International RFID Congress Targets Aeronautical, Automotive, Railway and Shipping

On 14 and 15 September 2010, the French National RFID Centre (CNRFID) is hosting the International RFID Congress in Toulouse, the first international congress focusing on RFID applications in the aeronautical, automotive, railway and shipping industries. Alongside this event, 40 experts from ISO (International Organization for Standardization) will be taking part in seminars on RFID standards and will attend the International RFID Congress to meet and discuss with delegates. The programme also includes a tour of the Airbus Industrial Showroom and Innovation Centre on the site of the A350 production facility in Toulouse, which is being opened up especially for the event.

 

The International RFID Congress is supported by the French Ministry for the Economy and Employment, and will bring together industry leaders with RFID providers and ISO officials.

 

“Originally this event was intended for the aeronautical industry, but it quickly grew to include the three other markets as well,” says Jean-Christophe Lecosse, Managing Director of the CNRFID. “These four industries already use a number of RFID solutions, and it is right that they are part of this event. Especially given that the RFID solutions being used are transferable from one industry to another, both in terms of technical issues and the similarity of their processes.”

 

The event aims at sharing experiences of those who work in these different industries, for mutual benefit. It is also a showcase for RFID providers who will be presenting their solutions in the demonstration area designed to encourage networking and new partnerships.

 

Presentations will include the latest on operational developments from all four industries, operating feedback and perspectives on the future of RFID. There will be over 20 presentations from the likes of Airbus, Air France/KLM, Eurocopter, IBM, Michelin and Renault among others.

 

Themes explored will include  in-service parts monitoring and maintenance in the aeronautical industry (e.g. reliable, hard-wearing tags specially designed for harsh environments)  and development of human and material solutions that can be adapted for either in-house or outsourced maintenance operations;

 

Automotive industry themes will include vehicle fleet management, optimisation of assembly line output flows and assembly line automation;

 

Topics to be presented regarding the railway industry will include automatic wagon scanning for fleet “geolocalisation”, ensuring safe management of train journeys through sensing controls, maintenance of sensitive parts.  And finally for the shipping industry, there will be examples of container security and tracking, assistance for transferring responsibilities in maintenance operations.

 

One highlight of the event will be the tour of the Airbus Industrial Showroom and Innovation Centre which will give delegates the opportunity to see five RFID applications in operation in real-life conditions. It will also be an opportunity for Airbus to present their identification technologies (fixed and mobile readers, intelligent shelving, conveyor systems and more), their training offer, experience and best practice information for the aeronautical industry.

 

A wide range of partners are backing this initiative: IBM, the event’s main sponsor, Airbus, Air France/KLM and the CNRFID network. The Grand Toulouse agglomeration and the Midi-Pyrénées Region are also supporting the event. A large number of providers will be attending - in particular Fréquentiel, Maintag, Neopost ID, Orange, P3 Ingénieurs, STID and Deister Electronic. La Mêlée (an association bringing together key players in the digital economy), Galia a (standardisation body for product exchange and information tools for the automobile industry) and the competitiveness clusters representing these markets are also supporting the event, which promises to be an excellent get-together.

For more information and registration, consult www.rfid-congress.com