<s>
The	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Labs	I-Application
network	O
is	O
a	O
research	O
group	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
networked	O
radio-frequency	B-Application
identification	I-Application
(	O
RFID	B-Application
)	O
and	O
emerging	O
sensing	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
institutions	O
were	O
chosen	O
by	O
the	O
former	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Center	I-Application
to	O
design	O
the	O
architecture	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Internet	I-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
Things	I-Operating_System
together	O
with	O
EPCglobal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
federation	O
was	O
established	O
in	O
1999	O
;	O
the	O
network	O
they	O
have	O
developed	O
is	O
at	O
the	O
heart	O
of	O
a	O
proposal	O
sponsored	O
by	O
EPCglobal	O
and	O
supported	O
by	O
GS1	O
,	O
GS1	O
US	O
,	O
Wal-Mart	O
,	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
to	O
use	O
RFID	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Product	O
Code	O
(	O
EPC	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
identification	O
of	O
items	O
in	O
the	O
supply	O
chain	O
for	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
areas	O
of	O
expertise	O
range	O
from	O
hardware	O
to	O
software	O
to	O
business	O
research	O
related	O
to	O
RFID	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Labs	I-Application
is	O
the	O
research-oriented	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
MIT	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Center	I-Application
,	O
founded	O
by	O
Kevin	O
Ashton	O
,	O
David	O
Brock	O
,	O
Dr.	O
Daniel	O
Engels	O
,	O
Sanjay	O
Sarma	O
,	O
and	O
Sunny	O
Siu	O
with	O
funding	O
from	O
Procter	O
&	O
Gamble	O
,	O
Gillette	O
,	O
the	O
Uniform	O
Code	O
Council	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
global	O
consumer	O
products	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MIT	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Center	I-Application
was	O
created	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Product	O
Code	O
,	O
a	O
global	O
RFID-based	O
item	O
identification	O
system	O
intended	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
UPC	O
bar	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2003	O
,	O
the	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Center	I-Application
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
newly	O
founded	O
research	O
network	O
,	O
the	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Labs	I-Application
and	O
EPCGlobal	O
,	O
an	O
organization	O
charged	O
with	O
managing	O
the	O
new	O
EPC	O
Network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Auto-ID	B-Application
Labs	I-Application
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
managing	O
and	O
funding	O
the	O
continued	O
development	O
of	O
EPC	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
research	O
topics	O
of	O
the	O
labs	O
have	O
gone	O
beyond	O
RFID-only	O
research	O
and	O
now	O
also	O
includes	O
sensor	O
networks	O
and	O
new	O
emerging	O
sensing	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
autoidlabs.org	O
website	O
,	O
the	O
Auto-ID	B-Application
Labs	I-Application
continuously	O
publish	O
their	O
research	O
results	O
and	O
provide	O
an	O
archive	O
with	O
over	O
150	O
white	O
papers	O
and	O
academic	O
publications	O
.	O
</s>
