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AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — It started with a single project and then a basement laboratory.
From modest beginnings, Auburn University launched into the forefront of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Major companies such as Amazon, Target, Avery Dennison and VF Corporation now sponsor RFID research at AU.
On Wednesday, business officials from some of America's top companies joined Auburn students, faculty and staff to cut the ribbon on the university's new RFID lab. The 13,000-square-foot lab is located on East Glenn Avenue, in the former Bruno's grocery store.
"It's already brought a lot of great companies to Auburn that had never been to Auburn before," said Dr. Bill Hardgrave, dean of the Harbert College of Business. "They're working with our lab. They're working with our faculty. They're hiring our students."
"Since its inception, the lab really has been focused on providing thought leadership in RFID implementation and use. The lab has really remained true to that mission."
Auburn's lab is developing RFID technology for use in retail, supply chain and manufacturing. RFID technology utilizes computer chips smaller than a grain of sand to help track items.
Lab manager Justin Patton, along with students and staff members, led tours of the lab on Tuesday and explained how RFID technology assists retailers and suppliers.
Patton explained how clothing items with RFID labels are tracked, and how retailers gather data on which items are taken to the changing room or other areas of the store. That data can be used for sales and marketing efforts.
RFID technology can assist retailers by offering data on what specific items are shoplifted from the store, and where those items were taken from. Such data can help retailers identify potential trends regarding items that are more likely to be stolen, and from what locations.
The technology can also help retailers ensure they received a correct order. One staff member used RFID technology to count 200 t-shirts in a boxed order within seconds.
Hardgrave said the RFID Research Center, which moved to Auburn last year from the University of Arkansas, enhances the university's reputation. He said the new center will only boost that reputation.
"The role the lab plays here is very important," he said. "We knew we could make the lab even better and bigger than it was before."
Auburn alumnus Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service at Amazon, attended Wednesday's ribbon-cutting and discussed the company's current partnership with the university.
"It really is a place designed for tinkering, experimenting and inventing," he said of the new center. "It's a lot like what I work with every day at Amazon.
"We're excited about working with the program at Auburn. . We fully expect to invent new processes, new technology and new uses in RFID."
Auburn University's Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, College of Human Sciences and College of Agriculture are all partners in the lab.
Hardgrave praised the work of students in preparing the lab for Wednesday's event.
"I wish everybody could have seen what the lab looked a week ago, 48 hours ago," he said. "It was like one of those extreme makeover shows. The students designed and built what you see in the lab. They did a phenomenal job."
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Information from: Opelika-Auburn News, http://www.oanow.com/
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