Dec 11, 2006About a year ago, the Auto-ID Lab at the University of Cambridge formed the Aerospace ID Technologies Program to develop the potential for RFID and other ID technologies in the aerospace sector (see U.K. Auto-ID Lab Looks at Aerospace). Since then, the industry-led group has launched a number of projects. These include a technical proposal for an Electronic Product Code (EPC)-compatible unique identification number for RFID tags used in the aerospace industry, taking into account existing ID numbers already used for aerospace parts and components.
"The Aerospace ID Technologies Program builds upon our past experience with networked RFID for the retail sector, but this time we are focusing on the specific challenges involved with deployment in the aerospace sector," says Mark Harrison, associate director of the Auto-ID Lab at the University of Cambridge.
The program developed this technical proposal in close cooperation with the Air Transport Association (ATA) and its RFID on Parts project team. The team working on life-cycle ID and data-management projects at the Auto-ID Lab has sent the proposal for the EPC-compatible ID number to the ATA for review. This proposal incorporates the ATA < http://www.spec2000.com/ Spec 2000> standard, the commercial aviation industry standard for the permanent identification of parts, the identification of shipping and receiving information, and traceability. According to Victor Prodonoff, Aerospace ID Technologies Program's director, the team will forward the final proposal to the EPCglobal aerospace and defense industry action group, set to launch in early 2007, with a request for evaluation and adoption.
A second project moving forward is the design of look-up services for the aerospace industry, which Prodonoff calls a " Google for parts." The life-cycle history of an aircraft part is scattered across several organizations, he adds. For example, an aircraft part may have a service life in excess of 30 years, during which time a large number of organizations may handle the part and record data about it. This includes the original equipment manufacturer, the airframe builder, the airline operating the aircraft and maintenance providers. Look-up services will maintain a series of pointers to these individual databases, allowing a person seeking information about a part to query the individual organizations for details.
"This, of course, differs from Google, in that access to information would be restricted to legitimate stakeholders in the part's life cycle, and not be open to the general public," Prodonoff says. "The architecture allows each organization to set the controls regarding who is allowed to access their data."
Afilias, a Dublin-based company that provides Internet domain-name registry services, approached the Aerospace ID program, became a member and created a working prototype of the look-up service. The company operates the registry and resolution services for the .info and .aero top-level domain names, and also offers Afilias' RFID Discovery Services Network, which enables supply chain managers to receive and share business intelligence from a variety of data sources. Trials of the prototype will commence in early 2007.
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.
