T-Engine Forum is Moving New RFID Technology Forward in Asia Markets

Experts in the field look ahead to the uncertain future of sub-five-cent RFID tags.

By Jim Farrell, Contributing Editor

The T-Engine Forum, based in Tokyo, conducts research and development for the T-Engine architecture. The goal is to establish a ubiquitous computing environment using T-Engine technology, which is computer hardware and software which promises to accelerate RFID capabilities. As of today, there are 474 companies, universities, and other interested organizations participating in T-Engine Forum activities. In order to conduct research and develop RFID applications, the Forum conducts operations at its Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory Center in the Gotanda area of Tokyo.

T-Engine is a family of computer boards designed for embedded systems. There are individual types, such as standard T-Engine, micro T-Engine for embedded systems development and delivery, nano T-engine, and pico T-engine for sensor network-like applications. Currently, major CPUs for embedded systems such as MIPS, ARM, Dragonball SH, and M32R are supported by T-Engine boards offered by many vendors. The expanding use of T-Engine technology could speed the development of RFID and other embedded systems.

T-Kernel is an open standard, real-time solution for embedded systems. It was developed specially for the T-Engine board. The specification, also open source, is available from T-Engine Forum. The source files are available from T-Engine Forum under a special license called T-License, which is written so that developers can take full advantage of T-Kernel system while retaining their intellectual property rights. T-Engine and T-Kernel are promoted by T-Engine Forum as the open standard development platform for embedded systems.

Quarterly general meetings are held for all T-Engine Forum members, and a number of members direct the activities of the Forum by means of committees and working groups. For more information on T-Engine Forum activities please visit www.t-engine.org. Other initiatives involve various public RFID projects, and T-Engine education is ongoing, as the following announcements indicate.

T-Engine Development Environment Announced: A T-Engine Forum member, the eSOL Co. Ltd. recently announced an extended version of T-Kernel named eT-Kernel. It now supports two types of T-Engine boards equipped with the SH7751R and the SH7727 products, respectively. eSOL also announced that the eBinder development suite supports each of these T-Engine boards. Software development by using the eT-Kernel in an eBinder environment should save time and cost.

Ubiquitous Food Safety and Security Systems Reported to Japanese Government: This past July, last year's achievements for the Food Traceability Development and Verification Activities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, 2004, were exhibited and demonstrated in Japan. Highlighted were the results of Development and Verification for Integrated Food Traceability Systems that utilize Ubiquitous ID Technology.

Feasibility Study Experiments for Ubiquitous Food Information Infrastructure Systems Initiated: The T-Engine Forum has announced that it will start feasibility study experiments for Ubiquitous Food Information Infrastructure Systems that use the Ubiquitous ID Technology in cooperation with CO-OP Sapporo, Mitsukoshi, Ltd., Summit, Inc., and the University of Tokyo.

T-Engine Forum Participated at the Second Sino-Japanese Embedded Software Seminar in Dalian, China: The China Dalian International Exhibition attracted the Deputy Mayor of Dalian municipal government and the President of the Dalian Software Park. The event included the opening ceremony of the T-Engine Laboratory in the Dalian Software Park and the first µT-Engine Board Exhibition in Dalian. The event included a keynote address titled "T-Engine — The Most Powerful Embedded Development Platform Supporting Ubiquitous Computing Society" and a technology lecture titled "Latest Technological Trends of T-Engine."

The T-Engine at ETC Korea 2005: The T-Engine Forum exhibit at the Embedded Technology Conference & Exhibition (ETC) had a variety of T-Engine middleware, appliances, and the Ubiquitous Communicator (UC), among other products. Since embedded system-related industries have currently been growing rapidly in South Korea, a large number of visitors, including VIPs, came to the Forum's booth, and T-Engine-related seminars drew audiences that exceeded capacity.

T-Engine Forum Starts "Asakusa Ubiquitous Sightseeing Guide" Feasibility Study Experiments: This feasibility study utilized Ubiquitous ID Technology, and ucode tags and infrared markers were set up in 80 places in Asakusa. By holding a Ubiquitous Communicator (UC) over the ucode tags and infrared markers, information on facilities and more became available in the form of photographs, moving images, or text available in several languages.

T-Engine Forum Exhibited at the FOODEX Japan 2005 Food Traceability Special Exhibition: At the "Result Reporting Session for the 2004 Food Traceability Development and Verification Activities," the T-Engine Forum presented a case study called the "Development and Verification for Integrated Food Traceability Systems that Utilize Ubiquitous ID Technology." Chairman Sakamura's keynote speech under the theme of "Ubiquitous Computing and the Future of Food" was very well received.

T-Engine Forum Seminars Scheduled for the Winter: The Forum conducts frequent seminar series to keep the members' engineers, programmers, and other professionals updated on the latest technology from the Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory Center in Tokyo. There are four sessions scheduled from December through March, including: Introduction to T-Engine for beginners, Introduction to T-Kernel-License for beginners, Introduction to T-Kernel/Standard Extension for beginners, and Introduction to T-Kernel Programming for Beginners.

TRONSHOW 2006 Exhibition and Conference: The TRONSHOW 2006 Exhibition and Conference has been scheduled for December 14-16, 2005, at the Tokyo International Forum. For more information on TRONSHOW 2006, please visit www.tron.org/tronshow/2006-e/01.html.

Jim Farrell is Director of the USA Liaison Office for the T-Engine Forum.