Airport logistics The new Siemens Baggage Vision System greatly enhances bag tag recognition
- New system increases read-rate of bag tags and speeds up baggage handling while lowering costs
- Successful tests are being carried out at Changi Airport Singapore
- Live installation at the Siemens Passenger Terminal Expo (PTE) booth in Paris
Siemens Logistics and Airport Solutions has developed the new Baggage Vision System to help solve the challenge of non-readable bag tags. The solution uses digital images of the bag and applies highly reliable optical character recognition (OCR) software to identify the flight numbers and airport codes on torn or twisted bag tags. Thus, the Baggage Vision System speeds up the baggage handling process, avoids delays and lowers handling costs. The new system is currently being tested in the operational environment of Changi Airport in Singapore.
The Baggage Vision System is Siemens’ main product highlight at this year’s Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris, from March 10 to 12, 2015. Trade fair visitors can test a live installation of the system at the Siemens booth in Hall 4, Booth 1055. At the Passenger Terminal Conference, representatives from Changi Airport Group and Siemens Logistics and Airport Solutions will hold a joint presentation about their experience with the Baggage Vision System (March 12, 2015, at 10.35 am).
The Baggage Vision System is Siemens’ main product highlight at this year’s Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris, from March 10 to 12, 2015. Trade fair visitors can test a live installation of the system at the Siemens booth in Hall 4, Booth 1055. At the Passenger Terminal Conference, representatives from Changi Airport Group and Siemens Logistics and Airport Solutions will hold a joint presentation about their experience with the Baggage Vision System (March 12, 2015, at 10.35 am).
The state-of the art Baggage Vision System is able to determine the next flight and destination airport that are printed on the bag tag by combining OCR and barcode reading. Siemens has successfully implemented the OCR technology in the automation of postal and parcel processes for many years already. Therefore, the Baggage Vision System is the perfect answer for the day-to-day challenges of modern airport operations: Through multiple loadings and unloadings, bag tags can end up non-readable because they are stained, torn, twisted badly worn out or – more simply – partially hidden behind straps or pockets. Without the Baggage Vision System, bags with non-readable tags have to be diverted to manual coding stations, which leads to additional manual labor and a significant delay in transportation.
The Baggage Vision System offers considerable advantages for airlines and airport operators: The solution reconstructs pieces of missing information needed for baggage sortation. Better recognition rates are the result, and the number of automatically sorted bags is thereby increased. The proportion of late or mis-handled bags is minimized significantly. Short transfer times can be adhered to reliably. The number of required workstations as well as the workload at manual coding stations is reduced, and staff resources can be reserved for the really tough cases.
Technical information about the Baggage Vision System
- Proven optical character recognition (OCR) technology
- The number of cameras varies according to the mounting position and width of the conveyor belt; 90, 180, 270 and 360 degree solutions are possible
- Baggage items travel at a speed of up to 1.5 m/s; the cameras are activated when a light barrier is triggered
- Fast recognition of information on stained, torn, hidden and worn out bag tags
- Less diversion of baggage to manual coding stations
- Lower handling costs
- Avoidance of baggage processing delays
- Ability to meet short transfer times