RFID/USN Technologies Targeted by KARUS As Essential for Next-Generation Lifestyle
RFID/USN Technologies Targeted by KARUS As Essential for Next-Generation Lifestyle
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  • 승인 2005.10.01 12:01
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Exhibition to be held in Seoul showcasing latest RFID/USD innovations On this occasion, of RFID/USN Korea 2005, the Korea IT Times discussed with Mr. Kim Shin-bae, chairman of KARUS, on the current status of the RFID/USN industry and its business outlook. Direction of government policy to promote RFID/USN industry Having set itself an ambitious goal to advance Korea s ubiquitous information network, the government has actively sought to develop new and prototype technologies in order to foster RFID/USN related businesses and promote the RFID/USN industry to become a promising industry of the future. Furthermore, the government has pursued policies geared to the widespread use of RFID/USN related products and activate related businesses through such efforts that include trial operations of RFID/USN systems in the public sector and setting up of a comprehensive testing center in support of their field operations and finding solutions to the bottlenecks that might arise in the process. As part of such endeavors, the government has outlined projects that include the development of Songdo RFID/USN industry cluster, the development and supply of mobile RFIDs, trial operations of RFID/USN systems, as well as the development and supply of MDS along with the development of cutting-edge RFID/USN technologies and a u-City . As a result, conspicuous results are already being accomplished. This includes the growing awareness of the technologies together with the rise in corporate demand, thereby bolstering business confidence that Korea can lead the global RFID/USN market. Accordingly, businesses hope that government policies can be driven in the direction of their expectations. Future prospects for the industrial growth of RFID/USN technologies Many of the world s leading research firms in the IT field have come up with optimistic forecasts that the RFID/USN market will expand at a fast pace. In fact, ID TechEX, for instance, forecasts that the world market for RFID/USN systems will grow to US$76.8 billion by 2010 and the Korean market $4 billion, comprising about a 5 percent share of global demand. To substantiate such an outlook, market research conducted by KARUS on related companies in Korea forecasts that the domestic market will grow to 400 billion won with an annual growth rate of 60 percent from 2004 to 2006. As it is expected that such an upward trend can continue for some time, KARUS anticipates that the rapid growth of the market will be sustained. In terms of member companies of KARUS, too, the number has grown from 41 at the time of its inauguration in February 2004 to 211 as of September 2005. Likewise, the number of people working in the field has increased by 1.7 times to 1506 from 893 in 2004. Such being the case, the RFID/USN market is emerging as a new field of business with bright future prospects. Nonetheless, the overall spin-off effects of the industry to the nation s economy are thought to be of more importance than the industry s growth itself. This is so because RFID/USN technologies are the backbone of IT industry as it can greatly enhance the competitive strengths of various industries around the world. Quality of life improvements and social transformations with the adoption of RFID/USN It is anticipated that, when RFID/USN systems will be widely adopted in various aspects of social life, and an environment that facilitates more convenient lifestyles can be fulfilled, such as easing the burden of housewives hassling with clothing furniture drawers in times of seasonal change, or speeding up the process at cashier counters and manufacturing lines as well as the clearing out of industrial products to name just a few. On a personal level, the quality of life will be enriched as one can benefit from, for instance, healthcare products and software that facilitates daily health checkups and online medical services, and automated ordering systems that can check shelf-life dates of food products stored in a refrigerator and make automatic orders, or instant ordering of products shown on television programs. In the case of shopping stalls on an industrial level, all information regarding products will be open to consumers as well as stall managers. When mobile RFID technologies are applied to the distribution of a ginseng product, for example, consumers can easily find out about its history and distribution process, from harvest to shipping and marketing, in addition to various information concerning its origin and use of fertilizers or agrochemicals, thereby allowing consumers to feel safe to buy. In the case of the distribution of exported products, one can easily find out whether the information of a product exported is identical to that of those submitted for customs clearance as one can track, through RFID systems, a product s distribution process from its manufacturing to the display stage. This would elevate further the information flow and efficiency in the distribution sector. Early adoption of RFID/USN technologies and growing demand in the overall economy Along with various activities of the government and IT companies that supply RFID/USN systems, non-IT related companies, too, are actively seeking to adopt such systems so that they do not lag behind in a highly competitive market environment. In the case of the nation s distribution sector, large retailers such as Lotte Department Store and E-mart have embarked on plans to adopt such technologies while trial operations of RFID systems have begun in land, sea and air transportation services. In the case of the telecommunications sector, SK Telecom has embarked on a project with Korea Ginseng Corp. to develop RFID applied mobile services to include such functions as stall management and product tracking services. In the case of medical services sector, Wonju Christian Hospital has adopted RFID based infant care system while Seoul National University Bundang Hospital has undertaken to adopt RFID systems for the treatment of bladder dysfunctions of elderly patients and other illnesses. In addition to these, it has been revealed that productivity has greatly increased in the manufacturing of such items as automobiles, clothes, pharmaceutical products and tires thanks to the reduction of fault rates and inventory maintenance through the adoption of RFID systems in the manufacturing process. Likewise, RFID/USN systems are already being applied to various industries. Current status of technological development and investment for RFID/USN systems The government and ETRI, together with relevant businesses, have undertaken to develop core technologies of RFID/USN systems. For their technological development for commercial use, efforts are currently being made to develop system components, such as chips, tags and readers that operate at around 900MHz, and middleware for automatic identification as well as solutions that can be applied in various fields. Accordingly, their supply to the private sector is being made one after another as they are developed. Moreover, it is anticipated that 900MHz reader chips will be available for commercial use next year as they are at the final stage of development. In addition, efforts are also being made to develop technologies regarding USN sensor tags, sensor nodes and various USN services in order to secure core technologies of the future in the field of RFID/USN systems. In order to make technological advancement in an effective manner, a master plan outlining a detailed timetable has been set up and is scheduled to be undertaken step by step so that the competitive strengths of the nation s industries can be elevated further in time with the adoption of RFID/UNS services. The investments made by companies related with RFID/USN, too, are decidedly on an increasing trend in terms of scale and rate. A total of 263 billion won from 159 companies has been invested this year for local R&D activities as well as overseas projects. The government, too, has invested a total of 385.5 billion won for the development of RFID/USN related technologies and new business models. This includes investments of 201 billion won by the Ministry of Science & Technology and 21.9 billion won by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and 162.6 billion won by the Ministry of Information and Communication. Activities sought by KARUS to help vitalize the RFID/USN industry KARUS plans to engage in various promotional activities so that RFID/USN systems can be readily available to the general public and bring about a national consensus through which the association can make contributions for the advancement of ubiquitous Korea. In order to reach this goal, KARUS plans to engage in a host of issues in concrete terms on a sector-by-sector basis. Among the issues to be dealt with are intellectual property rights, legal and institutional reforms, and ways to boost demand in the private sector in addition to the establishment of international standards for RFID/UNS systems. On the technical side, too, KARUS is preparing new measures to deal with various situations that may arise in different phases of system applications utilizing components such as tags, sensors and readers/writers so that they can be verified and complemented before they are put into field operations. Particularly, KARUS will strive to launch trial operations of RFID/USN systems in various sectors of industries so that they can be applied nationwide through their full-fledged adoption by the private sector.

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