RFID World Proves to be a Roaring Success in Dallas

Tammy Stewart, U.S. Field Sales Engineer of Texas Instruments, shows a range of form factors for TI's contactless payment technology, including the newest card from MasterCard.

Ask any of the roughly 200 vendors or thousands of attendees, and they will tell you that RFID World 2006 was amazing. There was high traffic on the show floor, the lecture rooms were packed to full capacity, and many of the vendor booths were architectural masterpieces. CMP Media, the new producer of the event, is surely very pleased with the show’s success.

The Gaylord Texan Resort proved again to be a good location for the event, and it will remain home to RFID World again in 2007, when the vendor area will expand to fill the entire show floor available in the resort hotel—proof of a growing industry. Indeed, the RFID industry is continuing to advance not only in technology, but also in global reach. The vendors were from all over the country and the world. There was even a “Korean Pavilion” devoted to Korean RFID companies.

Northern Texas wants to be at the forefront of this evolution. Representatives of the Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC), the largest technology association in Texas, announced at RFID World their commitment to global leadership in RFID by unveiling a new “RFID Hub” identity for the region. "We are creating an additional identity for our region, the RFID Hub, so the international business community recognizes that North Texas is a global center of RFID excellence," says Bill Sproull, President and CEO of MTBC. "This new RFID Hub identity underscores our region’s critical role in establishing and growing leading technological sectors that facilitate commerce worldwide and, in particular, or our strength in RFID and other wireless technology."

The conference sessions were well attended and optimistic about what the future holds for RFID technology. The first keynote speaker, Julie Spicer England of Texas Instruments, discussed the increasing use of RFID in several different applications in the marketplace, including frequent flyer travel programs that process frequent travelers through airport security check lines more quickly and contactless payment. Another keynote speaker, Randall W. Lutter, Ph.D., spoke on behalf of the FDA, sharing with the audience the efforts of the FDA’s Counterfeit Drug Task Force in using RFID to help reduce the problem of counterfeit drug distribution in the U.S. DHL’s Bob Berk was another highlight, discussing the benefits that RFID offers logistically.

The show floor was buzzing with activity. Demonstrations were everywhere, including MARKEM’s 800 Series high-speed RFID encoder/applicator, Loftware’s Print Server 8.4, and Intermec’s "Forklift of the Future." Many of the booths looked more like shopping mall boutiques with erected walls, columns, decorative lighting, and even a stairwell to a second level. NCR, Intermec, and Wise Media were just a handful of the many booths that looked like they came straight out of an episode of Star Trek. Visit www.rfid-world.com to find out more about this year’s show and get details on what to expect in 2007.