Absence of the hottest electronic label standard

With the cost and application technology becoming more and more mature, and with the active promotion of the U.S. Department of defense and business giant Wal Mart and other enterprises, the application of electronic tags (radiofrequency identification, Chinese translation as "radio frequency identification technology") has been rapidly promoted in a wide range

this global application wave has also driven a considerable number of Chinese enterprises to follow up in a timely manner. According to authoritative forecasts, China will need at least 3billion electronic labels every year in the next three to five years. However, what is extremely inconsistent with the application prospect of domestic electronic labels is that China's electronic label standards are basically blank. The role of standards is to promote the formation of "best order", which can greatly promote the healthy development of an industry. The lack of electronic label standards will inevitably affect the further promotion and application of electronic labels in China. We must seriously deal with and solve the lack of standards, so as to promote the healthy development of this emerging industry, which is recognized as one of the 10 most promising technologies in this century

the role of electronic tags

electronic tag application system includes three parts: electronic tag, antenna and reader. The non-contact two-way communication between the electronic tag and the reading and writing equipment is carried out by using induction and radio waves through the antenna to realize the identification and data exchange of the information stored in the electronic tag

the most prominent feature of electronic labels is that they can be read from a long distance and non-contact (the reading distance can range from a few centimeters to 100 meters); It can recognize high-speed moving objects; It has strong resistance to harsh environment, and the general dirt coverage does not affect the reading of label information; Large data storage capacity; Strong confidentiality; It can realize multi-target recognition; And the cost is low and the degree of automation is high, which is convenient to realize the tracking and management of items through interconnection. Because of these outstanding advantages, electronic tags are widely used in many occasions. Typical applications are: electronic tickets (bus tickets, subway tickets, all-in-one card tickets, etc.), security of certificates and licenses (such as ID cards, enterprise code certificates, student railway ticket certificates, motor vehicle inspection, electronic passports, Campus All-in-one cards, etc.), access control management (door locks, parking lots, community access), Equipment management (gas cylinder management, tire anti-counterfeiting tracking, sports equipment management), stored value cards (cards, shopping cards, electronic meal tickets), medical circulation supervision, postal inspection, pet management, etc

the absence of standards in China

because the application of electronic labels involves many industries, the relevant standards are intertwined and very complex. Specifically, standards related to electronic labels involving electrical characteristics, communication frequency, data format and metadata, communication protocol, security, testing, application, etc. may be frequently used. In terms of categories, electronic label standards can be divided into the following four categories: technical standards (such as electronic label technology, IC card standards, etc.); Data content and coding standard (such as coding format, syntax standard, etc.); Performance and consistency standards (such as test specifications); Application standards (such as shipping labels, product packaging standards, etc.)

the international organization for Standardization (I) is the main developer of international standards for electronic labels (or jointly formed with IEC)

the RFID standard issued by ISO mainly focuses on the basic module construction, air interface, involved data structure and its implementation

epc

global is a non-profit organization jointly established by the United States unified code Association (UCC) and the international article coding Association (EAN) in September 2003. Its predecessor is the non-profit organization auto ID center established at the Massachusetts Institute of technology on October 1, 1999. Obal standards organization has built the framework of EPCglobal standard system and formulated standards

in addition, foreign standards such as ubiquitousid, aimglobal and uid are also actively developing and participating in the development of standards for electronic labels

compared with the formulation of foreign electronic label standards, China is basically blank in this field. Due to the application of smart cards, China once formulated the standard of "GB/T 17553 identification card Contactless integrated circuit card" by adopting the ISO/IEC 10536 standard, but so far there is no standard for air interface, data format and transmission

due to the lack of corresponding standards and specifications, at present, some self-developed electronic label manufacturers in China develop independently according to their own judgment, resulting in a wide variety of products in the market, mainly manifested in the inconsistency of electronic label card capacity, information format, interface, antenna, communication protocol and communication frequency. The result is that different types of products cannot effectively realize information sharing and transmission, Unable to meet the needs of users

analysis of the reasons for the absence of standards

the diversity and differences of international electronic label standards have caused certain difficulties in the coordination of relevant standards in China. Standards are the product of coordination between relevant parties. On the premise that relevant foreign standards have existed and have a large scale of application, it is impossible for China to consider the coordination with foreign standards when formulating national standards. This coordination includes the coordination of technology and interests, and its purpose is to maximize the interests of our country. Foreign electronic label standard setting institutions include ISO/IEC 18000, EPC global, ubiquitousid, aim global, uid, etc. not only are each institution formulating or planning to formulate its own standards, but the technical requirements of these institutions' standards are mostly incompatible. The frequency bands adopted by ubiquitousid electronic labels in Japan are 2.45GHz and 13.56MHz, and the UHF frequency band is adopted by European and American EPC global electronic label standards; The number of information bits of ubiquitousid electronic tag in Japan is 128, and the number of bits of EPC global electronic tag standard is 96; The ubiquitousid electronic label standard of Japan can be used for inventory management, information sending and receiving, and tracking management of products and parts; EPCglobal standard focuses on logistics management, inventory management, etc. The technical differences between these standards are necessary for China to formulate national standards. After careful study and response, the standards to be formulated in China should be technically compatible with existing foreign standards to the greatest extent, so as to ensure the smooth flow and sharing of information. The difficulty of technical coordination is also one of the reasons for the lack of PCI standards in China

at the same time, the coordination between Chinese standards and foreign standards also includes the coordination of interests. EPC global, ubiqui tousid, aim global, uid and other electronic label standard setting institutions are actively contacting relevant departments in China to adopt their standards. However, the formulation and promotion of standards represent the interests of certain groups. When considering adopting their standards, China must carefully weigh the pros and cons, which is also one of the reasons for the lack of standards in China. EPCglobal standard takes European and American enterprises as the main camp, with 533 members, including 234 end users, 299 senior members, and "noble" members such as Wal Mart, Cisco, DHL express, Metro and Gillette; Ubiqui tousid standard has more than 300 Japanese electronics manufacturers and IT enterprises. If we adopt the standards of these standards organizations, we must study the short-term, medium and long-term impact of the enterprises behind these standards organizations on the production and application of electronic labels in China by taking advantage of the first mover advantage of technology and the exclusive advantage of some core technologies (such as patents). At present, the overall technical level of Chinese enterprises is not high enough, and they are bound to compete with foreign standards with mature processes and technologies, which has a strong impact on China's related industries. EPC global does not charge for relevant standards, but it is unrealistic to charge for more than 6000 patents implicit in standard Jung's 1-stream content

the weakness of our technology makes it very difficult to form our own electronic label standard system at this stage. The standards of electronic labels involve a series of standards for chips, antennas, label packaging, readers and writers, and applications. The content of each specific standard is based on a large number of technical content. At present, the R & D, production and application of electronic label industry in China are still in its infancy, lacking its own core technology and patents. At present, China basically has the design and R & D ability of RFID antenna, but it does not have the design ability of reliable electronic tag antenna applied to metal materials and liquid environment; The tag packaging technology and production of HF band are mature, but the tag packaging of UHF band cannot be carried out, and the packaging equipment still depends on imports; Basically have the design and integrated manufacturing capabilities of HF band readers and writers, but have no design and manufacturing capabilities of readers and writers above UHF band. These technical restrictions also hinder the formation of China's electronic label standards, which is one of the reasons for the lack of standards

it is really difficult to divide the frequency band of electronic labels in China. According to different working frequencies, electronic labels can be divided into low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), ultra high frequency (UHF) and microwave. The working principle of electronic labels in different frequency bands has its different characteristics, which are used in different fields. At present, electronic labels are widely used in the ultra-high frequency band, which mainly refers to about 430mhz and 860 ~ 960MHz

in China, 430mhz frequency band is a special frequency band, and the conditions for opening RFID services in this frequency band are not mature at this stage; The main business of 860MHz ~ 960MHz frequency band is fixed and mobile communication, and the secondary business is radio positioning. These two frequency bands have both special services and important radio services related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, such as mass and public mobile communications. When planning the RFID of this frequency band, we must be careful to ensure the normal operation of existing services, and carry out a large number of in-depth and detailed electromagnetic compatibility analysis and tests to ensure the mutual compatibility between

RFID services and existing services

the division of electronic tag frequency band is the core and basic technical requirement of the electronic tag standard system. The uncertainty of electronic tag frequency band is one of the reasons for the absence of electronic tag standards in China. There is a lack of coordination between the relevant departments of China's electronic label industry. The national standard of our country belongs to the management of the National Standardization Administration Committee, but because the electronic label involves wireless communication, the division and management of frequency bands, and the application of information, it also involves the Ministry of information industry; At the same time, because electronic labels are high-tech, the Ministry of science and technology is also promoting the research of such projects; As an emerging industry, electronic labels are likely to have a far-reaching and significant impact on China's national economy. The national development and Reform Commission is also supporting the application of electronic labels. It is a good thing for so many departments to pay attention to and support electronic labels, which can form a joint force and atmosphere to make it bigger and stronger. However, the story of "one monk carrying water, two monks carrying water, and three monks without water" also reminds us that sometimes it is not a good thing to have too many people. Some time ago, under the banner of establishing RFID standards with independent intellectual property rights in China, the National Standardization Administration Committee, the Ministry of science and technology, the Ministry of information industry and other institutions have proposed their own strategies to establish China's RFID standard system, which to a certain extent delayed the formation of China's national standards for electronic labeling, due to the failure to form a joint force and the lack of communication and coordination between departments, This is one of the reasons for the absence of electronic label standards in China

corresponding countermeasures

strengthen the coordination with relevant foreign standards. Especially the National Standardization Administration Committee