Tyre RFID Quality Guidelines Released

AIM Global, a trade association recognised as an authority on automatic identification and mobility, has announced the public release of new guidelines for the verification and qualification of design and manufacture for RFID chips and transponders in tyres. The guidelines were produced by the RFID Experts Group for use by the tyre and related industries in the development of RFID technology in new products.

The guidelines target item level tagging where the RFID tag may be present in various formats, including a label, incorporated into a patch that is permanently affixed to the inner or outer surface of a tyre, or incorporated during manufacture into the structure of the tyre as an integral component.

According to Dr. Patrick King, group project leader for the RFID Experts Group, “tag quality is important for all industries and applications. The use of RFID with tyres presents extreme challenges for both design and manufacturing quality. Including RFID into tyre manufacturing requires surviving conditions of high heat and pressure. In everyday use, tyres flex constantly and are subjected to extremes of heat and cold. What’s more, tyres contain carbon which can affect RF signals significantly.”

Dr. King, who is also employed as a Global Electronics strategist for Michelin, added, “These guidelines will help the tyre industry evaluate or develop RFID tags – particularly those operating in the UHF range – that can perform reliably under a wide range of conditions.”

“The use of RFID for tyres will help address the increasing demand to be able to identify and track tyres for various applications even for the life of the tyre,” Dr. King concluded. “Additionally, the ability to identify individual tyres on large commercial vehicles helps operators maintain these tyres and provides additional safety for equipment operators and the general public.”

Key members involved in the development of these guidelines include Michelin and Goodyear. The tyre guidelines, along with other AIM documents, are available for purchase from the AIM Global online store at https://www.aimglobal.org/estore/.