McMaster Univ launches Canada's first RFID lab

McMaster Univ has the launched Canada's first RFID R&D laboratory in a bid to establish a viable domestic industry for this rapidly growing field. The McMaster RFID Applications Lab (MRAL) has the support of several companies and OCE Inc, and has launched a pilot project with the Hamilton Health Sciences Centre to develop an equipment management system. The global value for the RFID (radio frequency identification) market is projected to grow from $2.7 billion this year to $26 billion by 2016. The idea for MRAL grew out of McMaster's Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Its commercialization manager is Pankaj Sood, who pursued the lab as an enterprise start-up project. The lab will provide contract research services, proof-of-concept facilities, advisory services and student and professional training....