Lufthansa Technik Develops On-Board RFID Application

Lufthansa Technik presented a UHF RFID (ultra high frequency radio frequency identification) transponder at the recent Aircraft Interiors Expo, meant to be permanently installed on an aircraft to automatically indentify objects and living beings without the need for physical contact.

Technik believes RFID can "radically" simplify routine logistical processes such as maintaining and repairing aircraft components or in everyday flight operations.  With the help of the RFID transponder, it is possible to locate and identify any given object and verify its modification status at all times – without having to access a central database - via the simple transmission of radio waves.

While RFID has been in use for some time for ground applications, the high technical demands of inflight operations call for significant modifications and engineering expertise, Technik says. The devices have to survive radical, short-term temperature fluctuations without damage, and must withstand rapid changes in air pressure, which according to Technik, its Hamburg Innovation business unit engineers have accomplished.

According to Technik, it is first company to use RFID technology in this way in aviation.

The newly developed and qualified passive UHF RFID transponder receives and reflects ultra-high frequencies, enabling two-way communication even at a distance of 30 to 50 centimeters and without visual contact, including through such things as cabin wall panels. The transponders were also modified to work even when affixed to metal housings.

The systems always consist of at least two components: the transponder, or tag, which is located in or on the object that needs to be communicated with, and a reading device to identify it. The reading device can identify any nearby object bearing a transponder. The passive UHF tag delivers its information by backscattering the emitted carrier wave, and draws the energy required to do this from the incoming radio signal so it can function passively.  04-05-2008.

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