The UID Forum in Atlanta was small by some conference standards, but the level of knowledge by those in attendance continues to grow at an impressive rate. There was an unmistakable urgency expressed by attendees who know that IUID is far more than another DoD mandate. Since I first blogged about smartphones and Auto ID in November 2010, they have gained momentum in everyday use. One reason for this is that they connect us to the “grid” in a valuable yet personal way.
My Droid currently has 108 apps and each one does something for me. For example, I can read the news from a variety of sources or access office email while waiting in airports. I can check the latest weather conditions (rain, wind, tides) before heading out on the water. I even have my own company dashboard that displays metrics on performance in key areas of the business.
Every well run company or organization requires visibility into its own operations, and easy access to that visibility should be as handy as my weather app. But that visibility relies on data that is accurate and high quality. What is the point of data, after all, if not to form the basis for informed decisions? IUID represents the global standard for collecting and utilizing highest quality serialized data when capturing an item’s location or condition in the physical world (e.g. weapons, vehicles, trailers, body armor) for military decision making.
With the understanding that smartphones connect users with data, A2B recently released our first smartphone app that leverages the camera phone to read a 2D Data Matrix barcode. This free app, available from the Droid store, is simply an IUID quality control tool for users to ensure that IUIDs are properly encoded to MIL STD 130 and uploaded successfully to the IUID Registry. Like all good apps, it has a specific function and use and is highly intuitive.
Click here to download A2B’s free Android App at Google Play!
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