IEEE Technical Committee on RFID Charter

 

A. GENERAL

The IEEE Technical Committee on RFID (CRFID) is a Technical Committee (TC) of the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) and reports to the TAB Management Committee.

B. SCOPE

The IEEE Technical Committee on RFID (CRFID) coordinates the IEEE and Technical Activities Board (TAB) efforts on matters relating to RFID (radio frequency identification) and RFID-related systems.

RFID is an enabling technology that is an automatic identification method for retrieving and accessing data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. The basic RFID system includes tags, readers, and associated interfaces. Its applications include identification, tracking, asset management, security & verification, logistics, access control, location, and authentication.

C. FUNCTIONS

The functions of this committee may include, but are not limited to projects such as publications, public outreach via web-based and other media, conferences, educational tools, standards sponsoring and coordination, and broad regional/international communication of the mission. As per IEEE and Technical Activities governance documents, appropriate approvals for such projects/products will be sought.

Activities of CRFID are expected to reach across all IEEE communities, to include subject matter experts in the development and achievement of its functions, and to bring visibility to the entire IEEE community.

The CRFID is represented on TAB by its sponsoring S/Cs.

D. COMPOSITION

The governing body of the IEEE Technical Committee on RFID shall comprise the following:

VOTING MEMBERS:

• Chair
• Chair-Elect
• Past Chair
• Secretary/Treasurer
• Vice Chairs as follows:
  • One (1) individual from one of the sponsoring S/Cs to be responsible for conference activities
  • One (1) individual from one of the sponsoring S/Cs to be responsible for education activities
  • One (1) individual from one of the sponsoring S/Cs to be responsible for publications activities
  • One (1) individual from one of the sponsoring S/Cs to be responsible for standards activities
• Representatives (one each) from sponsoring S/Cs with RFID interest.

Chair:

The Chair shall call all regular and special meetings of the TC, and shall preside at all such meetings. He/she shall coordinate and supervise all activities of the TC and have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be provided in the Charter, or as may be delegated to him/her by vote of the TC. It shall be the duty of the Chair to see that the orders and resolutions of the TC, the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB), the IEEE Executive Committee and IEEE Board of Directors are carried out. The Chair shall have no vote on the TC except if the vote is by secret ballot or unless the Chair’s vote can change the outcome of the vote.

 

Chair-Elect:

The Chair-Elect shall assume the duties, have the powers, privileges, and responsibilities of the Chair during the latter’s absence. In the absence of a Chair-Elect, these powers, privileges, and responsibilities shall be assumed by the Past Chair.

 

Past Chair:

The duties of the Past Chair shall include those of all other voting members of the CRFID.  Additional duties shall include coordinating nominations. These duties will be performed by the Chair-Elect during the year when there is no Past Chair.

 

Secretary/Treasurer:

The Secretary/Treasurer shall notify the CRFID members and appropriate guests of the time, place and agenda of all meetings of the CRFID at least 10 days in advance of the meeting. At such meetings the Secretary/Treasurer shall record the names of those present and announce whether a quorum exists. The Secretary/Treasurer shall transmit in writing within ten (10) days of their adoption all motions, directives or orders of the CRFID. He/she shall transmit a true and faithful copy of the minutes of all CRFID meetings to the Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, Vice Chairs, and CRFID members and to the Secretary/Treasurer of the IEEE Technical Activities Board within thirty days of the meeting. As soon after January 1 as practicable he/she shall provide a directory listing the names, addresses, phone numbers and emails of current CRFID members. The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping the financial records of the CRFID, handling all financial transactions, preparing a Treasurer’s Report for each meeting, assisting with the annual budget and related duties.

 

Vice Chair, Conferences

The Vice Chair, Conferences shall provide direction for the conference activities of the TC, including providing

• Oversight for the TC’s conferences.
• Chair the Conferences Committee of the TC
• Direction for planning, coordinating, and monitoring the annual conferences of the TC and all conferences co-sponsored by or affiliated with the TC.

The Vice Chair, Conferences shall assist Conference Chairs in planning, coordinating monitoring and evaluating CRFID conferences, symposia and other technical meetings sponsored by the TC.  The Chair shall review conference budgets and technical plans and prepare its recommendation for approval by the TC.

The Vice-Chair of Conferences reports to the Chair of CRFID as requested.

Vice Chair, Education

The Vice Chair, Education shall provide direction for the educational activities of the TC, including providing oversight for the TC’s educational activities,  administration of the TC’s programs on continuing education, incorporating tutorials, short courses, lectures, distinguished lecturer program, etc. The Chair shall be responsible for the promotion and coordination of activities furthering the cause of education as it relates to the TC. These activities shall encompass both support of student educational activities and continuing education for IEEE membership. The Vice-Chair, Education shall report all activities to the Chair of CRFID as requested.

 

Vice Chair, Publications

The Vice Chair, Publications shall provide direction for the publications of the TC, including providing:

• Oversight for the TC’s publications.
• Direction for planning, coordinating, and monitoring the publications of the TC, and shall propose creation, cancellation, expansion, or contraction of Society publications.
• The Vice Chair shall chair the Publications Committee of the TC.
• All TC’s Editors-in Chief (EICs) shall report to the Vice Chair of Publications.
• Coordination for the EIC of each CRFID-sponsored publication considers matters such as the designation and development of special issues and recommendation for a change in the number of published pages.

• The Vice-Chair of Publications shall report all activities to the Chair of CRFID as requested.

Editors-in-Chief (EiCs) are appointed for 3-year terms by the Chair, with the consent of the TC. An EiC shall serve normally no more than two such three-year terms. EiCs of CRFID sponsored publications are Ex-Officio members of the TC without vote unless they already hold an elected position on the TC. EiCs are voting members of the TC Publications Committee.

 

Vice Chair, Standards

The Vice Chair, Standards shall provide direction for the Standard activities of the TC. The Vice Chair shall act as a liaison to the IEEE Standards Association from CRFID. As such, the Vice- Chair, Standards will be required to maintain IEEE SA membership.  The Vice Chair shall create the policies and procedures document governing Standards development of the TC. The Vice Chair shall report to the CRFID Chair the activities of the lower standards committees and ongoing project authorization requests (PAR). As the Liaison of the CRFID, the Vice-Chair is expected to execute the following tasks:

1) Each IEEE Project Authorization Request (PAR) submitted for approval. The liaison representative is expected to review each request to see if his or her organization has a substantial interest in the project.

2) Agenda for each IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting. This should be reviewed to determine if there is any item on the agenda of substantial interest to the organization. The liaison member should be present, if necessary, to support the interests of the organization.

3) Minutes of meetings of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. This shall include action taken on PARs and draft standards.

4) Notice of assignment of a standards project. When the IEEE-SA Standards Board, on its own initiative, agrees on the need for a standard, a request to develop the standard shall be sent to the liaison representative of the Society and/or the Standards Coordinating Committee (SCC) having primary interest in the subject. The liaison representative is expected to assign the project to the appropriate technical unit as Sponsor for the development of the standards project.

5) Status Reports. The liaison representative shall review any sections of the project reports that may be assigned to his or her organization and notify the Secretary/Treasurer of the IEEE-SA Standards Board of any corrections and revisions. The liaison representative should ensure that action is taken to revise all standards assigned to the Society within ten years of the date of approval. The liaison representative should monitor work being done on all standards projects and report any changes in the status of the standards to the Secretary/Treasurer of the IEEE-SA Standards Board; as per the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual.

The Vice Chair of Standards may attend the IEEE Standards Association board in place of the IEEE CRFID Standards Committee Chair, in his or her absence.  The CRFID Standards Chair will report to the Vice-Chair of Standards. The Vice Chair, Standards shall report all activities to the Chair of CRFID as requested.

NON-VOTING MEMBERS:

• One (1) individual from IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB)
• One (1) individual from IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board (MGA)
• One (1) individual from IEEE Publications Services and Products Board (PSPB)
• One (1) individual from IEEE Standards Association (IEEE – SA)
• One (1) individual from IEEE-USA Board

Individuals from the IEEE Boards and Standards Association will serve as liaisons to CRFID to be apprised of RFID initiatives and activities. They will be appointed by the respective boards with approval of the CRFID Chair.

• TAB Secretary (or designee)

E. IEEE MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

All voting members of the Committee shall be IEEE members of Graduate Student Member, Member, Senior Member or Fellow grade.

F. APPOINTMENTS AND TERMS OF OFFICE

VOTING MEMBERS

• The Chair and Chair-Elect shall be appointed by the Vice President Technical Activities.
• Chair shall serve a two (2) year term.
• With the exception of the initial Chair-Elect, who shall serve a two-year term; the term of office of the Chair-Elect shall be one-year.
• The Chair-Elect shall become Chair following his/her one year term as Chair-Elect.

• The Past Chair shall serve a one (1) year term. If there is no more recent past chair, the term may be extended until there is a more recent past chair.
  • Note:  The Chair shall serve a two-year term, the Chair-Elect shall serve a one-year term and the Past Chair shall serve a one-year term.  Therefore, in any year there is a Chair and EITHER a Chair-Elect or a Past Chair.
• The Secretary/Treasurer shall be appointed by the Chair for a two (2) year term, to run concurrently with the Chair’s term. The Secretary/Treasurer may be reappointed for one more term.
• Vice chairs will be appointed by the CRFID Chair from, if possible, the existing S/C Representatives. If a Vice Chair cannot be identified from one of the S/C representatives, an additional member from the member S/Cs will be identified and added to the TC.  The Vice Chairs will serve during the term of the appointing Chair. If deemed appropriate, Vice Chairs may be re-appointed for an additional term, but shall not serve more than four consecutive years as a Vice Chair.
• Representatives of supporting organizations will have two (2) year terms. They will be nominated by the supporting organizations and appointed by the Chair. If deemed appropriate by the supporting organizations and the Chair, terms of Representatives may be renewed but any individual shall not serve more than six (6) consecutive years as a Representative.
• All appointments made by the CRFID Chair will be affirmed by the Technical Activities Board at their regularly scheduled meetings.

NON-VOTING MEMBERS

• Individuals from the IEEE Educational Activities Board, IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board, IEEE Publications Services and Products Board, IEEE USA Board, and the IEEE Standards Association shall be appointed by the individual Boards and endorsed by the RFID Chair. The representatives will have a term of three (3) years. Board representatives may be appointed for one more term, not to exceed six (6) consecutive years.

G. VACANCIES

1. In the event of the incapacity or absence of the Chair, the Chair-Elect shall serve. In the event that no Chair-Elect is in office during the incapacity or absence of the Chair, the Past Chair shall serve. In the event that Chair, Chair-Elect or Past Chair are all unable to serve, the Vice President Technical Activities shall name a Chair pro tem from the voting members of the Committee until the Chair is able to actively resume his/her duties. If the position of Chair-Elect becomes vacant, the Vice President Technical Activities shall name a replacement to complete the original term of office.
2. If other vacancies occur, they will be filled using the methodology used to fill that position as noted in Section F.

H. COMMITTEES REPORTING TO THE IEEE COMMITTEE ON RFID

1. Standing Committees
   • Standing Committees may be formed under the Technical Committee, with oversight by the position of Vice Chair. Vice Chairs may create Standing Committees with the approval of the TC. Standing committees shall not have the ability to make policy. Nor shall any Standing Committee have the ability to commit resources without express approval of the (CRFID) Technical Committee governing body.

A.)  Conferences Committee – The Vice-Chair, Conferences shall chair the committee and include the two past conference and program chairs, the present conference and program chairs, and the duly appointed conference and program chairs of future conferences. Additional members may be nominated by the TC Chair.  On the basis of its findings, the committee shall recommend to the TC actions intended to enhance the effectiveness of subsequent conferences.

B.)  Education Committee – The Vice-Chair, Education shall chair the committee. The committee shall be responsible for the promotion and coordination of activities furthering the cause of education as it relates to the TC. These activities shall encompass both support of student educational activities, distinguished lecturer program and continuing education for IEEE CRFID membership. The Committee shall obtain all necessary IEEE approvals to implement each activity.  Members may include representatives from the conferences and publications subcommittees. The composition should be drawn from the academic, industrial, and government communities.

C.)  Publications Committee – The Vice-Chair, Publications shall chair the committee. The Publications Committee shall meet regularly to consider matters such as the designation and development of special issues, and recommendations for changes in the number of published pages. The Publications committee shall have among its voting members at least three (3) elected TC representatives who are not Editors-in-Chief, The Chair of the committee may appoint additional voting members who are not TC representatives, but must be members of the respective CRFID’s member societies. All CRFID EiCs are full voting members of the Publications Committee. Publications undertaken by the TC shall be subject to IEEE policies and to any further guidance or controls prescribed by the TC. The TC shall be responsible for the financial aspects of its publication program.

D.)  Standards Committee – The Vice-Chair, Standards chairs this committee. The committee is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the development of standards impacting RFID and the TC. The Standards Committee will provide oversight of the CRFID S/C Standards Committee as per the IEEE SA Operations Manual. The CRFID S/C Standards Committee will be responsible for reviewing and  generating new project authorization requests (PAR) relating to the fields of RFID, NFC, Energy harvesting, and related technologies. The Standards Committee, with the guidance of the TC, will continue promotion and coordination of activities furthering the causes of RFID related standards as it relates to the TC.

2. Ad Hoc Committees
   • The Vice President – Technical Activities, at the request of the (CRFID) Technical Committee Chair, may name an ad hoc committee to address specific activities or projects. However, Ad Hoc Committees shall not have the ability to make policy. Nor shall any Ad Hoc Committee have the ability to commit resources without express approval of the (CRFID) Technical Committee governing body.

I. MEETINGS

1. Meetings may be called by the CRFID Chair with notice of a minimum of 14 days to all voting and non-voting committee members. Emergency meetings may be called by written request of any four voting members of the committee.
2. In order to facilitate the business of the CRFID, electronic mail, teleconference or other non face-to-face means may be utilized for the transaction of business and for the conduct of interim meetings as called by the Chair, provided that the mode selected does not exclude participation by any committee member.
   • The vote of a majority of the votes of the members present and entitled to vote, at the time of vote, provided a quorum is present, shall be the act of the CRFID governing body or any committee thereof.
   • The CRFID governing body or any committee thereof may meet and act upon the vote of its members by any means of telecommunication. The normal voting requirements shall apply when action is taken by means of telecommunications equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.
   • The CRFID governing body or any committee thereof may take action without a meeting if applicable (e.g., email voting). An affirmative vote of a majority of all the voting members of the governing body or any committee thereof shall be required to approve the action. The results of the vote shall be confirmed promptly in writing or by electronic transmission. The writings and/or electronic transmissions shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the governing body or any committee thereof. “Electronic transmission” means any form of electronic communication, such as e-mail, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient.
   • Voting. Individuals holding more than one position on the governing body or any committee thereof shall be limited to one vote on each matter being considered by that particular body.
   • Proxy voting is not allowed.
3. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the CRFID in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the TAB Operations Manual and the Bylaws of the IEEE or any special rules of order the Committee may adopt.
4. The CRFID Chair shall have no vote except if the vote is by secret ballot or unless the Chair’s vote can change the outcome of the vote.
5. A majority of the voting members of the CRFID governing body shall constitute a quorum.
6. The business of the Standing CRFID Committees and ad hoc committees shall normally be accomplished by electronic mail, phone, FAX, virtual community, etc.

J. REPORTS

The CRFID Chair shall provide a written report in format defined by the TAB Management Committee to the TAB Management Committee (TMC) and the TAB Finance Committee (TAB FinCom) prior to the October TMC and TAB FinCom meeting, outlining the progress of committee activities. TMC and TAB FinCom will review the TC annually.

K. FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

1. Financial
   • The TC will have a separate budget cost center within the TAB budget. The TC will not have reserves, but its surplus and expenses will be part of the TAB budget.
   • CRFID shall derive financial support from a number of sources, including but not limited to: Society/Council member fees, CRFID products; grants from IEEE OUs or sub units; initiative support from IEEE; in-kind donations; grants, contracts or contributions from government or non-governmental organizations; income generated from products, services and activities; grants and contributions from private foundations or other private sources.
   • Funds derived from grants, whether public or private, shall be reported to the IEEE Grants Office. The IEEE Grants Office will provide assistance in fulfillment of obligations of the grant. Funds derived from these grants shall be invested through IEEE.
   • The CRFID Treasurer shall have the responsibility to account for CRFID funds while maintaining its budget.
2. Administrative
   • The Committee shall provide for its own administrative support except as noted above in this section.
   • After the initial three years, the TC will prepare a business plan for its ongoing existence and present to TAB FinCom and TMC. TAB FinCom will make a fiscal endorsement recommendation to TMC. TMC shall make a recommendation to TAB for approval of the business plan and decision regarding the ongoing existence of the TC.

L. CHANGES TO CHARTER

This TC Charter must be approved and included in the TAB Operations Manual. Changes to this Charter must conform to IEEE governing documents, approved by the IEEE Governing Committee, and shall be approved by TAB.

Updated:  November 2013