IBM has announced the launch of a new software suite to make RFID data more coherent.

Subject to the completion of a number of pilot programmes - within the pharmaceutical distribution sector, ITAID, an EU electronic customs initiative and by Unilever - the new software will be able to collate and sort information from RFID data-streams.

According to IBM, the new software will function with both ultra and high-frequency radio tags, while utilising EPC Information Services technology.

"A lot of the problem with RFID to date was that there weren't enough standards to exchange data," said Christian Clauss, a representative from IBM.

"[Previously, the industry] focused on collecting the data, now we are focusing on software and infrastructure," added Michael J Liard, a research director at IBM.

In related news, RFID tags are expected to enter the mainstream in 2007, with the technology becoming increasingly visible in the public consciousness, according to Mr Laird.