Re: Unique identifiers & barcodes
Subject: Re: Unique identifiers & barcodes Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 08:10:16 -0000 From: "Robert K. Colwell" <colwell@uconnvm.uconn.edu> To: "John Pickering" <pick@pick.uga.edu> Pick, Bless you. Thanks for pursuing this properly. Is all this correspondence going to anyone at INBio? Rob >Jack and others, > >The key to what we are trying to accomplish is to develop the ability to >associate every event/object with a unique identifier that we can use to >share information between databases. Rather than worrying about how we >read these identifiers -- barcodes, alpha-numerics, whatever -- we should >first focus on developing and adopting a system that keeps us from using >each others possibly not-so-unique identifiers. In short, it's time to >adopt a way that will assure that scientists in Back-of-beyond-istan do not >use KU123456 to label their insects, re-using Steve Ashe's similar "unique" >barcode in Kansas. I'll try to get the Association of Systematic >Collections (ASC) to take an active role in this. I also suggest that we >learn more about the Universal Code Council, a group that is developing >standards and plans to sell truely unique identifiers. They're an industry >sponsored group that will ultimately distribute unique numbers so that the >serial numbers on TV sets, for instance, will be globally unique from >labels identifying milk cartons with particular expiration dates. > >My Monday meeting with Sprague Ackley lasted all afternoon and went >extremely well. Things are starting to look better for Code 49 and the use >of unique identifiers in general. > >Sprague is sending me a 1470 Imager and wedge reader I can test, hopefully >before I go to Costa Rica in August. I'll evaluate it on one of my old IBM >computers. If I can get it working in time, I'll take it with me to demo >in Central America in August. > >Regarding Mac computers, there are two options. One is to purcharse a >serial-to-USB converter immediately and see how that works. The other is >to wait 4 months until Intermec has a USB interface for the 1470 Imager. >I'll make a decision after I see how efficient the 1470 is. > >Sprague has asked Colleen Temple, Intermec's webmaster, to help me build >webpages outlining our needs, possible technological options that we should >consider, solutions from Intermec and other vendors, our correspondence, >etc. > >He has also asked Cathy Anderson of Intermec's PR department to write up an >"Application Note" about our needs and possible solutions. This will be >distributed to Intermec's sales force. Hence, we shouldn't have the >problem of them telling folks that Code 49 is dead -- it simply isn't. >Intermec is not likely to go under either. They had sales of $800 million >last year. > >Sprague is willing to give a general presentation on unique identifiers and >barcode technology. I'll try to arrange for him to give a presentation at >the next Entomology Collections Network (ECN) meeting, which is 11-12 >December in Athens, Georgia. He will give an industry-wide perspective and >not a sales pitch for Intermec. > >I'll seek additional input from ECN and ASC members after we get a URL >going where we can share ideas and information. I send this URL address >out later this week after we populate the pages with some information. > >Cheers, >Pick > > >>Hey Pick, >> >>Any news from your Monday meeting? I'm going to LACM tomorrow, and >>will be there through Saturday. If you don't get a reply out today, >>you might send an email to Brian Brown about it. I will be talking >>barcodes with him during my visit. >> >>cheers, >>Jack >>****************************************************** >>John T. Longino >>Lab I, The Evergreen State College >>Olympia WA 98505 USA >>longinoj@evergreen.edu >>Ants of Costa Rica on the Web at http://www.evergreen.edu/ants >>Project ALAS at http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/ALAS/ALAS.html >>****************************************************** > >
| Discover Life in America | Science | Unique Identifiers & Barcodes | Correspondence | Robert Colwell - 14 July, 1999 |