
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| How
does the EPCglobal Network function? |
The
EPCglobal Network uses radio frequency
identification (RFID) technology to
enable true visibility of information
about items in the supply chain. The
network is comprised of five fundamental
elements: the Electronic Product Code
(EPC), the ID System (EPC Tags and
Readers), Object Name Service (ONS),
Physical Markup Language (PML), and
Savant.
Essentially, the EPC is a number designed
to uniquely identify a specific item
in the supply chain. The EPC number
sits on a tag comprised of a silicon
chip and an antenna, which is attached to an item. Using radio identification
technology (RFID), a tag “communicates” its number to a reader.
The reader then passes the number to a computer or local application system,
known as the Object Name Service (ONS). ONS tells the computer systems where
to locate information on the network about the object carrying an EPC, such
as when the item was produced.
Physical Markup Language (PML) is used as a common language in the EPCglobal
Network to define data on physical objects.
Savant is a software technology that acts as the central nervous system of
the EPCglobal Network. Savant manages and moves information in a way that
does not overload existing corporate and public networks.
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What
is Version 1.0 of the EPCglobal Network?
|
Version
1.0 of the EPCglobal Network offers
a complete set of technical specifications
for every component in the EPCglobal
Network. Released in September 2003,
this version offers technical information
on the number system, tag, readers,
and reference implementations on many
software components.
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What
are the benefits of EPC technologies?
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The
EPCglobal Network will make organisations
more effective by enabling true visibility
of information about items in the supply
chain. Having more accurate, immediate
information about the location of items,
the history of items, and the number
of items in the supply chain will enable
organisations to be more responsive
to customers and consumer needs through
more efficient, customer-driven operations.
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Will
EPC tags replace bar codes?
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No.
Although bar codes have limitations
(they require line-of-sight for scanning,
have limited encoding capacity, and
cannot receive and store information),
they are currently used by more than
1 million firms in more than 140 countries
across more than 23 industries, and
clearly remain important to supply
chain operations. We believe that bar
codes and EPCs will coexist for many
years to come.
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My
company is not in the consumer products
industry. Will the EPCglobal Network
offer solutions to entities outside
the retail space?
|
Yes,
there are strong business cases for
implementing the EPCglobal Network
in the heart of the supply chain of
most industries today.
For example, across all industry verticals, the EPCglobal Network holds the
promise of lowering warehousing and distribution costs and expediting deliveries
by enabling faster and more accurate shipping and receiving processes, and
more efficient picking and packing operations. Another example is in healthcare,
where the EPCglobal Network can help eliminate counterfeit drugs through
more accurate tracking and tracing capabilities. In the government sector,
the EPCglobal Network would provide an asset management platform for use
by many different agencies.
There are many potential applications of the EPCglobal Network. For these
reasons, EPCglobal is encouraging organisations to capitalise on the competitive
advantages to be secured when EPC technologies are implemented across industry
verticals.
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