IUID

Item Unique Identification is a system of establishing globally ubiquitous unique identifiers within the United States Department of Defense, which serves to distinguish a discrete entity or relationship from other like and unlike entities or relationships. Tangible items are marked with a unique identifier in the form of a character string, number or sequence of bits assigned to a discrete entity or its associated attribute which serves to uniquely distinguish it from other like and unlike entities. Each unique identifier has only one occurrence within its defined scope of use.

IUID is physically marked on tangible assets using a 2D data matrix in the format of ISO 15434.

Policy

Department of Defense Instruction 5000.64 mandates that the following tangible items are marked with an item unique identifier:
* Items with an acquisition cost of over $5,000
* Items that are currently serially managed
* Items that are sensitive or classified
* Property that is furnished to third parties, particularly U.S. Government contractors

Terminology

The term UID is commonly used for different things, and thus can be a source of confusion. Generally, "The UID" refers to the physical mark on the asset or the UID Label.

The square 2D Data Matrix symbol marked on the item contains data compression, redundancy, and additional information to aid in decoding. This information can be translated by a MRI device (per ISO-15343) and concatenated into a human-readable string of 50 characters or less per MIL-STD-130N. (Note that this limit was previously 78 characters in MIL-STD-130M, superseded in December 2007.) The human-readable concatenated UII (Unique Item Identifier) is properly referred to as the IUII or "Individual Unique Item Identifier". The IUII provides a high probability of being globally unique, regardless of context.

The U.S. Federal Government maintains an IUID Registry data system to store records for all assets delivered to the government or in the custody of contractors that have UID marks or have been assigned an IUID in anticipation of future possible UID marking.

UID enumeration

The following enumeration constructs are approved:
*UID Construct 1, composed of Issuing Agency Code, an Enterprise Identifier, and a Serial Number unique within the Enterprise
*UID Construct 2, composed of Issuing Agency Code, an Enterprise Identifier, a Part Number or Batch/Lot Code, and a Serial Number (unique within the Part Number)
*Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
*Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI)
*Global Individual Asset Identifier (GIAI)
*Electronic Serial Number (ESN), typically assigned to cell phones

External links

* [https://www.bpn.gov/iuid/ The IUID Government Data Repository Website] - Official Database for all Federal Government IUID records
* [http://www.SAIC.com SAIC] - Federal UID Solutions by Science Applications International Corporation
* [http://www.aimglobal.org AIM Global] - Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility
* [http://www.aim-na.org AIM NA ] - Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility North America
* [http://www.uidlabel.com/ UID Label & Beyond] - Durable UID Labels, Information and Ordering
* [http://www.i-guides.com/public/index.aspx Lockheed Martin] - IUID Information and Solutions by Lockheed Martin
* [http://www.theforceinc.com The Force, Inc.] - UID Selection Process and Services
* [http://www.infinidtech.com/ InfinID Technology's] - UID Software and Implementation
* [http://www.uidsolutions.com/ A2B Tracking Solutions] - IUID Data Management Solutions and Services
* [http://www.easyuid.com/ Rabeti Companies] - Information on UID Labels
* [http://www.uidjournal.com/ UID Journal] - Unique Item Identification Information and Updates
* [http://DoD-IUID.com.com Microscan's] - Industry support site for IUID
* [http://uidsupport.com SIEMENS] - Industry support site for UID
* [http://www.epicdata.com/uid/uid-dictionary.php Epic Data's] - UID Dictionary
* [http://www.TechSoln.com Technology Solutions'] - UID Architect
* [http://www.id-integration.com/ UID Marking ] Premier UID Marking Service