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Look at Device That Tracks Bags and Keeps Them Going in Right Direction

Aired October 19, 2001 - 06:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Here's something we can get excited about. A bonus to increase airline security is that your luggage may never get lost again.

CNN's Lilian Kim reports on a device that tracks your bags and keeps them going in the right direction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LILIAM KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A printed bar code helps airline workers make sure each bag gets on the right flight, but bag tracking could be made easier and more reliable with Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID.

MICHAEL FISHER, INTERMEC TECHNOLOGIES GROUP: This is a very thin, laminated tag. It's credit-card size.

KIM: Attached to a piece of luggage, each tag is designed to pick up an RF signal transmitted by an antenna as far as 15 feet away.

Once the signal is picked up, the bag will register in the airline system, allowing workers to quickly determine if the right luggage got on the right plane. The idea is to better keep passengers and their bags together, minimizing the chances of a bomb getting on board.

FISHER: You can ensure that the bag got loaded. You can also set the system up so if it did not read a bag, an alarm would go off and stop the conveyor system.

KIM (on camera): Airlines have been considering RFID for years, but with increased security now a primary concern, the technology is being given a closer look.

(voice-over): Manufacturers of RFID say the accurate rate is nearly 100 percent. But security experts warn nothing is foolproof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Radio frequency identification is a good system, provided that those radio frequency tags are not deliberately moved from the bags by airport personnel.

KIM: Still, airlines are seriously considering RFID in hopes of making travel safer for their passengers. Lilian Kim, CNN, Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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