Frequent Flyer RFID Baggage Tags

AmericanEagle RFID Implementation

American Eagle Airlines selects I.D. Systems’ AvRamp Wireless Vehicle Management System to optimize the use of its aircraft ground support equipment at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. ...

... "The AvRamp system - which was developed in part through funding from the Transportation Security Administration, and which is TSA- and FAA-approved for use at U.S. Airports - provides a wide range of safety, security and operational management functions for airport vehicles, including: an automatic, on-vehicle driver authentication system to reinforce safety training requirements and secure equipment that has direct access to passenger aircraft. " ...

Via ID Systems: American Eagle Vehicle Management System

United Airlines RFID Baggage Tags for Frequent Flyers

Airport RFID Trials Include Heathrow

Emirates Airline will invest in RFID technology trials at three airports: London Heathrow, Dubai International and Hong Kong International. The pilots will integrate RFID tags into the tracking of baggage in order to validate its effectiveness compared to barcoding and position the airline with a scalable solution for the future, where baggage volume is expected to increase. ...

... "Emirates will be investing close to AED 2 million, to test the effectiveness and benefits of RFID against the existing barcode tracking system. The largest-ever trial of its kind for the airline industry, some half a million bags on Emirates flights will be tagged with RFID chips over the 6-month duration of the trial.

The Dubai-based airline hopes its investment will help revolutionise the way bags are tracked and monitored, and present innovative solutions to handle the increasing volumes of baggage every year as more people around the world use air travel more frequently.

With 58 of the double-decked A380 aircraft entering Emirates' service, each doubling the number of bags handled per aircraft, the airline is keen to find innovative technologies and new ways to improve baggage handling infrastructure and safeguard the level of trust of its customers.

RFID equipment has been installed at some of Emirates' check-in desks at the three participating airports. During the trial, trained staff will apply tags containing RFID chips to bags as part of the normal check-in process. The chips contain stored information including the bag unique ID number and route. In addition to the embedded RFID chips, these tags will also continue to display the traditional bar code.

The chips are read as they pass through the airport's baggage system, enabling effective sorting, security screening and delivery to the aircraft. Arriving bags are read on entry to the baggage system and receipted into the system for effective tracking. Essentially, the chips will enable bags to be tracked at every stage of their journey, and minimise the possibilities for mishandling baggage. " ...

Via Emirates Airline: RFID TRIALS AT THREE AIRPORTS

RFID Roles in Airport Security and Efficiency

Vuance case study illustrates the use of RFID solution in a green-field airport design, from security to administrative roles. ...

... "Finally, to provide complete accuracy when logging aircraft as they land and depart, increase productivity, PGD Airfield readers can now read the RFID information issued to each aircraft and pilot, even when they are traveling at 200+ miles per hour on a night of poor visibility. " ...

Via Vuance: Airport RFID Solutions. PDF

RFID Inlays Enable Airline Baggage Management in Asia

Korea Airports Corporation will use 350,000 baggage tags, Rabbit RFID inlays from UPM Raflatac, to manage its airline baggage tracking. ...

... "By using RFID technology, Korea Airports Corporation seeks to improve its logistics efficiency and reduce the number of lost or damaged baggage. The RFID implementation project has a budget of USD 3.3 million being the biggest South Korean government supported RFID project this year. In addition to the RFID inlays, the infrastructure will cover 98 fixed readers and 85 printers at Asiana Airline's airports including Gimpo, Korea and Haneda, Japan. " ...

Via UPM Raflatac: Korea Airports Corporation selects UPM Raflatac's RFID inlays for airline baggage tracking

Alien RFID Safety Act Designation

Alien Technology's products and services have been designated as Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technologies under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002 for airports baggage and cargo handling systems. ...

... "Baggage and cargo handling systems utilizing Alien products and services have been installed at airports around the world in order to help defend the global air transportation system against a wide range of terrorist threats. These implementations provide enhanced security to the handling and transportation of materials, baggage and other cargo. " ...

Via Alien Technology: RFID Implementations for Airline Industry Awarded Liability Protections from U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Heathrow RFID Pilot

BAA plans RFID pilot at Heathrow to create efficiencies in baggage handling. ...

... "RFID could save airports and airlines GBP400m a year in reduced baggage losses and replacement of existing messaging systems. " ...

Via VNUnet: Heathrow Trial

RFID Tag Airport Passengers ...

Airline passengers can be tagged with RFID technology to track their location throughout the airport. ...

... "The basic idea is that airports could be fitted with a network of combined panoramic cameras and RFID (radio frequency ID) tag readers, which would monitor the movements of people around the various terminal buildings. " ...

Via BBC: Air passengers could be tagged

RFID Baggage Management ...

Management of airline baggage using RFID technology is slow to achieve broad adoption. ...

... "The research company believes Asian and European airlines will be the first to start tracking bags, with their hard-up US counterparts hanging back from adopting RFID. " ...

Via Silicon.com: What happened to RFID's baggage-tracking boom? ...

RFID Phase Jitter Modulation Technology ...

Zebra licenses Magellan's PJM Phase Jitter Modulation technology to support its RFID produtct development. ...

... "Under the license agreement, Zebra has the right to develop and commercialize RFID reader modules and tags that incorporate Magellan's patented PJM technology. In 2006, Zebra plans on embedding the reader modules in its printer/encoder products to enable more efficient programming of smart labels and tags. Ratified in 2004, PJM is an HF RFID system specified in an existing global standard: ISO/IEC 18000-3 mode 2, RFID for Item Management. Because the technology is optimized for applications where many hundreds of tags are packed tightly or need to be read reliably in dynamic situations, it is an ideal solution for pharmaceutical e-Pedigree, document control, gaming and other applications." ...

RFID Phase Jitter Modulation Technology: Via Zebra Technologies: ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCES NEW RFID LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH MAGELLAN TECHNOLOGY ...

Magellan Technology Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia, is a technology developer, manufacturer and licensor of advanced read and write 13.56MHz RFID systems. Magellan designs and offers RFID chips, inlets and a complete reader portfolio (multi channel, multi antenna, tunnel, and tray readers) and all operating software. Magellan’s Phase Jitter Modulation (PJM) technology complies with the International Standard ISO/IEC 18000 Part 3 Mode 2. PJM is optimized for applications where many hundreds of tags are stacked tightly or need to be identified reliably in dynamic situations including pharmaceutical authentication, document control, jewelry tracking and gaming management. The technology is also optimized for conveyor fed applications where tags are presented in all orientations. Typical applications are in the airline baggage, postal and courier markets. Magellan develops and licenses its PJM technology world wide to interested parties including other manufacturers and system integrators.

RFID Next Steps: Virgin Atlantic Pilot ...

Virgin Atlantic plans next steps beyond RFID pilot ...

... "Virgin Atlantic is evaluating whether or not to extend the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to track plane parts, following a four-month trial of the technology. The airline has been using RFID to track high-value aircraft parts ... " ...

RFID Next Steps: Virgin Atlantic Pilot: Technology News: Virgin Atlantic Pilot Program Paves Way for RFID

RFID Airline Luggage Efficiency Enabler ...

SITA recommends RFID technology for luggage tracking ...

... "SITA is among those recommending that airlines or airports pay for Radio Frequency Identification technology. An RFID tag is automatically scanned by numerous stationary readers that record each movement a bag makes through the system. " ...

RFID Airline Luggage Efficiency Enabler: Via Lexington Herald-Leader: Low-tech bag tracing is due for an upgrade ...

Mishandled baggage costing $2.5 billion as air travel passenger numbers soar to two billion says SITA: "It recommends that markets where mishandled baggage is a problem would be better served by adopting technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging and bag reconciliation systems to track baggage at various points throughout the bag's journey. RFID means fewer bags have to be handled manually and improves security. A recent survey by SITA - in partnership with the Airports Council International and Airline Business magazine - found that RFID tags are being used for baggage handling in just 6% of airports surveyed but also identified an expectation that RFID tags will be used in 45% of airports by the end of 2009. SITA has developed an integrated, end-to-end baggage reconciliation system which combines RFID, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and highly redundant IP-based global links to ensure baggage gets to its destination with the minimum of fuss. "

CIO RFID Opinion ...

CIO shares opinion on RFID technology. ...

... "I'm not against RFID - we know that it can work really well. For example, in the technology used in the automatic Hong Kong Cross-Harbour Tunnel [toll] readers, it's fantastic. " ...

CIO RFID Opinion: Via Computerworld: Airline IT chief gives lowdown on business-IT interaction ...

RFID Airline Luggage: Low ROI?

Airlines are not aggressively investing in RFID given their financial situation. ...

... "Radio frequency tags, or RFID, could reduce the losses, but the airlines aren't really using that because of their financial situation, Cantrell said. Delta, which is operating under bankruptcy protection, tested RFID bag-tracking but put off using it in favor of technology projects which return value more quickly than RFID would, Black said. " ...

RFID Airline Luggage: Low ROI?: Via Statesman: Lost luggage lands in Alabama

Via Computerworld: Delta to Test RFID Tags on Luggage: "Delta will give RFID devices a trial run on selected flights from Jacksonville, Fla., to its headquarters hub in Atlanta. It said the 30-day test will involve the use of more than 40,000 disposable RFID tags that operate at 900 MHz and are being made by two vendors: Matrics Inc. in Columbia, Md., and SCS Corp. in San Diego. "

Delta Says RFID Devices Pass First Bag-Tag Test: "The success rate of the RFID technology was far better than the 80% to 85% accuracy rate that's typically provided by bar code scanners, according to officials at Delta and the IT vendors that took part in the test. Pat Rary, manager of baggage strategy at Atlanta-based Delta, said the trial run at the airport in Jacksonville, Fla., also met a key requirement: It was invisible to the airline's check-in agents and required no new training. "

Via Silicon.com: Delta promises end to lost luggage with RFID: "The company announced that it is to spend between $15m and $25m to roll out an RFID system across its American network. When the system is installed, it will be able to track bags from check-in, where RFID tags will be attached, until they are dropped off at the baggage carousel at the customer's destination. "

RFID Biometric ID System: Germany

RFID is converging with biometrics technology to create mobile identification capability. John Blau updates on progress of companies in Germany collaborating on an RFID biometric IDentification system for the airline industry. ...

RFID Biometric ID System: Germany: Via Computerworld: Airline biometric ID system gets a demo in Germany ...

... "The new passport, valid for 10 years, will include an embedded RFID (radio frequency identification) chip that will initially store a digital photo of the passport holder's face. Starting in March 2007, the holder's left and right index fingerprints will also be stored on the chip. " ...

RFID Baggage Tracking eServices

RFID Baggage Tracking eServices: SKYTEAM CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: Members Outline Goals for Remainder of 2005 and the Next Five Years

... "Even before IATA announced its Simplifying the Business proposal, SkyTeam members have been investing in e-Services to improve the passenger experience. With nearly half of the agreements between members already in place, SkyTeam will offer alliance-wide interline e-ticketing by the end of the year. The alliance is also exploring the future enhancement of individual carriers' kiosks for all alliance customers and the use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) in baggage tracking. " ...

SkyTeam is the global airline alliance partnering nine members, including Aeroméxico, Air France, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines. Through one of the world's most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its 343.6 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 15,000 daily flights covering all major destinations.

RFID Process Automation Airline Industry ...

RFID Process Automation Airline Industry: Magic's HERMES System Wins a One Million Dollar Deal in Frankfurt Airport ...

Magic creates business process automation for airline industry that is compatible with RFID, radio frequency identification, technology ...

... "SCOPE will enable FCS to leverage the advantages of mobile handheld terminals to track and manage cargo in real-time within the cargo terminal. SCOPE provides high levels of process automation and reduction of operational errors due to its utilisation of barcode (SCOPE is also ready for RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)). SCOPE will also allow FCS to employ proactive Service Level management of all shipments with its built-in warnings and automatic reminders to operational staff of carrier-specific requirements. " ...

Magic Software Enterprises, a subsidiary of Formula Systems (Nasdaq: FORTY), develops, markets and supports software development, deployment and integration technology that enables enterprises to accelerate the process of building and deploying applications that can be rapidly customized and integrated with existing systems. Magic technology, applications and professional services are available through a global network of subsidiaries, distributors and Magic solutions partners in approximately 50 countries.

RFID Baggage Tests

FAA ...

... "The agency also conducted two Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Baggage Tag trials, in conjunction with United and Continental Airlines. The tests provided critical operational performance information to support airline efforts to develop an international standard for RFID Baggage Tag use. " ...

Airport Airline RFID Applications Discussed in Panel Session at Upcoming Conference ...

Kiosk.com Conference Provide RFID Panel Session ...

... Interactive panel session, on RFID technology at airports and other applications of RFID in the airline industry, will be held at the upcoming KioskCom.com 2005 conference, which is scheduled for Monday, April 18 through Wednesday, April 20 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. ...

KioskCom.com(TM) is dedicated to providing practical, detailed information specific to the interactive self-service kiosk technology arena. KioskCom.com delivers dynamic, thought-provoking information through exhaustive research into the "best practices" of leading corporations and organizations. Each event designed by KioskCom.com is tailored to reflect the most up-to-date implementations, criteria and analysis in order to help organizations to successfully implement their interactive self service kiosk projects. KioskCom.com recognizes the value of face-to-face forums, and strives to make each conference a valuable learning experience, allowing attendees to receive a maximum return on investment.

Aviation RFID: FAA Pilots ...

From NASA ...

... "The agency also conducted two Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Baggage Tag trials, in conjunction with United and Continental Airlines. The tests provided critical operational performance information to support airline efforts to develop an international standard for RFID Baggage Tag use. " ...

The FAA continued a dynamic research and development program in support of its mission to provide a safe, secure, and efficient global aerospace system that contributes to national security and the promotion of U.S. aerospace safety.

Aviation RFID: Airline industry needs to back IT

From Computing, UK ... More of the industry needs to embrace technologies such as e-tickets, self-service kiosks, bar-coded boarding passes and RFID baggage tags. ...

RFID Smart Card: Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) Adds Another Application ...

From PR Newswire (press release) ... Eligible airline employees received an OTI contactless RFID microprocessor-based smart identification card encrypted to activate a discounted fare structure ...

Airline RFID: Airlines commit to 100% e-ticketing by 2007

From m-Travel.com ... lead. The others include common-use self-service check-in kiosks, bar codes and Radio Frequency Baggage Tag Identification (RFID). ...

Airline RFID: Getting RFID Into The Skies

From Information Week ... At this week's Global Aviation RFID Forum in Atlanta, FedEx and Delta Air Lines said they're planning to begin additional RFID pilot tests next month, while ...

Sato RFID Technology: NEW IDENTITY FOR SATO IN SINGAPORE TO REFLECT NEW STRATEGY

From Plastics In Packaging, UK ... The company offers RFID technology within its portfolio of human readable codes, barcodes and 2D codes. RFID is fast becoming the ...

SATO Corporation, Japan, was established in 1940 to manufacture and sell packaging machinery. In 1962, SATO invented the world's first hand-held labeler and operations as an international supplier of labeling machinery were begun. The US subsidiary was established in 1977 and eventually became SATO America, Inc. in 1987. During that period, SATO developed the world's first thermal transfer barcode printers and became the leader in applying the technology to the market.

The industrial CLe high-speed RFID printers are well suited for a range of applications, such as compliance labeling, warehouse management and logistics, access control, asset tracking, airline baggage tagging and tracking, retail labeling, and product authentication. The Sato RFID Printer supports 13.56 Mhz (Tag-it™, I-Code, ISO15693), UHF (EPC, ISO, EM Marin) RFID formats and supports worldwide frequencies. It has capability to be upgraded to support new standards and protocols as they emerge. Sato Smart Printers: In a one-step, process the CLe RFID printers can read, write and print smart labels and tags with embedded RFID transponders. Transponders include integrated circuitry with an antenna and are designed to be programmed and re-programmed using radio waves. RFID - Radio Frequency Identification: RFID tags are read, written and verified inside the printer prior to printing. In the case of a tag failure, the CLe RFID printers will mark the tag and advance to the next one, assuring top reliability in mission critical applications. Sato Printer Rugged Design: The CLe’s heavy-duty metal construction, proven reliability, and excellent media handling deliver optimum performance in the most demanding environments.

Airline RFID: Airlines Industry Plans Global Paperless Tickets

From Contact Center Today, United States ... Other plans to reduce costs include moving to all self-service check ins, home printing of boarding passes and using RFID tags for luggage. ...

Airline RFID: Group calls for an end to paper airline tickets

From CNET News.com ... in times. The industry also agreed to use RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to replace bar-coded baggage tags. The ...

Mobile RFID: Delta's Bag Handlers Go WiFi

From WXIA-TV, GA ... The technology is known as radio frequency identification, or RFID, and would enable airline workers to track down luggage electronically. ...

Airline RFID Baggage Tracking: Delta tests radio frequency system for tracing bags

From San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA ... The Atlanta-based airline just completed its second test of a radio frequency identification, or RFID, system that can track a bag from the time it is dropped ...

RFID Tracking: Delta rolls out wireless baggage transfer system

From m-Travel.com ... cancellations. ▪ Delta also is testing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as a potential means of future baggage tracking. ...

Delta Air Lines is proud to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2004. Delta
is the world's second largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the
leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 497
destinations in 86 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta
Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. Delta's marketing alliances
allow customers to earn and redeem frequent flier miles on more than 14,000
flights offered by SkyTeam, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and other
partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance
that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and
services. For more information, please visit delta.com.

RFID Web Seminar: Zebra Technologies Web Seminar Notes
RFID Deployments: Slap and Ship to Total Deployment Strategies to Achieve Compliance and Measureable Operating Improvements

Zebra Technologies Web Seminar, May 10, 2004
On Monday, May 10, 2004, Chris Hook, of Zebra Technologies, and Matt Reim hosted their second web seminar on RFID Technology, titled "RFID Deployments: Slap and Ship to Total Deployment, Strategies to Achieve Compliance and Measureable Operating Improvements"

Agenda is Components, RFID and Bar Code Comparisons, Measuring Improvements, fast-track with smart labels... Focus is on passive RFID tags and systems. Smarts labels have RFID tags embedded in the printed label. Simultaneous identification is when we obtain information from many tags all at same time.

RFID Tags and antennae go into RFID inlays which are then embedded into RFID labels. RFID Components include printers, RFID readers, and hand-held RFID readers. AIDC system VARs provide the RFID subsystems, which are then combined with middleware, which in turn integrated with enterprise business systems.

Barcodes are now ubiquitous. While RFID can replace role of barcodes, it is envisioned that RFID technology will have a much greater impact on business processes, especially the data capture touch points throughout the extended supply chain. The key is identifying the RFID-enabled data capture touch points. There is significant operating expenses associated with these touch points. Whever touching is prevalent, RFID technology can provide value. (Walmart benchmark: each barcode scan costs 5 cents)... Eliminate touches, increase cycle time, save money, increase velocity.

Bar codes and RFID can co-exist in a hybrid environment. Used Sanacorp, Germany as benchmark... Barcodes used on products, bins, and picking tote boxes. Errors still existed in the barcoding as-is state. Sanacorp assessed their barcoding current state. RFID tags were deployed to tote boxes and RFID readers provided routing. RFID technology drove error rates below 0.01%. Performance increased to allow one hour order turn-around in fifteen regional distribution centers. A hybrid solution encompassing RFID and barcoding can work well.

RFID can have a role in supply chain process management in measurement - event management, etc. Up to 30% lower inventory, 8% better on-shelf availability, 10% higher sales. Monitor, Measure, Control, Notify, and Modify are key steps in the lifecycle of RFID technology implementation. It is critical to move beyond the first three steps to achieve high returns on investment, ROI.

Slap and Ship RFID Compliance is minimum work required to meet RFID compliance requirements. Slap and Ship RFID techniques can be supported by optimizing the RFID system performance. What is in the box matters... Absorption and reflectance of the radio frequency waves must be considered and the reading performance must be understood. Pick the technology that will provide the broadest range of performance across your products. Make RFID tags pay for themselves before they leave you facility. Slap and Ship techniques, by themselves, add cost to material handling. Moving further down the RFID lifecycle will position your company to derive value of RFID before your product leaves your end of the supply chain. Drive your RFID implementation. Don't be driven.

Smart Labels are the best way to meet RFID compliance labeling requirements. A hybrid of RFID and barcoding is necessary during the technology transition period, before RFID becomes ubiquitous, like barcoding. Visual identification of printed labels will always be necessary. Airline bag tags have been in trials for a hybrid label with barcoding and RFID.

Zebra role is printing and encoding. Zebra printers will print the label on the RFID inlayed label, encode and validate the RFID data into the RFID tag. Validation and verification is critical step. In an EPC scenario, the EPC number is programmed into the RFID tag and is also printed in human readable and barcode formats on the smart label. Consistency in the data among these forms of data is essential.

RFID applications are surging in warehousing, express parcel handling, returnable container tracking, airline baggage tracking, libraries, video rental, event ticketing (counterfeiting), sensitive document tracking, mass transit ticketing. These are existing standards and recommendation for RFID application: ISO, EAN, UCC, DOD RFID Expert Group (REG).

RFID Technology: Passive RFID running on 200 microwatt RF

UsingRFID.com, UK ... The South African RFID technology developer, Trolley Scan, has announced the development of new materials that enable the production of transponders in volume ...

TROLLEYSCAN DELIVER PASSIVE UHF RFID TRANSPONDERS THAT OPERATE ON JUST 200 MICROWATTS OF RF POWER, JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA

Trolley Scan announced in Johannesburg that they have crossed another major technical hurdle in the development of long range, efficent, low cost, passive RFID systems.

As part of leading the way in the development of passive UHF RFID, Trolley Scan have developed new materials that allow for the production of transponders in volume that need just 200uW of RF energy to operate. This represents a 42% improvement in the sensitivity of transponders supplied by Trolley Scan in the past. All credit card sized Ecochiptag(TM) transponders supplied by Trolley Scan will now need only 200uW of power to operate.

Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan-"Improving transponder sensitivity is like improving fuel consumption for a car - you can never have enough!!!. Every time the sensitivity improves, it means that the transmitted power of the reader can be further reduced needing smaller transmitters to do the same job with longer battery life, -, or the operating range of the transponder system increases. The new production transponders can be read 8 meters from a reader radiating just 300 milliwatts of power, similar to the power radiated from a cell phone. In addition, due to the miniscual amount of power needed to operate the transponder, polarisation becomes less important and transponders can be read on almost any orientation even with linear polarised antennas. The 8 meter range is achievable even if the transponder is attached to metal."

In 1994 a state of the art transponder used in the original Supertag version developed by a team led by Mike Marsh, and shown to the world with a trolley(cart) of 38 items being scanned at the Pick n Pay hypermarket in Pretoria South Africa, needed 6000uW of RF power to operate. In 2001 Trolley Scan started delivering 1000uW versions with its evaluation systems. In December 2003, Trolley Scan delivered 350uW credit card sized versions, a major technical achievement as the previous systems all needed 160mm dipoles while the credit card sized version was only 80mm long - a size that is inherently inefficient at this operating frequency. Now the norm with the latest developments is 200uW in a credit card sized version.

Comparing the performance to the original Supertag tests, the transmitter power needed now is only 3% of that needed for the original system, meaning smaller transmitters, longer battery life and portable readers. The operating range at the original power used for Supertag is 550% of the ranges then achieved.

Despite the benefits of long operating range and low transmitter power, the Trolley Scan has maintained all its important benefits such as wide operating bandwidth (50MHz for EU/GSM/US compatibility), up to 500 multiple transponders in the reading field, 3D scanning small antenna size and easy to produce.

Trolley Scan provide RFID systems to users in 32 countries. Complete systems can be ordered via their website.

About new generation RFID Transponder
Passive RFID works by the reader sending out a low power beam of energy which dissipates with distance travelled; part of which is collected by the transponder and converted to power to operate the transponder; the transponder using some of this energy to send back its identity data on the same frequency as the energising signal.

The reader has to be able to detect the data from the transponder while in the presence of the energising signal which is powering up the transponder. The two signals differ is strength by up to 1 billion times (90dB).

As the energy from the reader travels through the space between the reader and the transponder, it dissipates such that every time the distance doubles, the available energy to power up the transponder quarters. Therefore producing transponders that need lower power mean they can still operate at increased ranges.

About EcoTag technology
The Ecotag development achieves some major breakthroughs

The credit card sized version is a technology breakthrough allowing both very efficient transponder operation while allowing small transponder antenna sizes.

A typical efficient UHF antenna will be 160mm long. However the market wants shorter antennas that are closer to the sizing of goods being labelled. Shortening a 160 millimeter antenna to 80 millimeters results in only 3% of the efficiency being left. The impact of shortening antennas is of great concern to the UHF RFID producers as the challenge is to increase efficiency in order to get greater coverage and range. Trolley Scan have developed an 80mm by 37mm flat antenna that recovers this lost efficiency as well as increasing the performance of the chip, allowing a transponder that now needs only 200 uWatts of RF energy to operate, making it one of the most energy efficient transponders available in the world.

Despite its excellent performance, the credit card sized version is produced in a single plane and is ideal for production using conductive inks applied with a printing press. This is an important development as eventually for volume application of RFID, the antennae are going to be made directly on the packaging.

The new Ecotag credit sized version now can operate at ranges as far as 11 meters, even when attahed to metal.

EcoTag technology is protected by a series of patents granted in the US, Europe and other countries.

About Trolley Scan (Pty) Ltd
Trolley Scan have proven to be a major creative force in the development of UHF RFID technologies. These developments have been protected by patents which have been offered to the global manufacturing industry to impliment. Founded in 1995, the staff of Trolley Scan have a pedigree that goes back to 1990 when the first low cost RFID protocol was developed by the founder while working for a South African government research organisation, culminating in 1994 in the demonstration of a supermarket trolley containing 38 items being scanned automatically in a supermarket in Pretoria. In 1998, the founders of Trolley Scan developed an entirely new set of protocols for UHF RFID which they have been actively promoting. They also have addressed the situation of the 3 dimensional scanning of goods, and have developed a very low power RFID version which they commercialise under the EcoTag trademark. Trolley Scan are based in Johannesburg South Africa.

Trolley Scan licence their patents and technology to companies around the world who wish to produce this technology. Trolley Scan have already provided systems using this technology to users in 32 countries.

About UHF RFID
RFID systems comprise of a transponder that is attached to the goods to be identified and a reader that converts the information in those transponders to a computer compatible format for processing. The transponder can comprise of a simple antenna and a small integrated circuit that can be produced at low cost. Operating in the 860 to 930 MHz (UHF) band, the transponder can be identified meters away from the reader, can be identified in a group with up to 1000 other transponders when being read, and can be identified very quickly. In view of the system using radio waves for energy and information transfer, it is not necessary for the transponder and reader to be in line of sight.

Potential use of these systems is extensive, from herd animal tracking, library books, pallets, warehousing, bank and postal bags, asset tracking, airline luggage, vehicle monitoring (access and parking), to intelligent buildings (tracking files, documents and assets moving around an office to minimise finding time).

The ultimate goal is to use these transponders with their inbuilt anti-shoplifting features to replace the barcodes labelling goods in a retail store allowing filled supermarket trolleys to be scanned in seconds in unmanned self service checkout aisles.

RFID Lab: ACNielsen Opens RFID Learning Lab

Business Wire (press release) ... ACNielsen US, an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU business, today announced that it has opened a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology learning ...

BOCA RATON, FL — 15 April 2004 — ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU business, today announced that it has opened a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology learning lab at its Schaumburg, Illinois, office.

The announcement was made here during the annual Consumer 360 Conference hosted by ACNielsen, Spectra, and other business units of VNU Marketing Information. Conference attendees can visit ACNielsen's on-site RFID Learning Center to see a live demonstration of how the technology works.

With RFID technology, retailers and manufacturers hope to gain new efficiencies in managing their products throughout the supply chain using microchips on RFID tags that are attached to pallets, cases and potentially specific products. Many believe the technology will eventually replace bar codes.

According to Ted Fichuk, senior vice president, Retail Measurement Services, ACNielsen Global Marketing, "RFID technology has the potential to bring many positive changes to our industry. We're taking a proactive stance, making sure we'll be ready to process information generated by the technology should it gain widespread acceptance. We also want to serve as a source of information about the technology for our clients."

According to Scott Medford, vice president, Business Development, Intermec, one of the primary RFID technology suppliers and a partner in both ACNielsen's Schaumburg Learning Lab and the Consumer 360 conference Learning Center, "As a leader in the marketing information industry, ACNielsen has positioned itself to be to be at the forefront of RFID technology. We are pleased to be providing a complete set of RFID hardware, software and integration support for the ACNielsen demos and look forward to working with the company as it learns more about the technology and its potential applications to the consumer packaged goods industry."

RFID technology is being tested by numerous industries to help track everything from airline baggage to cattle. Several major consumer packaged goods retailers and the U.S. Department of Defense have issued mandates to their vendors, requiring that all product pallets and cases bound for their distribution centers be RFID tagged within the next one to three years.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Auto-ID Center has been the driver of this technology over the past three years and will continue to enhance RFID with Auto-ID Centers in six different regions around the world. The Center's former executive director and co-founder, Kevin Ashton, is a keynote speaker at this year's Consumer 360 conference. As of November 2003, the commercialization of RFID has been turned over to EPCglobal, a joint venture between the Uniform Code Council and EAN International.

ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

RFID Monitoring: TSA eyes RFID to track airline passengers

From ComputerWeekly.com, Apr 2, 2004 ... Friday 2 April 2004 TSA eyes RFID to track airline passengers The US Transportation Security Administration TSA is examining the use of radio frequency identification tagged airline boarding passes that could allow passenger tracking within airports a proposal some privacy advocates called a potentially outrageous violation of civil liberties ...

TSA eyes RFID boarding passes to track airline passengers

From ComputerWorld ... APRIL 01, 2004 (COMPUTERWORLD) - CHICAGO -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is examining the use of RFID-tagged airline boarding passes that ...

Leahy on RFID and Micro-Monitoring...

Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy
The Dawn of Micro Monitoring: It's Promise, And Its Challenges
To Privacy And Security
Conference On “Video Surveillance: Legal And Technological Challenges”
Georgetown University Law Center
Tuesday, March 23, 2004

First, I want to thank Georgetown University Law Center for hosting this conference. It’s always good to have an opportunity to return to my alma mater. I also thank the Center for American Progress, The Constitution Project and Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering for their roles in supporting this event. As a former prosecutor I am especially glad for the strong representation here from the law enforcement community. Chief Ramsey, good to see you again. And thanks to all the experts who have gathered here today to talk about these timely issues.

People Want To BE Safer

In our post-9/11 world, technology often has been our crucial but silent partner in helping us to ramp up our law enforcement and national security capabilities. We in this city are profoundly aware of the new risks we face. But we also need to do it right. The public does not want false assurances, nor do they want to be unduly alarmed. What the American people want is to actually be safer. And we still have a way to go in accomplishing that.

Tension Between Liberty And Security

In our constitutional system there is always tension between liberty and security – and never more so than since September 11th. One of the difficult challenges we face is to strike the right midpoint. Our constitutional checks and balances are intended to help us do that.

The video technologies you are discussing today offer tools that are better, faster and smarter, on scales of magnitude that are unprecedented. As an advocate of emerging technologies who also has a keen interest in them, I watch these breakthroughs with great interest.

I have sought to find ways to encourage the commercial sector to create new products and opportunities, and I have promoted use of new technologies by law enforcement agencies, while also protecting consumer privacy and constitutional freedoms. That was the balance I sought to strike in my work on CALEA and in other legislation that blends law enforcement’s needs, the needs of our robust technology sector, and the privacy interests of the American people. The hands-off approach to the Internet that I have favored is another example, and right now I am working with others to extend the Internet tax moratorium, to keep the Internet free from discriminatory and multiple state and local taxes.

On The Cusp Of A Micro-Monitoring Revolution

The marriage of information-gathering technology with information storing technology, manipulated in increasingly sophisticated databases, is beginning to produce the defining privacy challenge of the information age. Modern databases, networks and the Internet allow us to easily collect, store, distribute and combine video, audio and other digital trails of our daily transactions. We are on the verge of a revolution in micro-monitoring – the capability for the highly detailed, largely automatic, widespread surveillance of our daily lives.

RFIDs

And one of the most dramatic and dazzling new challenges we all will be facing soon is the emergence of a relatively new, surveillance-related technology called radio frequency identification -- R–F–I–D for short.

RFID tags are tiny computer chips that can be attached to physical items in order to provide identification and tracking by radio. Their potential invasiveness is obvious from their size, which, as shown in this picture, already is surprisingly small. And they will only get smaller.

In their basic function, RFID chips are like barcodes, which by now are ubiquitous in our stores and offices and crime labs and manufacturing plants.

Barcodes On Steroids

But RFID chips are like supercharged barcodes – barcodes on steroids, if you will. They are so small they can be tagged onto almost any object. They do not have to be in open view; RFID receivers just have to be within the vicinity – at a security checkpoint, in a doorway, inside a mailbox, atop a traffic light. And RFID chips can carry a lot more information than barcodes. Some versions are recordable so that they can carry along the object's entire history.

RFID chips are more powerful than today’s video surveillance technology. RFIDs are more reliable, they are 100 percent automatic, and they are likely to become more pervasive because they are significantly less expensive, and there are many business advantages to using them. RFIDs seem poised to become the catalyst that will launch the age of micro-monitoring.

I have followed RFID technology for some time and have welcomed its potential for many constructive uses. I have supported the use of RFIDs in a Vermont pilot program for tracking cattle to curtail outbreaks, like mad cow disease, and our Vermont program is now being emulated for a national tracking system. RFID technology may also help thwart prescription drug counterfeiting, a use the FDA encouraged in a recent report. Leading retailers like Wal-Mart and Target – as well as the Department of Defense -- are requiring its use by suppliers for inventory control. Fifty million pets around the world have embedded RFID chips. Of course, many of us already have experience with simpler versions of the technology in “smart tags” at toll booths and “speed passes” at gas stations.

But this is just the beginning. RFID technology is on the brink of widespread applications in manufacturing, distribution, retail, healthcare, safety, security, law enforcement, intellectual property protection and many other areas, including mundane applications like keeping track of personal possessions. Some visionaries imagine, quote, “an internet of objects” – a world in which billions of objects will report their location, identity, and history over wireless connections. Those days of long hunts around the house for lost keys and remote controls might be a frustration of the past.

These all raise exciting possibilities, but they also raise potentially troubling tangents. While it may be a good idea for a retailer to use RFID chips to manage its inventory, we would not want a retailer to put those tags on goods for sale without consumers’ knowledge, without knowing how to deactivate them, and without knowing what information will be collected and how it will be used. While we might want the Pentagon to be able to manage its supplies with RFID tags, we would not want an al Qaeda operative to find out about our resources by simply using a hidden RFID scanner in a war situation.

Drawing Lines

Of course these are just some of the foreseeable possibilities, and a lot depends on enhancements in the technology, reductions in costs, and developments in voluntary standard-setting, systems and infrastructure to manage RFID-collected information. But the RFID train is beginning to leave the station, and now is the right time to begin a national discussion about where, if at all, any lines will be drawn to protect privacy rights.

The need to draw some lines is already becoming clear. Recent reports revealed clandestine tests at a Wal-Mart store where RFID tags were inserted in packages of Max Factor lipsticks, with RFID scanners hidden on nearby shelves. The radio signals triggered nearby surveillance cameras to allow researchers 750 miles away to watch those consumers in action. A similar test occurred with Gillette razors at another Wal-Mart store.

These excesses suggest that Congress may need to step in at some point. When privacy intrusions reach the point of behavior that is absurdly out of bounds, we find ourselves having to deal with such issues as the “Video Voyeurism Prevention Act,” a bill now before Congress that would ban the use of camera to spy in bathrooms and up women’s skirts, a practice that by now has even been given a name, “upskirting,” which I’m sure is as new to you as it is to most of us in Congress.

Other powerful new technologies are on the horizon, like sensor technology and nanotechnology. All the more reason to think about these issues broadly and to establish guiding principles serving the twin goals of fostering useful technologies while keeping them from overtaking our civil liberties.

With RFID technology as with many other surveillance technologies, we need to consider how it will be used, and will it be effective. What information will it gather, and how long will that data be kept? Who will have access to those data banks, and under what checks-and-balances? Will the public have appropriate notice, opportunity to consent and due process in the case mistakes are made? How will the data be secured from theft, negligence and abuse, and how will accuracy be ensured? In what cases should law enforcement agencies be able to use this information, and what safeguards should apply? There should be a general presumption that Americans can know when their personal information is collected, and to see, check and correct any errors.

These are all questions we need to consider, and it is entirely possible that Congress may decide that enacting general parameters would be constructive. It is important that we let RFID technology reach its potential without unnecessary constraints. But it is equally important that we ensure protections against privacy invasions and other abuses. Technology may also help with the answers -- for example, “blockers” that deactivate RFID tags, and software that thwarts spyware.

Beginning A National Dialogue

There is no downside to a public dialogue about these issues, but there are many dangers in waiting too long to start. We need clear communication about the goals, plans and uses of the technology, so that we can think in advance about the best ways to encourage innovation, while conserving the public’s right to privacy.

We have seen this time and time again where a potentially good approach is hampered because of lack of communication with Congress, the public and lack of adequate consideration for privacy and civil liberties.

Take for example the so-called CAPPS II program. No doubt in a post-9/11 world, we should have an effective airline screening system. But the Administration quietly put this program together, collected passengers’ information without their knowledge and piloted this program without communicating with us and before privacy protections were in place. The result was a recent GAO analysis that showed pervasive problems in the screening program and admissions that we are now set back in our efforts to create an effective screening system.

As another example, the Administration recently funded the MATRIX program to provide law enforcement access to state government and commercial databases. This was potentially a useful crime-fighting tool. But there was insufficient information about the program and about potentially intrusive data mining capabilities, and there were unaddressed concerns about privacy protections. Now 11 out of 16 states participating in the program have pulled out – many, citing privacy concerns – thus hampering the effectiveness of the information sharing program. Again, had some of these issues been vetted in advance, we may have been able to enhance law enforcement intelligence.

Just recently, there were reports about the FBI’s new Strategic Medical Intelligence program, in which doctors have been enlisted to report to the FBI “any suspicious event,” such as an unusual rash or a lost finger. The goal of preventing bio-terrorism is important. But there are many unanswered questions about the program’s privacy protections and its ability to identify truly suspicious events and not unrelated personal medical situations. Hopefully, this program will not be hampered by lack of communication and oversight.

I have written oversight letters to the Justice Department and to the Department of Homeland Security on all of these issues and am waiting for their responses.

I want to make sure that mistakes like those are not repeated, especially with RFID technology, where there is so much potential value. That is why I asked to speak with you today, to begin the process of encouraging public dialogue in both the commercial and public sectors before the RFID genie is let fully out of its bottle.

This is a dialogue that should cut across the political spectrum, and it should include the possibility of constructive, bipartisan congressional hearings. The earlier we begin this discussion, the greater the prospects for success in reaching consensus on a set of guiding principles.

When several of us from both parties banded together years ago to found the Congressional Internet Caucus, we were united by our appreciation for what the Internet would do for our society. Years later, we remain united, we remain optimistic, and partisanship has never interfered in the Caucus’s work.

That is the spirit in which I hope a discussion can now begin on micro-monitoring.

Thank you for your interest in these cutting-edge issues, and thanks for this opportunity to share some ideas with you.