Open Source Object Directory Services for Inter-Enterprise Tracking and Tracing Applications

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) applications, there are still only a limited number of open-loop inter-enterprise applications that address global supply chains. The implementation of such inter-enterprise applications hinges on standards and techniques for discovering and accessing RFID tagged objects across different repositories of RFID information residing across different administrative domains. In this chapter, the authors introduce an open and novel implementation of an ONS (Object Naming Service) solution for inter-enterprise tracking and tracing RFID applications. The solution is part of the open source AspireRFID project and provides a sound basis for integrating tracking (“google-of-things” like) applications for the RFID and the Internet-of-Things (IoT). As part of the presentation of the solution, this chapter illustrates the main challenges associated with the integration of inter-enterprise applications, along with strategies for confronting them.