Oracle jumps on RFID bandwagon

Oracle is looking to capitalise on the hype surrounding the controversial RFID tracking chips which are increasingly being considered by retailers as a way to track stock, despite public concerns over privacy.

Oracle has discussed plans to develop RFID middleware, joining rivals IBM, Microsoft and others in the race to release software programs specially designed to handle the deluge of data that RFID systems are expected to produce.

The information technology systems most companies use today are not equipped for a world in which billions of objects report their whereabouts in real-time, Oracle and its competitors say.

Oracle plans to build RFID data-processing capabilities into releases of its database and application server programs due out this summer. It plans to include special programs, called device drivers, in its software, said Allyson Fryhoff, vice president of Oracle Sensor-Based Services. The drivers are the technical bridge that allows computers running Oracle's software to talk to RFID readers, which wirelessly collect data about objects in within range.

Oracle is working with a number of RFID reader makers, including Alien Technology and Intermec Technologies, which develop the driver programs. Oracle is also developing a "device driver framework" that will help companies administer and build application software for their RFID systems, Fryhoff said.

Alorie Gilbert writes for News.com