| "Everything that can be invented has been invented."
—Charles H Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899
From the President
 OpenTag, the open source DASH7 firmware platform that is currently in beta, is an valuable tool for most DASH7 developers now and in the future, but the demands to port OpenTag to new silicon platforms and otherwise test and expand OpenTag are expanding faster than we expected. If you write in C and have an understanding of the ISO 18000-7 standard and want to help us push OpenTag along more quickly, drop us a line. DASH7 Alliance membership not required.
Also…one year ago our marketing goddess Carla told me that Twitter was an important marketing tool and that we should be integrating it into the DASH7 Alliance marketing plan. I resisted, but decided to try it and fast forward 12 months and now I’m a huge believer in Twitter. After Google, social media like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook are responsible for most of the web traffic to dash7.org and also the source of fascinating discussions and deal making. Check it out for DASH7, but also for your own business.
Cheers,
Pat Burns
President
 We will be in Orlando from April 14-16 for RFID Journal Live. We’ll be exhibiting at the first-ever DASH7 Alliance booth talking about new DASH7 products, the technology, ways you can get involved. And for those of you in need of a reason to attend the show, there will be a drawing to win a pair of Bose headphones. BUT WAIT! On Thursday the 15th we’ll be hosting an informal-but-oh-so-swanky cocktail reception featuring a panel discussion moderated by Ann Grackin of ChainLink Research. Cocktails are provided gratis and last year’s event resulted in many lasting friendships, two weddings, and several beautiful children.
NOTE TO MEMBERS ONLY: Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 13th (a day before the show) in Orlando, Florida for the next DASH7 membership meeting. Contact Paul Richie for a meeting agenda and logistics.
 Every month we will feature a new DASH7 member that is doing something innovative with DASH7 that we think you’ll find interesting. This month, we’re featuring MET Labs in Baltimore, MD and a Q&A with their Director of RFID Programs, Ted Osinski.
D7Connect: MET Labs is known for providing test and certification services for some pretty cool technologies. Is DASH7 a cool technology?
MET Labs: We often test and try products before the public sees them (for example we tested the Tesla electric car). DASH7 is a very interesting technology with a clear protocol, worldwide regulatory acceptance, friendly physics (range, wall penetration, and many other capabilities) and long battery life. No wonder it has been used so extensively by the military. It has enormous commercial potential in many industries, applications and at home. As the active tag can store other useful data such as sensor or location, the possibilities are endless. That's what is so cool about it.
D7Connect: What will be the biggest market opportunities for DASH7 in 3-5 years?
A combinations of cost, technology capabilities, support of standards and integration with enterprise infrastructure will help DASH7 break into many markets. Safety, security and ease of use may be the deciding factors. Here are some examples to illustrate these points:
1) A tag inside the refrigerator can store maintenance data and monitor key parts. It beeps or sends a text when the motor overheats.
2) A meter guy can drive by a development and collect the water, electricity and gas data from smart meters without getting out of the car. This surely beats walking in two feet of snow from house to house this past winter.
3) Tracking hard to reach products or hazardous materials such as radioative waste. Not only can DASH7 provide accurate reads in the real time, but the reads can be done from a safe distance.
4) As more government regulations are in the works to ensure food safety, product safety, drug pedigree and so on, DASH7 technology will be well positioned to play a major role in these markets.
D7Connect: MET performs test and certification services for EPC Global (passive RFID). What synergies do you see between DASH7 and passive RFID?
These two technologies complement each other. For example, a DASH7 active tag that is attached to a container can store identities of pallets inside it. These pallets can be tagged with EPCglobal Gen2 tags. Furthermore, the active tag can collect temperature data inside the container.
The active tag memory data can be stored as EPCglobal EPCIS events. These events are fed into ERPs or WMS applications and can be exchanged with other trading partners. A company that buys DASH7 technology can leverage their existing EPCglobal infrastructure.
D7Connect: : If you could add DASH7 to any gadget in your life, what would it be?
I would put it on my beagle to track him down.
D7Connect: If we had only one day to do sightseeing anywhere in Poland, where would you recommend we visit?
The medieval city of Krakow, because you’d likely stay another day (especially if you tried the Polish Honey Mead there)…
Technical working group members are busy developing the next set of revisions to the ISO 18000-7 standard and references to complementary standards that will comprise the next major revision of DASH7. Encryption, IPv6, mesh networking, and much more are in the works and it’s a great time to get involved if you haven’t already.
Our technical board of advisors includes:
- University of Nebraska
- US Dept of Defense
- US Dept of Energy
- Korean Ministry of Defense
- Universidad Technologica Nacional (Argentina)
- RFID/USN Center (Korea)
 Hypergraphia is a relatively new and contagious medical diagnosis and applies to a relatively small percentage of the DASH7 population. Technically speaking, hypergraphia afflicts people with the insatiable urge to write: e.g. frequent letters to the editor, spontaneous novels, and daily entries into a future autobiography. Hypergraphia *may* be linked to a recent wave of content creation on the blog at www.dash7.org/blog, however the results of current research are inconclusive. To learn more about hypergraphia and whether you should be tested (via blogging for DASH7), please email Carla at carlab@dash7.org
Savi ST-616 Asset Tag
 When deployed as part of a Savi SmartChain® solution, the ST-616 enables real-time tracking and management of defense and commercial supply chain assets such as pallets, containers and rolling stock. This ISO 18000-7 compliant active RFID tag offers flexible mounting options and a low profile that makes the tag less prone to damage. The ST-616 incorporates efficient energy management technologies, including an over-polling detection and protection algorithm, that significantly prolong battery life and minimize the cost and size of the tag. The ST-616 also supports a low-power storage mode for when assets are not in use. More Info
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