Thousands of folks convened this past week at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas for RFID World 2006, a conference that is growing in headcount and quality each year. In fact, at last count there were at least 185 exhibiting companies. Surprisingly, a true feeling of RFID awareness and understanding prevailed. Attendees and vendors alike know what the technology currently is capable of and where it needs to go. Unsurprisingly, it still is very apparent that RFID has a long way to go before it reaches maturity.

Those unfamiliar with the Gaylord Texan should check it out at least once. While the name doesn't do any favors to dispel the famous derogitory catch phrase that Texas is "nothing but a state full of steers and …" well, you know, the structure itself is a marvel to behold. It essentially is a football stadium-sized glass dome complete with a thriving courtyard that looks like a tropical oasis of which hotel rooms overlook. Sprinkled with a handful of unique bars and restaurants, it's the perfect place to kick back for a few days, especially while attending a conference.

Show highlights include:

In a session titled "RFID and Consumer Brands: Myth Versus Reality in RFID Implementation", VF Corporation, Tandy Brands and Daisy Brand Inc. were on hand to reveal the challenges they faced in early RFID implementations and the role RFID will play going forward. "We weren't going to buy millions of tags until the price dropped," said James G. Jackson, director, vendor relationship management, VF Corp. Thanks to RFID strides made by both Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense, Jackson said the industry suddenly began to move a lot faster than expected. "We need to be prepared for item-level," said Jackson. "The initial reasons we were interested in RFID have changed because our business has changed."

On the vendor front, Markem had set up an impressive RFID-labeling contraption, capable of tagging product in both very warm and very cold climates. The company also is bundling "track and trace" software for clients to offer a more complete RFID package. I was told someone placed an order for eight of their labeling systems to be up and running by April. Not bad.

ADT Security Services Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, announced the availability of a Gen 2 software upgrade for its RFID Agile 2 readers allowing end users to easily upgrade to the latest technology. Gen 2 protocols are improved open standards that have been ratified by EPCglobal, the standards-setting organization for the commercialization of electronic product code (EPC) technology. The Agile 2 reader is different because of its intelligence and the ability to upgrade easily through downloads, according to Randy Dunn, director of RFID for ADT. "The ADT firmware upgrade offers other added functions in addition to Gen 2 capability," Dunn said. "We plan to provide new features and improvements through ongoing software upgrades approximately two times a year."

Checkpoint Systems says it is making Gen 2 tags for transport ticketing.

Alien Technology announced a worldwide reseller agreement with HP.

Omron was hawking an out-of-the-box RFID compliance kit that cost less than $20,000.

ThingMagic has a new RFID reader the company is selling to resellers.

Texas Instruments will be buying Gen 2 chips from Impinj for use in its own tag design.

For more information about RFID World 2006, head on over to the conference's Web site.