Nearly all the automatic identification technologies consist of three principal components, which also comprise the sequential steps in AIDC: One of the most useful application tasks of data capture is collecting information from paper documents and saving it into databases (CMS, ECM, and other systems).
[citation needed] Structured documents (questionnaires, tests, insurance forms, tax returns, ballots, etc.)
If widely implemented, the technology could reduce or eliminate counterfeiting, theft, and product waste, while improving the efficiency of supply chains.
[8] However, others have voiced criticisms of the potential expansion of AIDC systems into everyday life, citing concerns over personal privacy, consent, and security.
[9] The global association Auto-ID Labs was founded in 1999 and is made up of 100 of the largest companies in the world such as Walmart, Coca-Cola, Gillette, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, UPS, companies working in the sector of technology such as SAP, Alien, Sun as well as five academic research centers.
The Auto-ID Labs suggests a concept of a future supply chain that is based on the Internet of objects, i.e., a global application of RFID.
Research is focused on miniaturization (aiming for a size of 0.3 mm/chip), reduction in the price per single device (aiming at around $0.05 per unit), the development of innovative applications such as payment without any physical contact (Sony/Philips), domotics (clothes equipped with radio tags and intelligent washing machines), and sporting events (timing at the Berlin Marathon).