For 35 years, The Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility has brought the latest information of the industry to members in 43 countries.
Submitted by AIM Global
AIMGlobal is the industry association and worldwide authority on mobile computing, automatic identification and data collection (AIDC) technologies. AIM members are providers and users of technologies, systems and services that capture, manage and integrate accurate data into larger information systems. Serving members in 43 countries for 35 years, the Association focuses on three key areas:
• Ongoing support of bar code and RFID standards work - Since its inception, AIM has been instrumental in the development of bar code and RFID standards through its Technical Symbology Committee (TSC) and RFID Experts Group (REG), as well as through contributions to industry, national (ANSI) and international (ISO) standards organizations.
• Education and advocacy on behalf of members and industry - AIM has an active educational focus, providing accurate and unbiased information on data collection technology solutions to a wide range of media. As part of its educational outreach, AIM publishes RFID Connections and AIM Connections, the industry’s oldest and most respected e-newsletters on RFID and automatic identification. Through its Education and Public Policy (EPP) committee, AIM provides an educated stance about legislative and policy issues, coordinating an industry response on behalf of the member companies.
• Sales support through an international chapter network - AIM’s 13 chapters around the world provide a sales-oriented, regional approach to resellers and distributors within the region. Supported by AIM, the chapters represent a collective voice in their regions, including the European Union.
Why AIM is relevant
The mission of AIM has always been to promote the intelligent adoption of existing and emerging technologies under the automatic identification umbrella. Supply chains around the world, in every vertical market, use automatic identification to gain operating efficiency, visibility of raw materials and finished goods, as well as tracking of assets involved in the end-to-end manufacture of these goods.
AIM members, as industry leaders, identify innovative ways to use the technologies to solve the world’s problems. Educating consumers and policy makers about how real-world problems are solved by technology is a key element to AIM’s mission.
As the amount of data generated by business transactions increases, the need to protect it also increases. AIM offers a forum to discuss the technical and policy issues facing the world as a result of the exponential increase in data.
Current industry challenges
Advances with food track and trace using the GS1 Databar bar codes, radio frequency identification (RFID), and sensors, for instance, present an opportunity and a challenge for the industry to educate members and the retail community about the needed steps for a seamless adoption of this innovation.
As adoption of RFID has progressed, privacy has become a growing concern for policy makers and consumer advocacy groups around the world. AIM’s role as educator becomes even more critical in explaining to companies, consumers and legislators the value returned by the proper implementation of RFID.
As a leader in ensuring the safe and intelligent implementation of AIDC technologies, AIM has partnered with Georgia Tech and MET Labs to develop and validate testing protocols to ensure benign use of RF technology (RFID and WiFi) in healthcare-related applications.