AIM Global, the trade association for the Automatic Identification and Mobility industry, has recently announced several initiatives in support of RFID.
Global Aviation RFID Forums
AIM Global will be the RFID association sponsor for a series of symposiums worldwide to build consensus about standards for utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology on commercial airplanes.
Boeing and Airbus have agreed to collaborate on developing common part marking and automated data collection requirements and are jointly moving toward RFID implementation based on the Air Transport Association (ATA) SPEC 2000 automated identification and data capture guidelines.
"AIM is pleased to collaborate with industry leaders Boeing and Airbus on this important initiative," said Dan Mullen, president of AIM Global. "This effort is consistent with AIM''s mission of leadership and education on behalf of the Automatic Identification and Mobility industry. The Forums will provide the necessary guidance and education that aviation suppliers, airline customers, regulatory agencies, and maintenance and overhaul organizations need in order to move toward RFID implementation in the aviation industry."
"RFID offers the aviation industry many proven benefits, with the ultimate objective being continued safety, airworthiness and operational efficiencies for commercial airplanes," said Kenneth D. Porad, program manager, Automated Identification Program for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "By working together, Boeing and Airbus benefit by avoiding conflicting requirements with mutual customers and suppliers. It is critically vital to have AIM''s support and involvement on this initiative as they are the global RFID Industry trade association."
RFID involves ''smart label'' identification tags installed throughout an airplane that store data including part and serial numbers, manufacturer codes, country of origin, date of installation and maintenance and inspection information. The tags contain a microchip and antenna and offer significant advantages over similar technologies, including no line-of-sight requirement for data transmission and a dynamic read/write capability.
The events will offer detailed background information on recently completed in-service evaluations of RFID technology and will address industry concerns such as interference, certification, and standards.
Speakers will represent the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Delta Airlines, Federal Express, Dept of Defense (DoD), Rockwell Collins, IBM, Technology Solutions, and an opening keynote conversation session with vice presidents from both Airbus and Boeing, facilitated by Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine.
The first Forum was held in June in Atlanta; additional Forums are scheduled for August 10-11 in Hong Kong, and October 19-20 in Munich.
For complete details and to register for any of the Forums, please visit: www.GlobalAviationRFIDforum.com.
RFID Experts Group Moves to AIM Global
A group of RFID expert advisors initially chartered by the U.S. Dept of Defense will become an expert advisory group within AIM Global. The group, known as the RFID Experts Group (REG), has been working with the Defense Dept to address implementation issues related to supply chain adoption of RFID systems. The DoD and a number of global retailers are beginning to require suppliers to implement RFID automatic data identification systems to track cases and pallets of goods.
"The Defense Dept recognized that issues such as tag/label issues, reader operations, and barcode backup data structures reach beyond its own RFID initiatives and are, in fact, common to all companies implementing RFID," said AIM Global president Dan Mullen. "AIM, as the industry trade association for RFID and other automatic identification and data collection technologies, was the logical home for the REG."
REG membership currently includes early implementers, technology vendors, integrators, and research institutions. Many REG members also are members of AIM.
Craig K. Harmon, president, QED Systems, who brought the REG together in February, 2004, said the REG is making progress on a number of projects on its agenda and that several projects are already nearing completion.
RFID Patent Lawsuit Unlikely to Affect Standards
Although Everett, WA-based Intermec Technologies has filed a patent infringement suit against Rockville, MD-based Matrics Technologies, Intermec''s president, Tom Miller, insists that it should not slow down the standardization process currently under way within EPC™.
"This is not about EPC," Miller said. "This is about fair business practices and respect for intellectual property (IP)." The lawsuit alleges that Matrics has knowingly manufactured and sold RFID components (tags, handheld and station readers) that infringe on Intermec''s IP rights. Moreover, Intermec alleges that Matrics is promoting its products as being "IP free."
According to comments issued by Girish Rishi, senior VP Marketing for Matrics, "Matrics has not received any formal communication from Intermec or from the court regarding this lawsuit as yet. There were no prior discussions with Intermec or its representatives on this subject and we were surprised by the press announcement."