The Auto ID and Sensing Expo, held at MIT and produced by the Cambridge Enterprise Forum, offered a preview of what's ahead for auto-ID and related sensor-based technologies. In years past, this event was focused on UHF-RFID.  This year's event was expanded to include technologies ranging from automotive telematics to specialized RFID-data-acquisition systems designed for vertical industries.  It reasons that the driving force behind RFID-related technologies has moved from  third-party commercial-and-federal mandate to need-based functionality defined along vertical-market requirements.