Aside from asset tracking, each industry will have specialized applications of RFID that cannot be generalized.

Although industries can learn from each other, industry-specific development experiences will largely set the pace for adoption in each industry.

Industries with the greatest opportunities to use RFID include retail and aerospace and defense, while the health-care, logistics and pharmaceutical industries will adopt RFID the fastest.

"There is a significant focus on using RFID in pharmaceutical manufacturing because of the US Food and Drug Administration's interest in using RFID tags to help combat diverting and counterfeiting," Woods says.

"If regulatory activity proceeds, we will likely see the beginnings of widespread tagging around 2007."