Aerospace ID to Launch RFID Trials in 2007

A third project involves the management of additional data recorded on tags. RFID tags for aerospace will have more memory than those typically used in the retail sector so they can store locally the history of a part. Harrison is leading this research. Aerospace ID program members are cooperating with the ATA's RFID on Parts team to develop guidelines regarding the information stored on the tags.

During the first half of next year, the Aerospace ID program will launch new trials to coincide with early shipments of parts for Boeing's 787 aircraft. Prodonoff says Boeing, a member of the Aerospace ID program, will tag approximately 700 different parts on its new aircraft. Intelleflex will provide chips for the tags, which will contain 64 kilobits of memory.

"Our program is helping Boeing understand how memory can best be used, and how to make tags secure," Prodonoff explains. For instance, the program is studying the problem of data security for tags, a complicated matter since the aerospace industry is so highly regulated. Research topics include ensuring the legitimacy of parts and preventing any tampering with the history of parts, or with the traceability of individuals or organizations that may have held custody of a given part.

Additionally, the program is working with Boeing and Airbus to develop a system that will synchronize information on the tag with information about parts on back-end databases, which are frequently audited by civil aviation authorities for safety reasons, and which form the official system of records. This research is being led by Shigeya Suzuki, associate director at the Auto-ID Lab at Keio University in Japan.

Prodonoff says various trials designed to validate research results are currently being planned and executed within the Aerospace ID program. These include tests of how tagging will impact the supply chains of aircraft manufacturers Embraer, Boeing and Airbus; European defense company BAE Systems; and landing-gear supplier Messier-Dowty. They address aerospace-specific challenges to RFID technology deployment, including the fact that aircraft operate in such harsh conditions as extreme temperatures, as well as in corrosive and dirty environments. They also address the issue of reading tags attached to metal parts. The tests aim at validating proposed data-synchronization protocols.