As if supporting the DoD’s successful implementation of UID weren’t a large enough undertaking, A2B is also providing support to AIM NA’s (www.aim-na.org) early formulation of the Internet of Things working group.

What does the Internet of Things really mean? There is no one definition, with the true meaning dependent upon one’s perspective.  That being said, it generally boils down to leveraging the “cloud” to enable machines talking to machines. Albeit sci-fi sounding, automatic identification (Auto ID) playsa critical role in its success. It all starts with identifying an item with a unique identifier. This identifier must be globally unique as it establishes itself in the “cloud.” Insert UID as the means to establish this unique presence. Many notional use cases (and maybe a few real ones) have been established to support the idea that the Internet of Things will become significant in our lifetime. I’m sure many impactful ideas will develop as these concepts formulate. Hopefully they will amount to more than the often referenced use case of the empty milk carton telling the refrigerator that it’s time for a reorder to the local grocer.