Web Services-Based Architecture for RFID Applications

Two crucial elements of cyber-infrastructures of the future are Web Services and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Tags are frequently being incorporated in systems that communicate with one another. Among other things, these systems communicate individually with RFID tags that pass through their field of presence as well as share data thus collected with other systems. There is a need to link these elements to develop e-infrastructures that enable an organization to learn and evolve, be agile and flexible, and adapt to the changing requirements of the highly interconnected environment. While providing flexibility and evolvability we argue that the characteristics of information generated through Web Services and RFID tags enable us to provide services that are also stable and available. The stabilization and convergence of standards for the execution of business processes, Web Services, RFID data enable us to design cyber-infrastructures that resemble the supply chain services they support. We propose and illustrate a Web Services based architecture for such applications.