More than just airliners are poised to take off at the Jacksonville International Airport in Jacksonville, Fla.

On January 1, the Jacksonville Airport Authority rolled out a radio frequency identification (RFID) system to track bags through a new baggage handling system (FKI Logistex , 877-935-4564).

Now, along with a bar code, an RFID tag is attached to bags selected by computer for special inspection by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal agency in charge of airport security. The tag directs the baggage handling system to route that bag to the explosive detection (EDS) machines screening designated bags that day.

While the tags are being used for a limited purpose, the Jacksonville system was designed to track a bag from the check-in counter to the cargo hold of an airliner.

Given the hundreds of millions of passengers who use U.S. airlines each year, you have to ask: is RFID finally ready to take off?

That's not an idle question.

For several years now, analysts have predicted that RFID is ready to prove its mettle. Then, not much happens.

This year feels different to some. Not only is the TSA testing an RFID system at several airports (San Francisco and Seattle in addition to Jacksonville), but a number of companies have also recently launched high-profile tests of RFID technology.

Gillette, for instance, recently announced that it will begin a large-scale test to track products through the production life cycle, from manufacturing to the retail point of sale.

Gillette isn't alone. More than 80 companies are sponsoring the development of a global RFID infrastructure being developed at the Auto-ID Center at MIT University (617-452-2521), including industry leaders like Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Wal-Mart.

Pallet supplier CHEP (407-563-2000) is tracking the flow and dwell times at various points in the supply chain of some 250,000 pallets with RFID tags. The pallets are used in Florida by 34 companies that collectively send them to 2,000 different locations.

'There are a number of serious pilot tests going on right now,' says Steve Halliday, president of High Tech Aid , an RFID consulting firm (724-443-7518). 'Most are secret, but they're out there.'

What's more, accepted industry standards are expected soon. Added up, Halliday believes 2003 will be the year 'when we see broad acceptance of RFID, with people actually using it.'

What's taken so long?

The cost of the tags is a significant hurdle. Bar code labels cost a fraction of a penny. The disposable tags being tested in Jacksonville cost 63 cents each, and $2.40 for each reusable tag.

But lowering the cost of an RFID tag won't automatically lead to broader use. There needs to be a system to distribute the information collected by those tags. 'Most organizations are going to require a whole new infrastructure to handle the data that's moving back and forth once they implement RFID,' says Halliday.

The benefits of RFID may outweigh the cost of the infrastructure. 'Companies are telling me that the ROI on an RFID system is about twelve months,' says Halliday. 'And the quality of information is worth the investment, especially for high-value goods.'

In Jacksonville, the cost of the tags and the lack of a data management infrastructure were both perceived hurdles.

The system was designed in 2001 to work with an in-line EDS baggage screening system to comply with new security regulations.

The tags were designed to capture not only baggage information, but to capture passenger information as well. Conceivably, a counter agent could swipe a passenger's driver's license and download that information to the RFID tag.

'RF had two things going for it,' says Van Dyke Walker, Jr., director, planning and development for the Jacksonville Airport Authority. 'First we believed the higher reliability of RFID would reduce the number of lost bag claims for the airlines. Second, we believed the ability to write and store more passenger information to a tag would be in the TSA's interest.'

The hitch was partner buy-in: in a tough economic environment, the airlines were unwilling to invest in the new technology.

The airport implemented the complete system anyway. They believed RFID is the way of the future. Since the system was in place, the TSA chose Jacksonville to participate in an RFID test with the new EDS machines.

Now, when passengers check in at the ticket counter, all bags receive a bar code that identifies the destination of that bag. About 12% of those bags are also selected by a computer-assisted passenger profiling system, or 'CAPPS,' for a closer look. At Jacksonville, that's about 1,100 bags on a peak travel day.

Bags selected by the CAPPS system get an RFID tag in addition to the bar code.

Two different types of tags are being tested for their effectiveness. A disposable, adhesive-backed tag is attached to bags on the North side of the airport. A reusable tag shaped like a credit card is attached to bags on the South side of the airport.

No information is written to the tags. Instead, the bags travel by conveyor to a baggage screening area equipped with five EDS machines. If the system detects the presence of an RFID tag, it automatically routes that bag to one of two machines assigned to screen selected bags.

Bags that pass inspection continue on the conveyor past a stationary bar code reader. The reader scans the bar code and routes the bag to the right airline pier, where it's loaded onto a plane.

If a bag doesn't pass inspection, a TSA employee decides whether to send the bag on to the airline piers, or to request a hand inspection.

Regardless of the test outcome, the airport will continue to use RFID for bags screened by the CAPPS program.

'RFID is the future of airline baggage tracking,' says Walker, 'and we want to be ready.'

Halliday believes that sentiment applies to the broader industrial world: 'RFID is coming, and companies need to evaluate it now to stay ahead of the competition.'

Click on the icon to read more about RFID in the supply chain.