Star Alliance considering GPS enabled luggage tags?

[haydensydney]

Shhh... Star Alliance and luggage tracking bag tags? | flymefunky.com

A kind source of FlymeFunky has told us that Star Alliance is undertaking market research and investigating the potential of offering luggage tracking bag tags

Would you be interested in getting some of these tags and how much you pay for the luxury?

I would definitely be keen for these.

 

[TonyHancock]

I would definitely be keen for these.

.....and the find my luggage app to go with it...that would be fun when chatting to the lost luggage customer service rep

 

[haydensydney]

.....and the find my luggage app to go with it...that would be fun when chatting to the lost luggage customer service rep

It would certainly add weight to the conversation

In terms of paying for these, I think they should dish them out free to *A Gold members as an added benefit...

 

[NM]

But a GPS capability just means the tag can track where its been. It would have not way of telling the world where it is unless it also has some sort of global roaming enabled 3G data communications capability. And then that means it need some sort of rechargable batter to power the 3G transmitter device and a SIM card so it can report its location. That would be interesting in terms of international data roaming costs and the airlines actually allowing you to check-in a device with an active radio transmitter device.

So if the tag had the ability to track its travels "passively", storing the data for later download, it may show some interesting history but its not going to help you locate a lost bag.

Its not going to happen.

 

[markis10]

Wife to husband - "I think we are lost"
Husband to Wife - "Open the trunk and see where the bag thinks we are, once it gets a satellite lock now its in clear sky"

A case of rubbish in rubbish out from a technology point of view, some people clearly have too much time on that hands yet not enough time to think through what can be achieved in reality, even if it did have a two way capability, the chances of a bag getting satellite lock would be less than 1%, as thats the time its in clear view of the sky during a typical journey (best case), GPS being a LOS technology.

 

[harvyk]

What would be more useful is a tag which using a combination of WiFi and GPS advertises where it is. All it would need to do is log onto a special WiFi network installed at airports, send out an ID and GPS co-ords once every 5 minutes. It wouldn't take a huge amount of power, by using a relatively inexpensive WiFi network it means that global roaming is no longer an issue, and it would mean that truly lost luggage only happens if the tag falls off the bag.

Make it an airline owned thing, so the airline simply reuses it set of tags at each airport, could be a relatively cheap and effective way of ensuring no bag is ever lost again. Then again thanks to the onus being on the traveler to have travel insurance, I somewhat think the airlines have no real incentive to really look after bags.

 

[TonyHancock]

But a GPS capability just means the tag can track where its been. It would have not way of telling the world where it is unless it also has some sort of global roaming enabled 3G data communications capability. And then that means it need some sort of rechargable batter to power the 3G transmitter device and a SIM card so it can report its location. That would be interesting in terms of international data roaming costs and the airlines actually allowing you to check-in a device with an active radio transmitter device.

I agree it is unlikely.

Off topic but I have been surprised by the free 3G with the Kindle. The web browser is not ideal on the Kindle but it has bailed me out a couple of times. It does demonstrate that "free", for the consumer, global 3G is a possibility if there are some commercial benefits for the company offering it.

 

[NM]

What would be more useful is a tag which using a combination of WiFi and GPS advertises where it is. All it would need to do is log onto a special WiFi network installed at airports, send out an ID and GPS co-ords once every 5 minutes. It wouldn't take a huge amount of power, by using a relatively inexpensive WiFi network it means that global roaming is no longer an issue, and it would mean that truly lost luggage only happens if the tag falls off the bag.

Make it an airline owned thing, so the airline simply reuses it set of tags at each airport, could be a relatively cheap and effective way of ensuring no bag is ever lost again. Then again thanks to the onus being on the traveler to have travel insurance, I somewhat think the airlines have no real incentive to really look after bags.

why use WiFi. RFID would be much simpler, cheaper and requires no active components in the tag. Just need all airports to install compatible RFID readers. QF's new tags use this technology. Just need all airports/airlines to agree on a standard and then implement it ... ahh yes, that is the problem - agreement on a standard. The definition of a standard is a common point from which to deviate.

 

[richie9x]

I very much doubt they are 'GPS enabled'. GPS signals are very weak and typically need to be out in the open to get a good signal. Luggage spends most of it time in airports or in cargo holds, so no good for GPS.

From the looks of I would think it would be RFID based similar to what Qantas have for the q-tags.

 

[moa999]

I can't see any GPS tags working at all in the concrete bowels of an airport

 

[harvyk]

why use WiFi. RFID would be much simpler, cheaper and requires no active components in the tag. Just need all airports to install compatible RFID readers. QF's new tags use this technology. Just need all airports/airlines to agree on a standard and then implement it ... ahh yes, that is the problem - agreement on a standard. The definition of a standard is a common point from which to deviate.

Because WiFi has the advantage that it does not need to be within extremely close proximity to the reader. By using WiFi a bag that fell off the cart so to speak could still be easily found. RFID is only good to re-unite a lost bag with it's owner once someone has possession of the bag.

 

[haydensydney]

I've quietly updated the story.

Spoke to the source who said that GPS wasn't mentioned specifically, rather assumed this is what they were talking about.

 

[markis10]

Because WiFi has the advantage that it does not need to be within extremely close proximity to the reader. By using WiFi a bag that fell off the cart so to speak could still be easily found. RFID is only good to re-unite a lost bag with it's owner once someone has possession of the bag.

WiFi asset tracking is only usable in the real world for items that are mains powered, the very nature of the protocol means its a battery hungry comms method, and in reality would not have much greater range in a large area, where other signals provide interference. Intel has been using RFID for this reason for a significant time to track its inventory in the various warehouses around the world, if WiFI worked they would have used it being a significant proponent of the technology.

 

[oz_mark]

why use WiFi. RFID would be much simpler, cheaper and requires no active components in the tag. Just need all airports to install compatible RFID readers. QF's new tags use this technology. Just need all airports/airlines to agree on a standard and then implement it ... ahh yes, that is the problem - agreement on a standard. The definition of a standard is a common point from which to deviate.

There is an effort underway in IATA to standardise reusable bag tags. Airlines/airports already work to a lot of standards - I don't think it is such a big problem. Like all standardisation processes, it's a bit time consuming, but hardly a problem that the airline and airports haven't faced before.

RFID has been trialled in a number of places, and I would expect that in time, it will be common place for baggage tags.

 

[NM]

Because WiFi has the advantage that it does not need to be within extremely close proximity to the reader. By using WiFi a bag that fell off the cart so to speak could still be easily found. RFID is only good to re-unite a lost bag with it's owner once someone has possession of the bag.

With RFID readers on the conveyor belts, it would be pretty easy to identify the "last known location" for a bag. WiFi has many issues in this context, most importantly being power requirements, second being cost. RFID can do the job and with enough readers distributed throughout the environment, a "last known location" would be far more value than what is known today.