AIAG Addresses Myths About RFID at EPCglobal U.S. Conference 2004

DETROIT, Sept. 30 -- The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) helped to clear away hype and myths in the automotive industry about radio frequency identification (RFID) at the EPCglobal U.S. Conference 2004.

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Morris Brown, materials management product manager of AIAG, participated in a panel discussion today titled "Straight Talk: The Hype, the Public Concerns and the Reality." Joining panelists from EPCglobal Inc., as well as associations in the food and drugstore industries, Brown clarified some untruths about RFID in the industry from an automotive perspective.

"There is some concern that RFID will replace bar codes," said Brown. "It is a complementary technology. As each individual application requires unique programming and customized database software, there is no such thing as a simple RFID application. Also, the technology and implementation are not entirely proprietary. Large end users are much more interested now that standards bodies are working on open standards to help drive down the cost of RFID."

In fact, AIAG and EPCglobal Inc. recently announced a revision to the AIAG B-11: "Tire and Wheel Label and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Standard" that now conforms to automotive and retail requirements. The standard allows retail information, such as the manufacturer, product and serial number, to be included in the RFID tag. Brown also discussed this standard in the panel session.

At AIAG, Brown manages the activities of its materials management initiative, which includes critical issues in the global automotive supply chain-automatic identification and data collection, early warning systems, TREAD Act reporting, customs and returnable containers.

EPCglobal U.S. Conference 2004 offered industry-specific sessions and workshops on RFID implementation, technology and associated EPCglobal standards, as well as electronic product code (EPC) testing and certification. More than 100 related solution providers were expected to exhibit. The conference ran from Sept. 28 - 30, 2004, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore.

Founded in 1982, AIAG is headquartered in the metro Detroit area. Its more than 1,600 member companies include North American, European and Asia-Pacific OEMs and suppliers to the automotive industry with combined annual sales of more than $850 billion. A not-for-profit association, AIAG's primary goals are to reduce cost and complexity within the automotive supply chain and to improve speed to market, product quality, employee health-and-safety and the environment. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.aiag.org/ .

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