2007.PEL.7214. Research into the application of RFID to track passengers on Schiphol airport. 4
4 Summary
For KLM that is continually faced with the challenge of minimizing departure delays, this research is performed to investigate the possibilities of RFID technology to track passengers on Schiphol airport. The departure delays are caused by passengers that are checked in and do not arrive in time for boarding. By equipping each passengers with a RFID tag and the placement of RFID portals, a system can be developed to minimize departure delays caused by passengers.
The goal is to create a RFID portal which is able to read tags, carried by passengers, with the highest readablilty. The equipment used in the experiments is the Deister Electronic UDL 500 reader in combination with passive UHF single dipole tags.
To create the portal, it was necessary to start with basic tests with one reader for different reader configurations and tag orientation. The choice of the tag positions is based on where airline passengers would normally keep their (boarding) passes. These positions are:
• breast pocket
• inside trousers pocket • inside jacket pocket • backpack
• purse
• hand baggage trolley
If possible the tag positions are tested for the left and right side on the body. The reader
configurations are tested for both directions from which the passengers can enter the portal. These tests were repeated for different reader configurations consisting of two and four readers.
2007.PEL.7214. Research into the application of RFID to track passengers on Schiphol airport. 5 For the largest populations size (six test persons) a
readability chart is determined for both reader configurations. Also, for a population size of six test persons an extra test was performed with random tag position and tag orientation to simulate reality. These tests resulted in a reader configuration with the highest readability (see picure 4-1). For random tag positions this resulted in 73% readability. In the worst case scenario, the average readability would be 61%.
