The role of the Korea RFID/USN center

The center is a step toward realizing the nation's goal of becoming a u- IT hub in Northeast Asia. It is a joint effort to provide support for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) companies. Korea RFID/USN Center (www.ruc.or.kr) president Shin Sang-chul says that the center has stayed true to the purpose it was founded on, and "aims to establish a worldwide u-IT cluster in which related research, production and service will be available after coordinating the interests of domestic and international companies." To this end, the center has been invigorating related industries and improving technological competitiveness by organizing an RFID/USN joint supporting service. It provides services for RFID/USN and a MEMS FAB by supporting the mass production of various MEMS sensors. One of the center's outstanding features is the RFID/USN Engineering Lab, which Shin says "has been equipped with state-of-the-art technology to provide services in five areas: RFID/USN design and prototype assembly, standard test, performance test and reliability test. As of November, more than 200 member companies are actively using them."

 

Coordination with government

The center's various projects have been established with the support of the Korean government. The center now works in a balanced, cooperative relationship with the government. "MEMB FAB is preparing to launch a mass-production system from 2009 after building various MEMS sensors that detect sensations such as temperature, humidity and acceleration. It plans to expand its capacity to produce 3,000 8-inch wafers each month in 2010." Shin details the center's back ground and how the government has assisted it in working towards its goals. "As a part of the former Ministry of Information and Communication's u-IT839 strategy, the center was launched as u-IT Cluster Center in 2006 to activate the RFID/USN and MEMS sensor industries. "In May 2008, supported by the ministry and Incheon City, the center completed joint infrastructure at Songdo u-IT Cluster in the Incheon Free Economic Zone to provide onestop service for RFID/USN and service for the mass-production of MEMS sensors. The center was annexed to the Korea Institute for Electronic Commerce (KIEC) under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and changed its name to Korea RFID/USN Center." Despite changes in government, the center's vision has remained the same. "After the new government took power, the NIA was transferred to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. The center has been working in line with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy according to its founding purpose."

 

A helping hand for RFID

The center is trying to strengthen its domestic and international capacity in order to be a useful partner for companies working in RFID. Shin explains the crucial function provided by the center. He says that "Internally, it is important to provide construction, test and certificate-related services. The center also encourages companies to utilize the RFID/ USN functions by estimating the ROI in advance thereby optimizing services and minimizing costs before applying the system for actual consumers. For this, of course, the center needs the cooperation of related ministries and organizations in the RFID/USN business and is doing its best to win their support. "Externally, the center held seminars and technological consultation sessions for RFID/USN companies. They led tours of provincial regions from September to November to spread information among provinces and facilitate the introduction of RFID/ USN. This program is winning favorable reactions from everyone involved. The center will make more efforts to assist companies that are facing troubles in establishing their own RFID/USN models by providing them with technological support and information.

"In addition, if the center can support R&D activities, it can form a consortium with related firms and become an ideal model. Then the companies can utilize the facilities of the center to conduct business, apply results of business to the actual environment and expand a value-added technological foundation." If the center establishes an organic cooperative system and a joint technological marketing model while providing additional support so that related companies can concentrate on technological development and business management, they will overcome the current hardships and be able to lay a foundation for a prosperous RFID/USN field. Spreading the word of RFID Shin feels that the industry's time to move forward is now. He says "The time has now come to activate the RFID/USN industry and improve corporate competitive edge. Since it was launched in 2006, the center has concentrated on setting up and stabilizing infrastructure. The RFID/USN Korea 2008 exhibition is a good opportunity to demonstrate how the center is ready to accomplish this."

He thinks that RFID/USN Korea 2008 is a great opportunity to spread the industry's message. The center will be busy at the exhibition and will "introduce existing services and promote the industry's exciting new features. We will also detail the services that the center provides, to invigorate the RFID/USN industry. We will broadly inform various corporate support parts, such as tour RFID/USN seminars and technological consultation sessions which began in September and will continue until November." The center also will make a corporate display room with resident companies of the u-IT Cluster and member firms of the center in the PR booth of the Korea RFID/USN Center and will exhibit various new products of related businesses. In this way, the center plans to prepare a stage to display the marketing activities of companies. Shin hopes to bring together the industry's various parts as a powerful whole. "There are companies that have been interested in the RFID/USN business but have hesitated to invest due to a number of limitations, or those that have had trouble joining RFID/USN markets earlier and felt technological difficulties. I hope these companies and many others to take part in this international event."