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The SKYNET Concept: Reality Aware Systems Within Supply Chains
September 7, 2007
•Article: Supply Chain Awareness
Before venturing into politics and commandeering the 5th largest economy in the world, Arnold Schwarzenegger was probably known best for his role as a futuristic cyborg in the Terminator movies. In these movies existed a computer system called Skynet. Syknet had become aware of the physical world and eventually overthrew its creators. Skynet no longer relied on human intervention to tell it what was happening and what to do, rather it was able to sense environmental changes and react in an intelligent way.
In a not so sinister way (honestly), today's enterprise systems are on the verge of automating their actions based upon their awareness of physical reality. In recent years, with the rise of RFID, sensor-based computing is becoming mainstream at the enterprise level. Early deployments were based on WalMart and DoD mandates, the 1,600 pound gorillas mandating RFID compliance. The initial applications of RFID technologies that received attention were not generating a significant benefit outside of the fact that it kept suppliers on the good side of the gorillas. Today the landscape of RFID applications has changed. Deployments are no longer driven by mandates, its common sense Return on Investment (ROI). Inventory Visibility, Supply Chain Collaboration, and Asset Management are the key terms that are now being associated with RFID solutions.
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