The Evolution of a Technology's Commercial Development

Executive Summary

Once RFID was commercialized into the agriculture area, RFID technology moved from ear tags on livestock to glass capsules injected under the skin. This advancement paved the way for more and more companies to create RFID devices. These applications and advancements contributed to lowering the cost of what we see today being used in household pets. Today RFIDs are used across our society in such fields as agriculture, research, security, operations, and personal use by consumers. Technology commercialization includes process of acquiring ideas, augmenting them with complementary knowledge, developing and manufacturing saleable goods, and selling the goods in a market. In 1973 the first actual patent was issued to Mario W. Cardullo for an RFID device with memory that would identify a user that passed the device over a door pad. However, in the 1990s, IBM engineers developed and patented a UHF RFID system. IBM conducted early research with Wal-Mart, but this technology was never commercialized. Although RFID technology has existed for some time, the primary drivers of its widespread commercialization were mandates for RFID tagging of cases and pallets by leading retailers worldwide. Wal-Mart and other industry leaders, such as Best Buy and Target, began the trend by establishing deadlines for their Top Tier suppliers to comply with RFID labeling of shipments to the retailers' centralized distribution centers. Over the course of three years, second and third tier suppliers were also included in the case and pallet 'smart label' mandates. On the global retail scene, major players such as The Metro Group, Tesco, and Marks & Spencer were also rolling out demand-driven supply chain RFID initiatives.

Table of Content

Executive Summaryii

Introduction1

Discussion2

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)2

Development and Commercialization of RFID Technology6

Types of RFID11

Active RFID11

Passive RFID12

Microwave RFID12

Ultra High Frequency (UHF)13

High Frequency (HF)13

Low frequency (LF)14

Use of RFID Technology14

Life span15

Data storage15

Scanning15

Automated data entry16

RFID Advantages and Applications16

Intellectual Property Rights20

Market Analysis23

Cost benefits24

Marketing of RFID24

Manufacturing of RFID25

Implementation of RFID26

Conclusion28

References31

The Evolution of a Technology's Commercial Development

Introduction

The increasing technological content of products accompanied by shorter life cycles and more intense competition has encouraged technology commercialization activities. Successful technology commercialization helps a firm cross the chasm that appears during the life cycle of technological implementation and to solve problems induced by resource configuration difficulties associated with the transfer of sustained innovation to disruptive innovation. The success of technology commercialization process is necessary to improve new product development performance by moving technological advances into commercial products, processes and services. This process includes the commercialization of internally generated technology within the company and technology procured from external sources such as other companies, federal laboratories and academic institutions. The willingness of firms to engage in the process of invention commercialization is influenced by expectations about the returns that they will capture from commercialization if they are successful.

Technology commercialization is defined as the competence to use technologies in improving existing products, getting products to market in a timely manner, and incorporating a greater breadth of technologies in products. Technology commercialization includes process of acquiring ideas, augmenting them with complementary ...