05 March 2009

Times-7 Innovation Key to Airport Baggage Handling Success

Specialist RFID technology company, Times-7, continues to cement its position as a leading provider of innovative RFID technology for use in some of the world's biggest and busiest airports.

A partnership with Danish company Lyngsoe Systems saw Times-7 RFID antenna technology used in two of their high-profile RFID integration projects in 2008 - Milan's Malpensa Airport, and Lisbon Airport.

Malpensa Airport was significant both in terms of the scale and scope of the project. Malpensa is Italy's busiest international airport, handling over 24 million passengers a year. It is also the first airport in Europe, and only the 3rd globally, to introduce comprehensive RFID baggage tracking across the entire baggage handling system from baggage check-in onwards.

The Lisbon Airport project was also a landmark project. In December 2008, Lisbon became the first airport in the world to introduce RFID-only baggage transfer tagging, electing to dispense altogether with bar-coded baggage tags. Under the newly implemented system, all transfer bags received at Lisbon airport are tagged with RFID tags on arrival and thereafter tracked solely using RFID.

In both cases, Lyngsoe Systems chose to use Times-7 antennas throughout the projects. Jan Poulsen, Business Development Manager at Lyngsoe says "the Times-7 antennas are providing us with a competitive advantage in read performance and ease of installation. When combined with Lyngsoe's world class RFID middleware and baggage handling control software, we believe our RFID-enabled solution is the best available in the market today".

Times-7's antennas offer unique characteristics ideally suited to the demanding environment of baggage handling systems. They are very low profile and unobtrusive, making them particularly easy to install and integrate with existing baggage handling systems. They offer exceptional read accuracy.

Antony Dixon, Times-7's CEO, says the challenge for RFID technology in a baggage handling environment is to optimise the field size or read zone without using expensive RF shielding and large enclosures. Dixon says Times-7 patented antenna technology provides high performance in a very low profile design and brings important innovations to the challenges of baggage handling.

"We've had a lot of experience designing highly accurate RFID systems for a range of different uses - including tracking cyclists in competitive events where you are dealing with a very large number of people travelling quickly and you need to be 100% accurate", Dixon says, "and we've leveraged that experience in designing our RFID equipment for baggage handling".

Dixon says the success of the baggage handling projects that Times-7 has been involved in around the world has been extremely gratifying, and he's looking forward to a bumper 2009 for Times-7.

"In the current economic environment, Airlines and Airport operators are looking to introduce efficiencies into their systems to better manage cost, and this is encouraging them to look at how technology, and particularly RFID technology, can help. We've been working with partners on baggage-handling projects in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe, and growth looks set to continue" says Dixon.

About Times-7

Times-7 are specialists in RFID solutions for industry and sport. Times-7's innovative range of antennas and tags help organisations reduce costs and transform processes by automating identification and tracking. With patented designs that make large scale use of RFID affordable, Times-7 is opening up new markets for tracking important objects.

About Lyngsoe Systems

Lyngsoe Systems' mission is to provide logistics solutions designed to significantly improve our customers' quality of service and competitiveness in the global market.Lyngsoe Systems is one of the worlds' leading software developers and systems integrators of logistics solutions for a wide range of complex logistics chain environments. We have been designing, installing and maintaining control and track-and-trace systems for more than 40 years and are leading within the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The Lyngsoe Airport solutions are dedicated to elevating the passengers' travel experience through optimizing airport logistics from streamlining operational processes, identifying and removing bottlenecks, increasing capacity and delivering efficient tracking as well as reducing the quantity of mishandled bags, trolleys and other assets.

Contacts

For further information contact:

Antony Dixon
CEO, Times-7
Direct: +64 27 444 0304
Email: antony.dixon@times-7.com
Web: www.times-7.com

Jan Poulsen
Business Development Manager, Lyngsoe Systems
Direct: + 45 96 980 980
Email: jpo@lyngsoesystems.com
Web: www.lyngsoesystems.com