Tire Troubles Give Way To Radio Frequency Tracking

Already proposed for the tracking of hazardous material shipments and disposal, Radio Frequency Identification tracking (RFID) is soon to be used by the major automobile tire manufacturers to provide an early warning system of defects and better target potential recalls. Installed into new tires will be a small metal tag, or strip, that contains a memory chip and a radio frequency transmitter that can be read at up to 6 feet away. The chip will be programmed with manufacturing identification information that will link directly to a specific vehicle. In the event of a tire recall, it would be easy to target a specific vehicle rather then make a blanket recall. In a similar application, installation of RFID tags for hazardous material shipments would finally allow for the tracking of specific packaging performance, provide accurate incident reporting information and ultimately verify compliant delivery, disposal or burial of dangerous goods.