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The Barcode has become a part of our lives - at the supermarket, and in the supply chains that provide us with the essentials (and the luxuries) that we need to live. The increased use of the barcode has led on naturally to increased use of handheld computers for collecting information, and for directing workers in their day to day tasks.

One of the few weaknesses of the barcode is that it must be visible to the reader. For situations where this is not practical or not easy to achieve, the barcode can be replaced by a new and different kind of tag, the Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag. A lot has been written in the popular press about this technology and (in our view) sadly, much of this is incorrect.

This presentation will take you for a walk through the world of Auto ID (automatic identification). We will take you from the origins of the barcode, explain some of it's mysteries, and take a little detour into the anatomy of a barcode - how it works.

We will introduce you to the current capabilities of a hand held computer, and explain some of the uses (and potential abuses) of the system.

From there, we will introduce RFID, and explain away some of the myths. It is our view that 90% of the information available in the popular press is misleading. But that the 10% that is true is more than impressive enough, without any need for exaggeration.

We will banish some of the monsters under the bed - questions around privacy and big brother. We will introduce you to the zombie, explain why the barcode is not always magical, show why you don't want to use a barcode in a rubber dinghy, and show you how to recognise a bar code with the naked eye.

We will show you how we could put a unique RFID tag on every hair on every head of every human on this planet. But then, we could do that with barcodes too. It is not really that difficult.

We will share our vision of the future, as affected by these technologies.

We will have plenty of toys for you to play with.

We hope to have representatives from the industry there to answer your questions.

The presentation is hosted by the Ottawa Branch of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) (now the Institute of Engineering and Technology - the IET).

The presenter is John Rivenell, C.Eng. MIEE. MIQA. MIAM.

The presentation is open to all, but space may be limited. To reserve your place, please call Trinity Joseph or Doreen Wallace at 613 225 4404, or click here presentation@sage.ca Send your name and contact information (in case we change our plans) and identify any guests that you intend to bring.

Date: January 18th, 2007

Time: 19:00 hrs.

Where: RA Centre.

Cost: Free (and it is worth at least twice that)

Check back here for information updates.

Our intent is that at the end of the evening, you will all be bar code experts. It is certain that for barcode knowledge you will know more than 99.9% of all the citizens of Ottawa!

For further information contact SageData.

December 06, 2006