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The Chasm Between RFID Standards and Implementation
Tag Memory Banks—MB01 and MB11
By Paul Wilson
The RFID tag being discussed is one that complies with the ISO/IEC 18000-6C / EPCglobal UHF Gen 2 air interface protocol. Such tags have four memory banks, two of which store a user's data on the tag. These two locations are technically referred to as memory banks 01 and 11, often abbreviated as MB01 and MB11 (pronounced "em bee zero one" and "em bee one one"). The size of MB01 is usually very limited; its sole purpose is to contain the name by which the tag (as well as the item to which it is associated) is known. MB11's capacity is generally much larger, and is the place where all additional user-defined data will be stored.
Memory Bank 01—The "Name"
Memory Bank 01 contains the information referred to as the Unique Item Identification (UII) number. This piece of data is created at the time that the tag is placed onto an item, and can be thought of as that item's birth record, or name. This name must be unique in the world. This uniqueness is one of the desirable features of RFID technology, and is assured if one correctly follows the published standards. Once this UII has been created and written into MB01, there is great benefit in locking this data to prevent future changes. Locking the UII data in MB01 will not affect user data that may be written into MB11.
The organization that places a tag onto an item has the responsibility of creating the UII and ensuring that it is a unique name. Various standards organizations have defined rules for not only creating the name, but making it unique in the world—if the rules are strictly followed.
Memory Bank 11—The "Data"
Memory Bank 11 is also called the user data memory bank, and the information it contains will be referred to here simply as the data. As is possible for any -6C memory bank (that isn't locked), information placed into this memory location can be written, read and rewritten. There are a number of methods available for encoding and decoding the data bits comprising the information placed into MB11. A straightforward method that is most easily understood by many is described in the accompanying article. This method is recommended because of its simplicity, and is the only method described in detail. However, other methods for encoding data are available, and are listed in the B-11 document. Hardware or software vendors may employ any and all of those methods, which should all be compatible and interchangeable.
As declared by the AIAG B-11 standard, all of the data stored within MB11 must include a data identifier for each data item. Internationally accepted data identifiers can be found on a list maintained by AutoID.org (click here to view the list).
Should the need arise for a new data identifier, the MH10.8.2 document found at the above link contains a request form and procedure for creating a new data identifier to meet the needs indicated by the requestor. Using these published data identifiers will enable reader and software vendors to create applications that can read tag data and decipher its meaning. This is absolutely necessary for true open-loop RFID applications.
Paul Wilson is an engineer for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC.
By Paul Wilson
The RFID tag being discussed is one that complies with the ISO/IEC 18000-6C / EPCglobal UHF Gen 2 air interface protocol. Such tags have four memory banks, two of which store a user's data on the tag. These two locations are technically referred to as memory banks 01 and 11, often abbreviated as MB01 and MB11 (pronounced "em bee zero one" and "em bee one one"). The size of MB01 is usually very limited; its sole purpose is to contain the name by which the tag (as well as the item to which it is associated) is known. MB11's capacity is generally much larger, and is the place where all additional user-defined data will be stored.
Memory Bank 01—The "Name"
Memory Bank 01 contains the information referred to as the Unique Item Identification (UII) number. This piece of data is created at the time that the tag is placed onto an item, and can be thought of as that item's birth record, or name. This name must be unique in the world. This uniqueness is one of the desirable features of RFID technology, and is assured if one correctly follows the published standards. Once this UII has been created and written into MB01, there is great benefit in locking this data to prevent future changes. Locking the UII data in MB01 will not affect user data that may be written into MB11.
The organization that places a tag onto an item has the responsibility of creating the UII and ensuring that it is a unique name. Various standards organizations have defined rules for not only creating the name, but making it unique in the world—if the rules are strictly followed.
Memory Bank 11—The "Data"
Memory Bank 11 is also called the user data memory bank, and the information it contains will be referred to here simply as the data. As is possible for any -6C memory bank (that isn't locked), information placed into this memory location can be written, read and rewritten. There are a number of methods available for encoding and decoding the data bits comprising the information placed into MB11. A straightforward method that is most easily understood by many is described in the accompanying article. This method is recommended because of its simplicity, and is the only method described in detail. However, other methods for encoding data are available, and are listed in the B-11 document. Hardware or software vendors may employ any and all of those methods, which should all be compatible and interchangeable.
As declared by the AIAG B-11 standard, all of the data stored within MB11 must include a data identifier for each data item. Internationally accepted data identifiers can be found on a list maintained by AutoID.org (click here to view the list).
Should the need arise for a new data identifier, the MH10.8.2 document found at the above link contains a request form and procedure for creating a new data identifier to meet the needs indicated by the requestor. Using these published data identifiers will enable reader and software vendors to create applications that can read tag data and decipher its meaning. This is absolutely necessary for true open-loop RFID applications.
Paul Wilson is an engineer for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC.
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