A baggage handling system with high-memory RFID tags at Danish Airports
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Aalborg Airport, located in northern Jutland, Denmark, no longer uses RFID tags to replace the traditional barcode baggage handling system. The luggage tag high memory inlay that complies with the IATA 740c specification stores all the information needed for the correct diversion of the luggage. This system was officially launched yesterday.
The airport stated that the reason for using high-memory passive EPC Gen 2 RFID tags is because the airport wants to implement the most advanced technology, and the price difference between high-memory tags and ordinary tags is very small. “We want to prepare for future applications,” said S?ren Svendsen, CEO of Aalborg Airport.
Lyngsoe Systems, an RFID baggage handling system integrator, undertook this project. Project director Keld A. Christensen said that Aalborg calculated that RFID luggage tags are 10 cents more expensive than barcode luggage tags, of which 2 cents are dedicated to the 512-byte user memory of the payment tag instead of the standard 96-byte storage EPC code.
Aalborg luggage tag with 512-byte EPC Gen 2 RFID inlay
Except the tag ID code, flight number and date, and route information are all stored in the RFID inlay. Due to the high memory of RFID inlays, Christensen said that the airport can also write other information, such as passenger names, to the tags.
Aalborg is the third largest airport in Denmark, with 1.2 million passengers per year and 30 flights per day. The airport is expected to require 250,000 RFID tags each year (many passengers are traveling domestically and have no luggage).
Six months ago, the airport planned to implement a new baggage system to accommodate the increase in passenger flow. At the same time, Lyngsoe happened to cooperate with the airport on a non-RFID project, and the two companies discussed the possibility of implementing a new RFID baggage system.
Aalborg airport decided to purchase Lyngsoe’s RFID system and Crisplant’s new baggage handling system. Lyngsoe implemented this system in January 2010, and by May completed the establishment of infrastructure such as 20 Intermec PF2i RFID luggage tag printers and readers. Since Lyngsoe has implemented similar systems in other airports around the world, such as Lisbon, the amount of testing of the new system at Aalborg Airport is very small. All flights in and out of Aalborg Airport require this new system, and the airport provides them with PF2i printers.
For airport employees and passengers, the baggage handling process has not changed. The staff affixed luggage tags with common shapes to the luggage, although each tag was embedded with an RFID inlay.
Luggage tags are provided by RFID tag packagers George Schmitt & Co and Bartsch International GmbH, using RFID inlays produced by Alien Technology or UPM Raflatac.
When passengers register a baggage, the staff sticks a baggage tag on the baggage handle and puts the baggage on the conveyor belt. The automatic baggage system transfers it to the Lee Hall. When it flows through the only entrance of the luggage hall, the tag is read for the first time. The system records that the luggage has entered the hall, and the camera at the entrance takes pictures of the luggage. The photos correspond to the information stored on the tag in a database.
If the security inspector detects dangerous items through the baggage scanner, the photos of the baggage and the RFID tag information will be displayed on the computer screen. If the safety alarm is not triggered, the baggage continues along the conveyor belt to the diversion point.
The system then uses the tag information to sort the bags. According to Lyngsoe, the system’s workflow is the first in the world. Most other RFID baggage systems, the company claims, store baggage-related flight information in a database, corresponding to the unique ID code of the tag, which requires additional IT infrastructure to obtain more information.
After the tag is read for the second time, the luggage is sent to one of the 12 chutes based on the passenger’s destination system. There, the luggage was taken to the runway and loaded onto the plane.
The airport has dismantled its barcode scanning facilities and now only relies on RFID systems for bag sorting. RFID is more advanced than barcodes, Svendsen says, with a higher reading rate-over 99%. Moreover, Christensen claims that bar code readers are at least three times more expensive than RFID access and require more maintenance.
Airport baggage handlers are very satisfied with this new system, Svendsen said, because it handles more baggage for sorting than the previous barcode system.
Aalborg Airport has invested a total of US$246,000, including RFID hardware, software and integrated services, as well as sorting and distribution systems.
The RFID entrances and exits installed by Lyngsoe can read baggage tags in all directions, and 8 readers are installed at each entrance and exit. On both sides of the conveyor belt, triangular metal brackets support the reader. Two readers are installed on each side of the entrance and exit, two are installed above the conveyor belt, and two are installed below the conveyor belt. The readers below are encapsulated in a plastic-like material to prevent them from being damaged.
Svendsen said that he is very satisfied with the new baggage system and hopes that other airports will also adopt RFID tags to make RFID tags more widely used.
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