RFID: ready to roll

Advanced ID Corp. has received an order for 2 million RFID tags from Chinese tire producer Mesnac, which had previously tested the technology in tires for trucks, buses, and passenger vehicles.

By John R. Johnson

The use of RFID tags in tires is finally set to become a reality. Advanced ID Corp. has received an order for 2 million RFID tags from Chinese tire producer Mesnac, which had previously tested the technology in tires for trucks, buses, and passenger vehicles. Mesnac plans to lobby for widespread adoption of RFID technology for use in all tires driven or made in China.

The primary benefit of RFID-enabled tires is the ability to identify and track them for the life of the unit. The technology could be a huge benefit in the event of another mass tire recall, such as Firestone's 2000 recall of 6.5 million tires, which created a logistical nightmare for the company.

"With many of the world's largest tire manufacturers working with Advanced ID, we believe Mesnac's first-mover status will serve as a catalyst for broader adoption of our tire tags," said Dan Finch, president and CEO of Advanced ID, in a press release. "China is a market that Advanced ID is deeply committed to as we believe it represents fertile ground for RFID solutions and is a major component of the Asian tire manufacturing market."

The UHF RFID tire tag solution from Advanced ID is based on the company's proprietary RFID tag readers and RFID tag technology obtained through a licensing agreement with Michelin. Advanced ID's solution is twopronged; it provides a tire tag that is embedded in the tire during the manufacturing process, as well as a tire patch that can be applied to the tire after manufacture or to replacement tires already in the field. Both applications provide a life-of-tire, unique ID that can be used for inventory control, tire maintenance, theft prevention, and managing tire recalls.

Michelin and Goodyear have been among the leaders in testing the technology in the United States. Two years ago, Michelin, the world's largest tire maker, produced the first rewriteable, cured-in transponder that can store vital information. The RFID transponder, which is embedded into the tire during the manufacturing process, allows the tire's identification number to be tied to a vehicle identification number (VIN), making tires uniquely identifiable with an individual vehicle. The tags also store information such as when and where the tire was made, and its maximum inflation pressure.

Goodyear is also proving to be a pioneer when it comes to tires and RFID technology. The tire-maker installed RFID tags on the Eagle tires it leases out to cars competing in NASCAR races. The company says the solution is the quickest way to log in the thousands of new and used tires that must be returned at the end of a race before teams can leave the track.

RFID-tagged tires could be a welcome development for fleet managers. Along with tracking and monitoring tire conditions, RFID tags promise to improve vehicle performance. The tags can sense road conditions and communicate the information to the vehicle's operating system, enabling it to make adjustments if needed. In addition, tagged tires reduce the need for inspections, saving maintenance crews hours of work.

John Johnson joined the DC Velocity team in March 2004. A veteran business journalist, John has over a dozen years of experience covering the supply chain field, including time as chief editor of Warehousing Management. In addition, he has covered the venture capital community and previously was a sports reporter covering professional and collegiate sports in the Boston area. John served as senior editor and chief editor of DC Velocity until April 2008.
More articles by John R. Johnson

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