New RFID Mark Aims to Simplify Label Reading

09/23/2004

AIM, a trade group representing the automatic identification and data capture industry, recently announced an RFID Mark standard designed to help workers more easily find and read radio frequency identification (RFID) labels.

With the proliferation of RFID-enabled bar code labels in all areas of business, it becomes increasingly difficult for workers assigned to read the labels to know the coding authority for the label and the frequency at which it operates. With labels taking different forms and even being embedded and hidden within packaging, the mark also serves to let workers know of the existence of a label and whether it is one they need to read.

AIM’s RFID Mark may be used in light-on-dark or dark-on-light forms. In the accompanying graphic, the “M” informs the label reader that the coding agency is the U.S. Department of Defense at 860-960 MHz. An asterisk signifies the presence of an RFID reader or encoder, while the “0” signifies a label with a code that has a bit length of 64.

The AIM RFID Mark contains a unique two-character code (graphic). The first character indicates the frequency and coding authority (an “E”, for example, indicates an EPCglobal code at 860-960 MHz), while the second character reveals the types of data found on the label and/or the data structure.

Bert Moore, AIM’s director of communications and media relations, notes that the symbol serves as a visual reminder or assurance of the existence and type of an RFID label, much in the same way that a triangular recycling logo alerts consumers to recyclable materials in the U.S.

The impetus for the mark, says Moore, came mainly from the defense and aviation industries, where workers often encounter multiple label types within a given environment—inside an airplane, for instance. AIM’s North America Standards Action Group considered more than a dozen designs before settling upon the one just introduced.

AIM president Dan Mullen expects the RFID mark to appear on readers and encoders later this year. Use of the mark on packaging and labels, he says, will be dependent upon the needs of the user communities.

Any company wishing to make use of the mark may download it for free from the AIM website (www.aimglobal.org) beginning in mid-October. While the information and graphics of the mark are standardized for consistency, companies may choose how and where to locate it on their products.