"AIAG recognized the need for retail applications when provisions were made three years ago in the original [standard] -- the first and only item-level RFID standard in the world," said Andrew Cummins, executive director of AIAG. "By collaborating with EPCglobal on this standard to refine these provisions, we are able to provide a one-tag-fits-all solution, eliminating the need for multiple tags to service both the automotive and retail industries and helping to reduce the cost and complexity of RFID implementation."

The B-11 standard guides suppliers on the printing and placement of two-dimensional (2D) bar code labels and passive read/write RFID tags on tires and wheels to identify products. It was developed in response to TREAD Act requirements for product tracking put in place after the Firestone tire recall, but could also be used with other vehicle parts.

Although both the EPC and B-11 standards were based on passive RFID technology, they used different air interface protocols and data structures -- a concern for retailers like Wal-Mart and Kmart that sell tires as well as consumer goods. B-11 now includes a data identifier, 96S, for the retail information. The RFID reader and middleware infrastructure sorts out the tag data before it reaches any host data systems.

"Working with AIAG in the development of this open global standard was necessary to further guide the development of RFID across the automotive and retail industries," said John Seaner, senior director industry development of EPCglobal. "The [B-11 standard] is compliant with the initiatives of EPCglobal."

The B-11 air interface protocol is based on the ISO 18000-6B standard. The next release of the EPC standard, commonly referred to as Gen 2, is supposed to harmonize with ISO, but there has been an ongoing debate about the standards issue within the RFID industry about exactly how that will happen.

According to Bill Hoffman, vice president of business development and marketing at Advanced ID Corp., and one of the original architects of the standard, to use B-11 and EPC together, users would need either RFID readers that support each, or a multi-protocol reader that supports both air interfaces. They also need decode algorithms that know what each of the data identifiers mean (which are defined in the ISO 15434 and the SGTIN data structure).

There are already tires being tracked with B-11 2D bar codes, and Hoffman, speaking at Frontline Solutions Expo last month, said that pilot quantities of RFID-tagged tires would ship this year.

The full text of the standard is available at www.aiag.org. It costs $10 for members and $50 for non-members.