Introduction

The five years from 2000 saw enormous developments in the way in which technologies such as RFID could be deployed in the consumer goods supply chain as illustrated in the preceding chapter (Ch. 9). While many of these developments were generic, it became increasingly clear that other sectors would need to make substantial adjustments were they to capitalize on the significant cost reductions and standards developments that had occurred. It was for this reason that the Auto ID Labs set up the Aerospace ID Programme. The aim of the programme was

The barriers to be examined ranged from issues of technical feasibility, via economic viability hurdles, to questions of operational viability – that is, whether solutions could survive a harsh range of operating conditions. These hurdles to be addressed (see Fig. 10.1) served as a sanity check for setting the research directions which are reported in Section 10.5.

This chapter tells the story of the Aerospace ID Programme, its formation, its operations, and the results.

Background

As mentioned above, the background to the Aero ID Programme was the major development in the use of RFID in the consumer goods industry, led by the Auto ID Center and exemplified by the major initiative from Wal-Mart in 2004.