Ohio University Conference Focuses on
Sophisticated Information Concepts
Editors, news directors: To cover this event or arrange an interview, please contact
James Fales, director of the Ohio University Center for Automatic Identification, or Assistant
Director Todd Myers, (740) 593-1452.
ATHENS, Ohio (July 19, 2000) -- Someday soon, electronic devices that read an occupant's fingerprint or handprint may replace room keys. Or an individual may be identified, not by the scroll of his signature, but by the gait of his walk or inflection of his voice. Already, package-shipping tags may contain up to 2,000 bits of information on a radio transponder embedded behind the tag, allowing shipments to be tracked until they reach their destinations
These advances are among the concepts being discussed at the 14th Annual Automatic Identification and Data Capture Technical Institute at Ohio University this week. The conference, which began Sunday, continues through Friday in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology.
Nearly 30 professors, engineers and researchers from the United States and abroad are learning the nuances behind the latest developments in information-gathering techniques. They are gaining insights into technology that is involved in many areas of life, such as business, engineering and health record administration.
"This is something that touches everyone's daily lives," said James Fales, director of the Ohio University Center for Automatic Identification and coordinator of the institute. "Every time you go to the grocery store and have your purchase scanned by a bar-code scanner or use a credit card or identification card with a magnetic strip, you're using automatic identification techniques."
"The intent of the weeklong workshop," explained Fales, "is primarily to help professors learn about the latest advances in this field so they can better teach students and they, in turn, can go into industry and better run companies."
Seminars and hands-on laboratory experiences run from 8 a.m. until about 5 p.m. through Thursday, and the session wraps up at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
