$2 million USD Project Covers Retrofit, Upgrade of Airport’s RFID System
FKI Logistex®, a global provider of total baggage handling solutions, announces the award of a contract from Jacksonville International Airport for the retrofit and upgrade of the airport’s RFID baggage identification system. The contract is valued at an estimated $2 million USD.
The new JAX project has two goals: the first is the retrofitting of existing RFID arrays to EPC Global-compliant equipment and systems from Matrics, Inc. The EPC Global RFID standard is currently gaining wide, international acceptance.
The second goal is to enhance the airport’s systems so that every piece of luggage will eventually get an RFID tag for baggage tracking, tracing and sortation. Currently, the airport’s RFID system is for selectee identification only, the process the Transportation Security Authority uses to screen passengers prior to boarding.
Jacksonville International’s existing baggage identification system employs laser barcode readers at three read points and two RFID read points. The two RFID read points are in the selectee identification area near the airport’s explosives detection systems (EDS).
The new system will keep the barcode readers as back-up and add six additional RFID read points to the existing two RFID read points, which will themselves be swapped out with new Matrics equipment. Three of the six new RFID read points will be co-located with the three barcode readers at the entrance to the airport’s north and south baggage make-up areas and at its manual encode station, which is used when baggage must be manually coded for identification.
The remaining three RFID read points will be installed at new baggage recirculation loops in the north and south make-up areas and along the suspect bag line, where bags are pulled out for explosives trace detection (ETD).
Also included in the project is approximately 300ft of new conveyor. The conveyor is being added to allow the airport to now have curbside check-in for large, incoming passenger groups and to form new recirculation loops in the baggage make-up areas.
Additional project work includes reprogramming of the system’s sort allocation computer (SAC) to work with the new RFID system, which will use ultra-high-frequency (UHF) 900MHz reusable RFID tags. It is estimated that the airport will use 20,000 RFID tags to keep the system running. The tags will be taken off the baggage in the make-up area prior to being loaded on the planes.
FKI Logistex is scheduled to begin work immediately on the JAX project and commission it by the end of October 2004.
“As the recognized leader in RFID integration for the airport market, FKI Logistex looks forward to working with JAX to make it one of the world’s safest and most efficient airports,” said Stephen Ackerman, president of FKI Logistex North America. “Our goal is to promote the highest possible passenger safety, security and service for our airport customers.”