UFIS Airport Innovation and Partners Complete RFID Case Study Project
21 February 2008
UFIS Airport Innovation AS (UFIS AI) and other Nordic companies have completed their work on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Case Study begun in the summer of 2007. The study allowed the study group to explore in detail the needs of key aviation actors in the area of automated identification technologies. This will enable UFIS AI to tailor its baggage handling solutions to better meet these needs.
The case study, also known as the Nice Travel Project, looked at ways to communicate the bigger picture of RFID advantages specifically to the aviation transportation sector. The detailed report, released earlier this year, listed the stakeholders who have an active interest in the AutoID technology field, identified the challenges faced by the airport industry, specified the processes within the airport for passenger and baggage handling, and determined potential uses of AutoID technologies - including RFID and biometrics -- for the airport, the airlines, and the airport services providers.
As part of the study, the partners held two workshops - one with the airports in the Nordic region and one with the major airlines in Scandinavia. They also held a one-day seminar where 40 people from the aviation industry gathered to discuss issues and potential uses of AutoID technologies.
As a result of the project, the study committee made two recommendations:
- That the major Nordic industry players make a joint effort in a collaborative project targeting the implementation of RFID baggage handling between major Nordic airports within two to three years, closer cooperation between all stakeholders to ensure common goals; and improvement in passenger information services
- that the Nordic IATA-member airlines proactively work with IATA in the areas of passenger self-service programs (PSS) and baggage management improvement program (BIP)
"We are proud to add our experience to the Nice Travel project," said Idar Sorgjerd, Managing Director of UFIS Airport Innovation, which has already implemented RFID technology in its baggage handling systems in Oslo's Gardermoen Airport.
"The experience we have in this area was a great benefit for the successful implementation of this project. It also gave us the opportunity to explore in detail the needs of the main actors in the industry and to respond to these needs by tailoring our baggage handling solutions using the latest technologies."
The increasing competition in the airport market is causing airports to seek ways to improve their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. With RFID, in addition to or instead of a bar code on the baggage tag, a mini-transponder is embedded in the tag. This sends radio frequency signals to a receiver. In this way, the system will know at all times where the bag is located. Successful implementation of RFID will minimize short shipped and lost luggage. The benefits of introducing AutoID technologies such as RFID and biometric include service and quality improvement, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.
"UFIS Airport Innovation as part of the UFIS Group is a technological leader in the baggage handling area," said Anders Sagadin, UFIS-AS's President and CEO. "We are glad that we had the opportunity in the framework of this project to give our contribution for raising the awareness on the business potential and the success factors in the implementation of AutoID technologies."
The case study project is just the first step in the process of the successful implementation of the AutoID technologies in the aviation sector. The project partners --UFIS AI, RFID Lab Norway, UPM Raflatac Finland, Lyngsoe Systems and the Nordic Innovation Centre - are planning to continue their cooperation with follow-up projects focusing on building the business case for a coordinated investment in new RFID-enabled infrastructure for baggage handling.
