Kevin Ashton,
Co-Founder, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Auto-ID
Center
The Sensor Age: How Radio Frequency Identification (RFI) and the
Electronic Product Code are About to Revolutionize Business
and Computing
 We
are at an inflection point in the history of computing, a
startling evolutionary leap that will eventually affect almost
everything else. In addition to 'thinking', computers are
about to start 'sensing'. They are on the verge of perceiving,
of gathering their own information, of being able to capture
data without human help. Until now, they have been dependent
on us for every piece of knowledge they acquire. No more.
Computers are breaking free of these limits. We are entering
'The Sensor Age', where computers will be woven into the
fabric of our clothes and lives, where everything we buy and
own will communicate, where electronic devices will be as
pervasive as printing and paper. This is a turning point of
profound importance. It will affect offices and homes, nations
and citizens, businesses and governments. It will define the
times and resonate across civilization for the rest of the
century, just as computers themselves shaped the last 50
years.
Biography
Having helped to
build one of the newest and biggest technology markets of the
early 21st century, Kevin Ashton speaks from phenomenal
personal success and experience on how to manage innovation.
As former executive director and co-founder of the Auto-ID
Center, which was based at MIT, he was a leading force in the
development of the Electronic Product Code, or EPC, which is
fast emerging as one of the most significant technology
breakthroughs in decades.
Kevin applies his experience
creating a new technology market in a classic mature industry
to the challenges his audiences face in managing for
innovation and bringing blockbuster ideas to market. He is
currently writing a book on EPC and its impact on business and
society, due in early 2005, tentatively titled Soda With
Souls: The Next Fifty Years of Computing.
The Auto-ID Center was a global research project with a bold
mission: find a way for computers to identify any object,
anywhere, automatically. As a result of its research, EPC, is
becoming the foundation of the next great age of
technology - the Age of the Sensor. Under Kevin’s
leadership, the Center became a global organization with
laboratories at six major universities around the world, over
100 corporate sponsors and a growing list of awards. The
Auto-ID Center was honored by Computerworld in its 2003
Honors Program and was nominated for a World Technology Award
for the second consecutive year. Kevin is vice
president-marketing and business Development for ThingMagic
in charge of developing RFID and sensor technology.
Kevin speaks regularly about
innovation, management and the future of computing to
audiences throughout the world and has been featured in many
magazines and newspapers including all the mainstream
financial press. He is a classically trained Procter &
Gamble marketer, where he was an associate director. |
