POXO is building the RFID and edge-data layer for India's tractor–trailer interchangeability mandate — trailer tags designed to IS 16722, tractor-mounted readers, and an edge gateway that pairs GPS and RFID reads into auditable coupling events. Now taking design partners.
POXO is building the RFID and edge-data layer for India's tractor–trailer interchangeability mandate — trailer tags designed to IS 16722, tractor-mounted readers, and an edge gateway that pairs GPS and RFID reads into auditable coupling events. Now taking design partners.
India's heavy haulage sector is moving from paper-based trailer records to electronic tractor–trailer pairing. Under MoRTH's draft amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, haulage tractors in the N2 and N3 categories are to carry an AIS-140 vehicle location tracking device integrated with an RFID transceiver, and trailers in the T3 and T4 categories are to carry passive RFID tags conforming to IS 16722:2018 — so that the combination on the road can be identified electronically rather than inferred from documents. POXO supplies the RFID and edge-data half of that stack. We provide the trailer tags and the engineered layout that makes them readable through a steel fifth-wheel environment, the tractor-mounted reader, and an edge gateway that combines RFID reads with the position feed from your existing GPS or VLTD unit, generates coupling and uncoupling events, logs them through connectivity dead zones, and syncs them to your backend. The edge device is our own hardware, built and maintained in-house. We do not build VLTD or EDR units — we integrate with the certified devices you already run, which keeps your telematics choice open and your compliance evidence in one place. This solution is in active development ahead of the mandate dates, and we are currently taking design partners for pilot deployments rather than shipping at volume.
Passive UHF RFID tags are fitted to each trailer to an engineered layout, so a coupled trailer can be identified electronically without any driver action.
A tractor-mounted RFID reader covers the fifth-wheel zone, polling for trailer tags whenever a coupling occurs.
The POXO edge gateway takes the RFID reads and the position feed from your existing AIS-140 GPS/VLTD unit and combines them into one event.
Each coupling produces a timestamped record — tractor ID, trailer ID, position, and event type — with uncoupling and tag-loss handled explicitly.
Events are logged locally and forwarded when connectivity returns, so weak coverage on remote routes does not create gaps in the record.
Records sync to your TMS, ERP, or compliance platform over API, building an auditable history of which trailer ran behind which tractor, and when.
A fitted tag proves nothing on its own. The value is the event log that shows which trailer was coupled where and when, ready for an audit or a dispute.
The gateway and logger are POXO-built, so the event model, storage behaviour, and integrations can be changed to fit your fleet rather than waiting on a third party's roadmap.
Dust, heat, vibration, and patchy cellular coverage are design inputs, not edge cases — the edge device assumes the link will drop and is built to survive it.
India’s heavy haulage sector is being asked to prove something it has never had to prove electronically: which trailer was coupled to which tractor, and when.
MoRTH’s amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules move tractor–trailer identification from paperwork to a live electronic record — an AIS-140 tracking device on the tractor with an integrated RFID transceiver, and passive RFID tags on the trailer. POXO builds the RFID and edge-data half of that stack, and integrates with the telematics you already run.
The edge device is POXO hardware, designed and built in-house — it is the piece that turns two separate data feeds into a single defensible record. We do not build AIS-140 VLTD or AIS-220 EDR units; those stay with the device makers you already buy from, and vehicle-level type approval stays with the tractor and trailer manufacturers.
That scope is deliberate. Most fleets already run telematics, often partial and from several vendors, and replacing certified devices to satisfy a new rule is the slowest and most expensive route to compliance. Adding the RFID and pairing layer alongside what is already fitted is faster, and keeps your telematics choice open.
MoRTH’s notification inserts new sub-rules under CMVR Rule 125H and modifies Rule 125D, mandating VLTD, RFID and EDR fitment for haulage combinations. Scope covers haulage tractors of categories N2 and N3 — agricultural tractors excluded — and trailers of categories T3 and T4.
| Milestone | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 | AIS-140 VLTD on haulage tractors, integrated with an RFID transceiver conforming to IS 16722:2018, able to read coupled-trailer tags and transmit to the backend. Passive RFID tags on all T3/T4 trailers. |
| 1 April 2027 | AIS-220 Event Data Recorder on haulage tractors. 13-pin connectors per IS 9895 / ISO 12098. Fifth-wheel coupling to updated IS 8007. |
IS 16722:2018 is the standard that matters most for the trailer side. It is the BIS specification for RFID in automotive applications — frequency bands, data structures, anti-collision behaviour, and tag and reader performance — and it is what makes tractor–trailer pairing work across operators and states instead of being proprietary to one vendor. A trailer tagged to the standard reads against any compliant tractor it is coupled to.
The tractor is a straightforward install: powered, serviced on a schedule, already carrying telematics. The trailer is not. It has no power of its own, it moves between tractors and operators, it lives outdoors, and the read has to happen around a large steel fifth-wheel plate while the vehicle is reversing into position.
Tag layout, not tag selection, decides whether the system works. Large metal surfaces detune and reflect UHF signals — a tag that reads perfectly on a bench can be unreadable once bolted to a chassis rail. Engineering a deployment covers:
The gateway sits on the tractor and does four things:
Indian trunk routes have long stretches with poor cellular coverage. A system that reports only in real time produces a record with holes in it, and a record with holes is not evidence.
Fleet and logistics operators — cement, steel, containers, bulk commodities, mining — retrofitting mixed fleets ahead of the deadlines without discarding telematics already fitted.
Trailer manufacturers — factory tag fitment with a validated layout per trailer model, tag serialisation, and installation documentation.
Vehicle OEMs — RFID reader and edge integration on the tractor alongside the VLTD, with read-validation evidence for the RFID portion.
3PLs and aggregators — interchange and compliance records for shippers and insurers across a subcontracted fleet.
Read reliability in a coupling environment is the largest technical risk in this deployment, which is why the pilot comes before scale. A layout problem is far cheaper to find on five trailers than on five hundred.
Electronic pairing records earn their keep outside the mandate. Once you know which trailer ran behind which tractor and for how long, you can see trailer utilisation and idle assets, yard dwell and detention exposure, interchange disputes settled with a record rather than a phone call, and unauthorised movements that previously went unnoticed.
The same reader and tag infrastructure extends into yard management, asset tracking, and vehicle access control at your own gates.
This solution is in active development ahead of the 2026–2027 mandate dates. The trailer tags and edge device are designed to conform to IS 16722:2018; conformance testing with a designated test agency is on our roadmap, and we do not hold that certification today.
Tag layout has to be engineered against real trailer types and proven on real couplings. Fleets and manufacturers that engage now get their own trailer geometry designed into the system rather than working around assumptions made for someone else.
A design partner engagement includes a tag layout engineered for your trailer types, a pilot on a representative slice of your fleet, integration validated against the VLTD units you already run, and direct input into the event model and reporting before it is fixed.
Talk to our team about joining the design partner programme.
No — we do not build VLTD or EDR units, and we integrate with the ones you already run rather than replacing them. What we do build is the POXO edge device: our own gateway and on-vehicle logger that takes the position feed from your AIS-140 GPS or VLTD unit, combines it with RFID reads, constructs the pairing event, and stores it locally before syncing. That device and the RFID layer around it — trailer tags, tractor-mounted readers, tag layout engineering — are ours. Your certified telematics stays as it is.
Not yet. The trailer tags and edge device are designed to conform to IS 16722:2018, and conformance testing with a designated test agency is on our roadmap ahead of the mandate dates. We are currently running design partner pilots rather than shipping at volume, which means fleets and manufacturers engaging now get their own trailer types engineered into the system.
That is the design intent. Fleets typically have partial or mixed telematics already fitted, and replacing certified devices is expensive and slow. Our edge device is built to take the feed from the GPS or VLTD unit already on the tractor, so the RFID and pairing layer is added alongside it rather than in place of it. Integration is confirmed per device during the pilot.
The MoRTH draft covers haulage tractors of categories N2 and N3, excluding agricultural tractors, and trailers of categories T3 and T4. Tractors are to carry an AIS-140 VLTD integrated with an IS 16722 RFID transceiver; trailers are to carry passive RFID tags to the same standard. Scope for a specific fleet depends on how its tractors and trailers are categorised, which is part of the assessment we run at the start of a deployment.
The draft sets two milestones: VLTD with integrated RFID on haulage tractors and passive RFID tags on trailers from 1 October 2026, and AIS-220 Event Data Recorders on haulage tractors, together with 13-pin connector and updated fifth-wheel coupling requirements, from 1 April 2027. Fitment, tag layout, and integration work all sit ahead of those dates, so planning typically starts a full cycle earlier.
A coupling area is one of the harder RF environments there is — large metal surfaces, movement, dust, and vibration. This is why tag layout matters more than tag choice. We engineer the tag positions, mounting, and reader antenna orientation for the trailer types in your fleet, then validate read reliability during the pilot across coupling, uncoupling, and repeated interchange before scaling.
Both are treated as normal operating conditions rather than exceptions. Unreadable or missing tags raise a flagged event instead of silently producing no record, so the gap is visible. Connectivity loss triggers local buffering, with events forwarded once the link returns, preserving the original timestamps and positions.
Approval splits by who builds what. Vehicle-level type approval for a tractor or trailer sits with the vehicle or trailer manufacturer. Component approval sits with whoever manufactures each component — for the POXO edge device and our RFID hardware, that is us, and pursuing that approval is on our roadmap. For the AIS-140 VLTD and the AIS-220 EDR, it sits with those device makers, since we do not build either. Alongside our own component work we provide the RFID installation design, tag serialisation and data records, and read-validation evidence that supports your vehicle-level documentation.
Trailer tagging and pairing records deliver operational value independently of the mandate — trailer utilisation, yard dwell, interchange disputes, and pilferage all improve once you know which trailer ran behind which tractor. Starting with a pilot fleet lets you prove read reliability and integration now, so scaling later is a rollout rather than a redesign.
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