Delta Air Invests $25 Million in RFID for Luggage

securitas writes "The New York Times' Barnaby Feder reports on Delta Air Lines' plans to invest $25 million in RFID luggage tracking hardware and software over the next two years. This sounds very similar to the Jacksonville Airport RFID plan. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and Hong Kong International Airport have also announced plans to use RFID technology in their operations. More at the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Boston Globe."

Comments

Cue "What about my privacy!?!?!" complaints here

[Anonymous Coward]

Along with all other tinfoil-hat ideas.

The ones that go along with any mention of RFID, and drown out legitimate concerns.

Per airport

[afidel]

is useless. There needs to be a standard definied AND there has to be a mapping back to the current barcode standard so that luggage can still be handled at airports that haven't yet upgraded.

Re:Per airport

[stewby18]

Great. So all a terrorist has to do is politely ask that their bag be pulled in order to have confidence that it won't? I feel so much better now.

As long as they

[christrs]

Put the RFID chips in their tags, so I can remove them when the flight is over, why should this be a big deal. They already use barcodes on the tags.

Like the nightmare is going to go away

[spoonani]

The new airbus A380 will be capable of holding over 800 passengers in full economy mode. Knowing the general vicinity of your bag out of 1200 (assuming 1.5 bags stowed per psgnr) is still only limiting it to a pile of 800.

Re:Like the nightmare is going to go away

[TopShelf]

This won't help you find your bag within that pile, but what it will do is let you know that your bag is indeed in the right pile, without having to dig through and scan each barcode. That, in and of itself, is a very good thing...

Re:Like the nightmare is going to go away

[LiquidCoooled]

But scanning each piece of luggage as it passes on the conveyor belt into the aircraft should let the crew know:

1) That your luggage did indeed pass the doorway and is on the plane.

2) Which quadrant/hold it is stored in.

I say this is a damned good thing, and perfect use for RFID.

Re:Like the nightmare is going to go away

[cyber0ne]

...still only limiting it to a pile of 800.

At least I'd know it's in the pile, which is a hell of a lot better than being told it's "probably on another flight" and "should be here within a few days." Followed, of course, by the unspoken: "and we might deliver it to the address you just gave us that we might have written down. Maybe."

Re:Like the nightmare is going to go away

[LiquidCoooled]

This is exactly the future I can see by using RFID.

Scanners on the entrances/exits of all doorways and belts would allow your individual bag to be tracked along is journey - all without having to individually pick up and orient the item so that the barcode scanner can see.

Its the same thinking that supermarkets are wanting, but when we move into items which go home with us, the privacy issues increase.

I have no problem in using the right tool for the job, and can only see practical benefits with using them in the baggage tracking/handling environment.

Your idea of an automated router will probably get the handlers union up in arms, and cause strikes galore, there is always tension when moving to a more advanced automated system.

The handlers will still be required, but their role would change.

Re:Is RFID the new spyware?

[1000101]

WTF? Airlines MUST track your luggage. I want them to track it. Hell, this is common sense. I don't have any need for spyware to track me so it is completely different.

Re:Is RFID the new spyware?

[Sc00ter]

"What is the difference between *INSERT WORD FROM BELOW* and spyware? Both seems to enable companies to track and trace me, where spyware has the advantage that it can be removed by using tools like Spybot or ad-Aware."

- Barcodes
- Credit Cards
- Drivers Licenses
- Grocery discount cards
- License Plates
- Cookies

Re:Is RFID the new spyware?

[Dagny Taggert]

Good point...and, down the road, I'm sure there will be real-world Spybots and Ad-Awares that will scan your clothes and other items looking for RFID items that you can them remove/disable. Remember, there were radar guns and then radar detectors. The marketplace will always respond.

$25 million is small potatoes

[YouHaveSnail]

$25 million doesn't seem like all that large an investment, IMO. What does a single plane cost, after all? My guess is that they'll save $25 million over a few years just in terms of saved labor.

Re:Track the bags to its owner

[daringone]

I, just as anyone else here, is worried over the potential abuse of this system, but there can be improvements as well.

Could someone please explain exactly how this system could be abused? There's two things here that almost everyone (save for one poster above) has missed. Most importantly, they ALREADY KNOW/SHOULD KNOW where the luggage is going. If they don't, they aren't doing their job. That's what those spiffy barcodes (as earlier poster mentioned) are for. Secondly, even if you had no luggage, they already know where you're going by virtue of you flying with them. RFID or not on your luggage, they know where you're headed, so how does it invade your privacy, and how could it be abused?

Re:Cue "What about my privacy!?!?!" complaints her

[tsg]

You might want to try understanding what people are complaining about before you assume the argument will be made here.

Most of the concerns I've read about the use of RFID tags have been about:

1) Persistence - the tags last as long as you have the item they are attached to and can be difficult to find or remove. Not an issue here. The article states in the very first sentence that the tags are disposable. They are also likely to be mounted in a clearly visible manner.

2) Surreptitious - the tags can be read without the knowledge of the person holding them. Not really an issue here because the tags are attached to baggage that the customer is not going to be carrying with him.

Do try to understand the issues before you discount them as "tinfoil-hat ideas".

This is NOT a privacy issue

[bshroyer]

As of about ten years ago, air travelers in the US were informed that we were to leave our privacy behind at the security checkpoint. After presenting proof of id, submitting all bags for inspection, and stepping through a detector, the traveler knew that the "authorities" had a record of who they were, where they were going, and what they were (and weren't) carrying.

Face it. If you want privacy in your travel, you have two choices: avoid airports, or develop a very good false identity.

Given that I've left my privacy behind at the security checkpoint, anything that makes it easier for the airlines/airports to handle and transport my bags back to me at my final destination can't be seen as anything but a positive development.

Didn't I see this on a test somewhere?

[ryanvm]

Slashdot is to RFID as Greenpeace is to:
A) Puppies
B) Trombones
C) Nuclear power generation
D) Trees

Let's get this straight people - RFID tags are not the devil. They are a technology with the potential to be VERY useful. Do we really have to see EVERY story about EVERY use of RFID tags in the world? Why don't you guys hold off until someone, somewhere actually does something Orwellian with the technology before you spurt the hackneyed, luddite, anti-RFID propaganda?

Oh and just because you disagree doesn't mean I'm trolling. Fuck, that concept is tired too. Where's my coffee?

Re:Didn't I see this on a test somewhere?

[tsg]

Let's get this straight people - RFID tags are not the devil.

Let's get this straight, not every story about RFID tags is condemning their use.

Do we really have to see EVERY story about EVERY use of RFID tags in the world?

This is a tech website. This is a story about tech. Nowhere in either the summary or the article is there any mention of privacy concerns.

Why don't you guys hold off until someone, somewhere actually does something Orwellian with the technology before you spurt the hackneyed, luddite, anti-RFID propaganda?

Why don't you hold off on complaining about hackneyed, luddite, anti-RFID propaganda until someone actually posts some?