| Project Reference: | ITP/055/14LP |
| Project Title: | RFID and Vision Sensor Integration in IOT Technology to enable Automated Baggage Pre-Clearance for Faster Passenger Flow in Airport |
| Hosting Institution: | LSCM R&D Centre (LSCM) |
| Abstract: | The amount of the arrival airplanes and passengers has grown at a remarkable rate per annum and the solid growth is estimated to remain in the next 20 years. Hong Kong International Airport is seeing her cap of passenger handling nowadays. On the average, every passenger when coming through the airport, take about 20 ~ 50 minutes to reclaim his/her baggage at the baggage reclaim hall. The manual operation of the baggage pre-clearance process is indeed the rate slowing step which is responsible for the major time delay. Definitely, leveraging advance technology in automation for the baggage pre-clearance operation has a great potential for excelling the efficiency of baggage handling, helping shorten the baggage processing time. It surely will help minimize the passenger’s waiting time in the baggage reclaim hall and thus improving the passenger flow through the airport. This project is proposed to develop the technology for automation of the baggage pre-clearance process. It addresses the challenge by integrating the two sensing technologies of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and computer vision analysis to automate the tasks of identification, tracking and surveillance on people and baggage in the baggage pre-clearance process. The computer system will identify a few target baggage and follow the target baggage and suspect inside the baggage reclaim hall. Innovation of the project resides in the methodology of sensor fusion between RFID and computer vision to strive for extended IOT sensing. The project also innovates the PDOA positioning on the UHF passive RFID platform. Innovation in technology application will be the use of RFID, CCTV and PDOA RFID locating in resolving people tracking in a cluttered environment. With novel implementation of these techniques, the Baggage Pre-Clearance Platform from this project will demonstrate effective customs control and efficient baggage handling at the same time for smooth passenger flow in airport operation. Deliverables of the project will be contributive to the airport operation of HK. Porting to other port terminals, such as cruise and train depots, the innovative technology will help enable HK for her international image of an efficient and safe port for travelers. |
| Project Coordinator: | Dr Frank C H TONG |
| Approved Funding Amount: | HK$13.5M |
| Project Period: | 15 Jan 2015 - 14 Jan 2017 |
