2D Code Technology Demonstrated At Cal Poly

A delegation of officials from Shandong, China, visited Cal Poly's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences May 23 during a tour of California's agricultural areas.

The delegation arrived in California to study the state's agricultural practices and produce tracking technology and applications.

In San Luis Obispo, the group listened to a presentation from Associate Dean Mark Shelton, and toured Cal Poly's organic farm. They also visited Cal Poly's Radio Frequency Identification lab, PolyGait, for a presentation from Engineering Professor Tali Freed.

The Chinese government is interested in produce supply chain security from the small family farms to the market place. Rapid I.D., of San Luis Obispo, is working with the Chinese Government on a tracking system that uses camera phones and two-dimensional barcode labels to track food identification information. The goal of the tracking system is to provide the Chinese citizen assurance that the produce came from an inspected and authorized field, and supply chain.

During the City of King field trip, Rapid I.D. demonstrated the tracking technology using the barcode labels with supporting on-line information. Camera phones were equipped with NeoMedia's NeoReader technology and used to look up produce information. Rapid I.D. Managing Director Rick May was one of the guides for the delegation during their week in-country.

"We have actually patented and created tracking technology to track codes that are created, two dimensional bar codes, and we are doing this in China where it's important to the government to make sure the produce is protected," explained Rick May, project promoter.

The program, pioneered by the university's Global Automatic Identification Technology Center, is revolutionizing the way everything from passports to produce are tracked.