AIM, the industry association and worldwide authority on bar code, RFID, RTLS and mobile computing, is honored to celebrate its 40th year of promoting and expanding the automatic identification and data capture industries. Recognized by national and international standards’ bodies for technical standards work that spans four decades, the Association continues to provide implementation guidance and education about automatic identification technology solutions.
After humble beginnings as a Special Interest Group (SIG) within Material Handling Institute (MHI) in the early 1970’s, AIM established its identity with focus areas of standards, education and global chapter development.
Highlights of the past four decades includes:
Standards
- Approval of AIM as an ANSI SDO and first publication of an AIM/ANSI Standard
- Development of the direct part marking (DPM) guideline
- Collaborations with Japan and China to produce QR Code and HanXin specifications
- TSC development in cooperation with GS1, Ohio University and others of the 2D Judge.
- ISO’s publication of AIM’s RFID Emblem, developed by RFID Experts Group
- Collaboration with GS1 to form SC31, and AIM’s approval as administrator of the US TAG to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31
“Every one of today’s ISO standards for a linear or 2D bar code symbology, with the sole exception of EAN/UPC, was initially developed and published as an AIM standard and only then was submitted to ISO for international adoption.
"AIM was also instrumental in developing the RFID Emblem, which was published as an international standard (ISO/IEC 29160) in 2012. The RFID Emblem provides a visible identification method for RFID transponders, interrogators, and tagged items, supporting consumer privacy protection,” said Rick Schuessler, AIM Board Member representing Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Education
The early 1980s saw the advent of Scan-Tech, a successful AIM-produced industry show that would attract thousands of vendors and attendees during its annual exhibition: the US show eventually led to exhibition development in Asia and the Netherlands
The QuickResponse event in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s in cooperation with VICs which directly served the retail industry’s growth in automatic identification solutions and EDI implementation
The long-standing Teacher’s Institute at Ohio University that has taught hundreds of professors from around the world on how to incorporate automatic identification curriculum in universities and colleges
Publication of the first RFID-centric electronic newsletter, RFID Connections
Establishment of annual AIM Industry awards recognizing the sizeable contributions of, and named after, Richard R. Dilling, Don Percival, Ted Williams, Allan Gilligan, and Bert Moore.
“With the first documented scanned bar code in 1974 at Marsh’s Supermarket, the value of automatic identification and data collection exploded across industries. For decades, AIM has been THE authority on innovations, standards, education, and networking in this market.
AIM delivers guidance, instruction and cutting edge solutions and their vital role should only intensify due to the increasing interest in enabling technologies that convert the physical to digital,” stated Will Strobel, Vice President Innovation & Technology with Zebra Technologies.
Chapter Development
Formation of AIM Europe in 1985, followed by AIM International in 1986
Establishment and support of active chapters in China, Germany, India, Netherlands, North America, and Russia.
“AIM continues to expand its industry leadership role by engaging the best and brightest minds the industry has to offer to solve some of the toughest identification challenges faced by companies worldwide,” stated Chuck Evanhoe, AIM board chairman.
“Over the years, individual AIM members, through the support of their companies, have contributed to the growth of automatic identification and data capture, and without AIM' impact, it is possible that bar code scanning would have taken much longer to become common-place at point-of-sale checkouts. We look forward to recognizing and thanking these leaders throughout the year, and concluding our year of celebration during our annual AIM Summit in September 2013.”
About AIM
For 40 years, AIM has served as the association and worldwide authority on automatic identification, data collection and networking in a mobile environment. AIM members are manufacturers, distributors, resellers and end-users of bar code, RFID, RTLS and mobile computing solutions. AIM is dedicated to accelerating the growth and use of Automatic Identification and Mobility technologies and services around the world.
