Boeing's RFID Plan: The Sky's the Limit
Exploring the use of active tags on aircraft parts is the latest way the airplane manufacturer is advancing the use of RFID technology in the aviation industry—and beyond.
By Mary Catherine O'Connor
Dec. 1, 2006—En route from San Francisco International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport, a Boeing 787 experiences mechanical difficulties. A component inside the plane begins to overheat. The flight crew may be unaware of the problem, but a maintenance crew at the Hong Kong airport jumps into action. The failed component doesn't present any danger to the flight or passengers—parts redundancy is built into all Boeing planes, so one of two other identical parts takes over. But the component must be replaced before the aircraft takes off again. When the plane lands safely in Hong Kong, the maintenance crew is waiting with the new part.
The maintenance crew was alerted to the problem because an active tag attached to the part was read by the plane's onboard RFID system. A sensor embedded in the tag captured the temperature reading and included it in the tag's data transmission. The high reading triggered an alert that was transmitted to the ground crew via satellite. Once the crew was aware of the problem, it used an RFID asset-tracking system to quickly locate the part in Boeing's inventory facility.
This is a fictional scenario, but in four years or so, it could be standard operating procedure, says Ken Porad, a Boeing associate technical fellow and the program manager for Boeing Commercial Airplanes' automated identification program. In August, Boeing, in partnership with FedEx, ran a series of tests to see what effect, if any, active RFID tags—some with integrated sensors—attached to various parts inside a Boeing MD-10 cargo plane would have on the plane's instrumentation. The test results showed just what Porad was hoping for: nothing.
Dec. 1, 2006—En route from San Francisco International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport, a Boeing 787 experiences mechanical difficulties. A component inside the plane begins to overheat. The flight crew may be unaware of the problem, but a maintenance crew at the Hong Kong airport jumps into action. The failed component doesn't present any danger to the flight or passengers—parts redundancy is built into all Boeing planes, so one of two other identical parts takes over. But the component must be replaced before the aircraft takes off again. When the plane lands safely in Hong Kong, the maintenance crew is waiting with the new part.
The maintenance crew was alerted to the problem because an active tag attached to the part was read by the plane's onboard RFID system. A sensor embedded in the tag captured the temperature reading and included it in the tag's data transmission. The high reading triggered an alert that was transmitted to the ground crew via satellite. Once the crew was aware of the problem, it used an RFID asset-tracking system to quickly locate the part in Boeing's inventory facility.
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| The FAA will determine if RF transmissions from active tags aboard in-service planes pose any mechanical or communications concerns regarding the safe operation of civil aircraft. |
This is a fictional scenario, but in four years or so, it could be standard operating procedure, says Ken Porad, a Boeing associate technical fellow and the program manager for Boeing Commercial Airplanes' automated identification program. In August, Boeing, in partnership with FedEx, ran a series of tests to see what effect, if any, active RFID tags—some with integrated sensors—attached to various parts inside a Boeing MD-10 cargo plane would have on the plane's instrumentation. The test results showed just what Porad was hoping for: nothing.
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