News
Microchips to follow passengers
07 September 2006
Microchips that emit radio frequencies could be used to follow passengers in airports.
A team from University College London is working on a project to use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to boarding cards to allow airport authorities to track passengers.
By linking the system to CCTV, it is hoped the passengers that have not heard calls to head to boarding gates can easily be found and identified cutting down on unnecessary delays.
Also authorities can spot where queues are forming more easily and try to eliminate bottlenecks.
Phil Bacon, the project's co-ordinator, explained that with the new Airbus A380 the problem of missing passengers will worsen as the aircraft can carry up to 700 travellers.
He said: 'There is a problem of how to get that many passengers onto the aircraft in time to meet a scheduled departure.
'[The RFID system] could also be used to track the movement of large numbers of people within an airport, so that queues could be cleared.'
The Optag programme, funded by the EU, could start being commonplace in airports over the next five years.
© Adfero Ltd
A team from University College London is working on a project to use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to boarding cards to allow airport authorities to track passengers.
By linking the system to CCTV, it is hoped the passengers that have not heard calls to head to boarding gates can easily be found and identified cutting down on unnecessary delays.
Also authorities can spot where queues are forming more easily and try to eliminate bottlenecks.
Phil Bacon, the project's co-ordinator, explained that with the new Airbus A380 the problem of missing passengers will worsen as the aircraft can carry up to 700 travellers.
He said: 'There is a problem of how to get that many passengers onto the aircraft in time to meet a scheduled departure.
'[The RFID system] could also be used to track the movement of large numbers of people within an airport, so that queues could be cleared.'
The Optag programme, funded by the EU, could start being commonplace in airports over the next five years.
© Adfero Ltd
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