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The information he read was from an EPC Class1 Gen2 encoded UHF tag. It was encoded as a Global Document Type Identifier (GDTI-96). The Company Prefix is 0893599002, and the Document Type is 1. The serial numbers of the documents are there, but I'm not going to post them. I don't have access to the GS1 Company Prefix database, and it's not searchable here. - anyone else have those mappings?

It is trivial to program an arbitrary tag ID into a blank Gen2 tag - I do it all the time wrt DOD-encoded tags.

The information he read was from an EPC Class1 Gen2 encoded UHF tag. It was encoded as a Global Document Type Identifier (GDTI-96). The Company Prefix is 0893599002, and the Document Type is 1. The serial numbers of the documents are there, but I'm not going to post them. I don't have access to the GS1 Company Prefix database, and it's not searchable here. - anyone else have those mappings?

It is trivial to program an arbitrary tag ID into a blank Gen2 tag - I do it all the time wrt DOD-encoded tags.

...3 standard EPC tags formatted as GDTI-96's (non-PDF). The GS1 Company Prefix is 0893599002, and the Document Type is 1. The serial numbers are there as well, but I'm not going to post them.

I am not very sure if Mr. Sterling is using this "Internet of Things" short phrase as something he has conceptualized, imagined or otherwise invented. But the terminology "Internet of Things" has been used many years before Mr. Sterlings' book was published, to refer to a global network of EPC (Electronic Product Code)-based RFID tags and the infrastructure that supports it, the EPC Network. Actually you can see reports of as soon as January 2001, by the then Auto-ID center, now Auto-ID Lab MIT, mentioning the "Internet of Things".
My point is that the concept Mr. Sterling is talking about is not new, not even from 2004. Finding out the location of RFID tags (those tags being attached to any type of object) is part of the envisioned EPC Network functionalities, not only Supply Chain Management or Product Lifetime Management. Many people have been working on that for very long time (no real global working solution yet though).

Of course you could read the referenced material at http://www.radioactivehq.org/documents.html

Or read the RFID standards at http://www.epcglobalinc.org/

Or just write a quick flame and post it on slashdot.

Oops, remove trailing slash from link: http://www.epcglobalinc.org/news/EPCglobal_Network _Overview_10072004.pdf

From what I read we are talking about tracking them during the supply chain. However it appears to me that is the design goal. There doesn't seem to be a problem with putting a 'reader device' elseware. And with the technology based on Internet standards, as long as there is a CAT5 jack nearby you could store the info.

Here are some excerpts from the security section of the white paper:

" When EPC tags pass through EPC readers throughout the supply chain, the only information collected is the EPC identification and the time, date, and location of the read. (If advanced functionality like a temperature sensor is also on the tag, this information can also be collected.)"

" Thus, the EPC tag, in and of itself, does not communicate meaningful information. All information associated with EPC number is found in the EPCglobal Network and is only accessible to authorized users behind firewalls, encoding and other security measures. (Security regarding access to network information is discussed below.)"

" The majority of consumers today and for the foreseeable future will only come in direct contact with EPC tags if they are buying cases of goods at a retailer who is pilot testing the EPCglobal Network. It will take some time before item level tagging is implemented on a large scale and thus consumer contact with EPC tags will remain limited until that point. This provides the necessary time to properly analyze any perceived privacy risks associated with EPC tagged objects in the consumer's possession and develop the appropriate strategies for addressing those concerns. With interest in RFID and EPC technology growing across industry, this timeframe could change rapidly."

From what I understand, in the future, the EPCglobal system (which is being positioned as the replacment for UPC/EAN barcodes) will use DNS as the core technology behind their ONS (Object Name Service) system. So, if a store sees a new EPCglobal RFID tag and wants to know what it is, it can simply execute a DNS query to find out. I'll admit that I haven't looked very closely at the proposed architecture, but this seems like a recipe for disaster when combined with DNS poisoning, especially if automated checkout systems are used that read the EPCglobal tag on every item. I could imagine someone poisoning a store's DNS server, changing product information, such as the price, and causing all sorts of havok.

There are many different ways of using RFID tags. The one that everyone seems to be latching on to here is the EPC or electronic product code that came out of the AutoID center's work. Traditionally, EPC has focused on WORM style tags and this would probably be the case for use in retail (although again, this is just one of the possible application areas).

You seemed to indicate that it would be necessary to "look up" the product code based on the EPC but in fact the product code (or more strictly the SKU) will probably form part of the EPC.

You can read more about it on the AutoID Labs whitepapers page.

...piggybacks on DNS to look up manufacturer info. The spec is here... nifty stuff!