 - GTAG (Global Tag) is a standardization initiative of the Uniform Code Council (UCC) and the European Article Numbering Association (EAN) for asset tracking and logistics based on radio frequency identification (RFID). EAN and UCC launched the GTAG project in March of 2000, and - along with input from international companies including Philips Semiconductors, Intermec, and Gemplus - are expected to publish their final guidelines by May 2002. The Initiative intends to increase the range and complexity of typical current RFID applications, such as automatic road toll collection and anti-theft technologies, to sophisticated smart tag RFID products as small as a postage stamp that can be used to track inventory and deter theft, among a myriad of potential uses.
The RFID smart tag devices are basically very small database applications that receive information via radio frequency (RF) waves. In the future, this capability will automate an increasing number of tasks. For example, a library patron or store customer would no longer have to stop at a cash register or a library check out. RFID devices would store information about both the patron and their selections, which would be transmitted to electronic equipment and updated in all associated system components. The RFID devices are still much more expensive than the magnetic tags commonly used now (about $1 per tag, compared to $.03), but as prices come down and the practical and cost benefits of RFID smart tags become more widely known, they are likely to be seen in an increasing number of applications. There are still some privacy and security issues to be resolved however, since the information stored in tags - which may not be encrypted - can be read by anyone with the requisite equipment, to a distance of several feet.
 |
Learn more about Network Administration |
| Networking FAQ: These FAQs for networking will help you learn networking basics. |
| Network user management: Use this guide to learn how to manage problem users on your network -- from un-savvy Internet novices to toxic bosses -- to keep your network secure. |
| Troubleshooting -- 'Network Know-How' Chapter 17: Troubleshooting, Chapter 17 of 'Network Know-How,' shows tools and methods that identify and solve network problems. Use this chapter as a tutorial to fixing computer connections. |
| Network management frameworks: FCAPS and ITIL: Network management is a complex topic. Thus far, two frameworks exist that can be of some use for understanding and taming network management: FCAPS and ITIL. |
| Networking podcasts: Listen to our networking podcasts and learn more about technologies you need to know to keep your network running smoothly. |
| The IT Guy: Networking comics: In our networking comic series, the IT guy and his office coworkers encounter day-to-day network challenges. |
| CONTRIBUTORS: |
govindankutty |
| LAST UPDATED: |
18 Apr 2007
|
 |
Do you have something to add to this definition? Let us know.
Send your comments to techterms@whatis.com
|
|
More resources from around the web:
|
 |
 |
| |
RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS
| Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary |
 |
availability
(SearchNetworking.com)
1) In a telephone circuit, availability is the ratio between the time during which the circuit is operational and elapsed time.
2) In a network...
|
|
carrier detect
(SearchNetworking.com)
|
|
|
Show me everything on 