Airport pilot tests RFID

France's Nice C^ote d'Azur Airport is testing near field communication (NFC) radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to speed up passenger identification, security checks and the awarding of airport loyalty points, states RFID Journal.

The airport is conducting pilot tests with IT service provider Amadeus, Air France, and IER, which specialises in boarding control hardware and software.

About 50 passengers who frequently fly on the Air France Nice-Paris Orly route are participating in the test, using NFC-enabled mobile phones as their electronic boarding and loyalty cards.

Georgia Institute of Technology professor Valerie Thomas has designed an RFID system which tracks recyclable materials, reports Earth 911.

The system aims to provide sustainable ways for discarding household waste, while also redefining the relationship individuals have with their garbage.

Thomas says: “Recycling and consumer waste are still managed with 1950s technology. Of course it can't keep up. The flow of products out of the household needs to be managed with at least as much intelligence as the flow of products into the household.”

The Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) is set to roll out 1.5 million RFID tags to eight libraries in Australia, says IT News Australia.

Council libraries will fit the RFID tags to audio-visual gear, toys, DVDs and books to allow for the self check-out of books. Security gates will alarm when an unchecked item goes through the library as this is hoped to curb theft.

The chips are currently fitted at Marrickville, Randwick and Sutherland Council libraries. Ashfield, Canada Bay, Canterbury, Waverley and Woollahra Councils are next in line to implement the new system.