Radio-tagged boarding pass

OpTag is a radio-tagged boarding pass that aims to prevent delays by tracking passengers around the airport,and "is the joint brainchild of engineers at University College London,a Berkshire firm called Innovision,a group in France,another in Greece,an airport in Hungary and a few others",the Guardian reports."The idea is to attach a unique tag to each boarding pass as it is issued.The prototype tag radiates a very low power signal in the 5.8GHz band but it is enough to be picked up by a cell-based tracking system linked to high-resolution video monitoring cameras placed strategically to cover 360 degrees,and linked by an Ethernet network to an operator at a set of screens".Further,"its real value lies in working out how far from their departure gate the thirsty Mr Smith and the absent-minded Mr Jones are at the crucial moment. Five per cent of airline departure delays are due to these puzzling people who check in their baggage but forget to actually get on the plane: the OpTag system could save flight hours, money and, of course, irritation."

This will be an interesting line to follow - how RFID is used in increasing mobility - especially when the line is to benefit travellers/consumers.

Via Smartmobs