Articles
Taking The Fast Lane: RFID And Parts Marking Technology For The Automotive Industry
October 24, 2003
Parts tracking and traceability is taking on new significance in the automotive industry as warranty issues take a front seat in the minds of consumers. These are two of the hottest new technologies in the industry, and Intermec is a major participant in both.
Intermec is emerging as a major player in this growing market, since its Intellitag RFID (radio frequency identification) technology supports the world's first application standard addressing item-level identification using RFID to track tires. That technology standard, under development by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), will greatly speed and simplify verification of tire warranty, authenticity and performance.
Intermec has been involved with the data collection side of AIAG for several years. In fact, Bill Hoffman, manager of automotive business development for Intermec in Detroit, currently chairs the AIAG radio frequency tire and wheel identification work group, which has been working on the new RFID item tracking standard for tires. Hoffman succeeds Intermec's Eric Freeburg, who previously worked on the committee and was recently honored as winner of AIAG's 2001 Outstanding Achievement Award for his contributions and leadership on behalf of AIAG and the automotive industry. This is the second consecutive year Freeburg has received the award.
The company is also playing a leading role in parts marking for the giant automotive industry. Direct parts marking programs embraced by the automotive leaders are designed to give every one of the thousands of parts on an automobile a unique etched, stamped or direct printed bar code so it can be tracked throughout its lifetime.
