RFID: State of the Union for Aerospace & Defense. Kenneth D. Porad Associate Technical Fellow The Boeing Company

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2 RFID: State of the Union for Aerospace & Defense Kenneth D. Porad Associate Technical Fellow The Boeing Company

3 Number of RFID devices Explosion of RFID Applications 10T RFID Applications Exploding 1T 1B 1M

4 Boeing Technology Adoption Cycle (Auto-ID) RFID Hype cycle Inflated Expectations (lots of) Noise Disillusionment True (likely) adoption cycle RFID Bar-code (nuggets of) Actionable knowledge

5 Enterprise-wide Benefits of RFID Customer and Supplier Benefits reduces inventory control and provisioning costs accurate configuration control and repair history reduces warranty claim processing costs regulatory agency compliance monitoring part installation and removal time tracking accurate and efficient spare parts pooling identification of rogue parts accurate flight hours tracking by part Production System Benefits reduces parts receiving costs eliminates data entry errors provides accurate as delivered configuration improves part location tracking reduces risk of unapproved parts timely problem resolution By working together on these non-competitive standards initiatives, both Boeing and Airbus benefit by avoiding conflicting requirements with mutual suppliers and customers and delivering products and services which create best value.

6 Industry Position on Passive RFID Because passive RFID devices: Have no on-tag power source and no active transmitter, and Perform a ground operated, non-essential function, and Are not potential sources of interference or susceptibility and Are FCC-certified for unlicensed use. Regulatory agencies have agreed that passive RFID devices comply with applicable regulations and do not impact form, fit, or function of installed systems and equipment.

7 Early Adoption of RFID in Aerospace

8 Enterprise RFID Projects by Use Case

9 Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Radio and electronic equipment, controls, and wiring must be installed so that operation of any one unit or system of units will not adversely affect the simultaneous operation of any other radio or electronic unit, or system of units... The occurrence of any failure condition which would prevent the continued safe flight and landing of the airplane is extremely improbable, and

10 Considerations for Deploying RFID on Parts Line replaceable Repairable Recommended as a spare Frequency of removal Spares price Dispatch criticality Life-limited or time-controlled part Emergency equipment

11 RFID Proof of Concept with FedEx

12 FedEx MD-10 N370FE

13 Annunciator Control Unit

14 Flap Limit Duplex Actuator Unit

15 Smoke Detector

16 Auxiliary Hydraulic Pump

17 Hand Held Portable Data Terminal

18 FAA Policy: RFID Conditions for Use on Civil Aircraft 1. Must operate in the passive only mode. 2. Must not radiate (backscatter) harmonics above a level of 35dBuv/m. 3. The frequency assignment must remain outside of the published aviation frequency bands. 4. Harmonic frequencies do not impinge upon any assigned aviation communication or navigation frequency. 5. Use of passive only devices is restricted to ground operations only. 6. Each item of installed equipment must function properly. 7. Designed to operate in an aircraft environment with robust radio frequency stability.

19 JAL: Current State of Emergency Equipment Checks JAL maintenance technicians access oxygen generators in PSUs, ceiling panels, seats and crew rests. PSUs Ceiling Panels Seats Crew Rests

20 JAL: Current State of Emergency Equipment Checks, cont. Mechanics required to check the expiration date located on the firing pin.

21 JAL: Future State of Emergency Equipment Checks With RFID Dramatic results were achieved. Before 13 labors hours. 6.5 hour cycle time. Full ship-set of inventory managed as just-in-case and located in Haneda. No as-flying configuration management. Checked as OK or NG. Generators replaced 19 months prior to expiration. 20% loss of product life-cycle yield and greater consumption of product. After 8.5 labor minutes 99% reduction 8.5 minutes 98% reduction 80% reduction, forward deployed to line stations and managed as just-in time. All transactions captured in front-end database. As-flying configuration management allows for generator replacement in weeks or days before expiration. 20% recovery of product life-cycle yield, decrease in product consumption.

22 Released Aerospace Standard AS5678 Passive, reader talk first protocol MHz frequency range Complies with ATA SPEC 2000 Chapter 9 Environmental tests per DO 160E requirements Metal mount, surface insensitive packaging 20 year service life Complies with FAA policy dated May 13, 2005 Air interface in accordance with EPCglobal (ISO C)

23 RFID Technology Development Concept Introduced MHz On-Board Evaluation 915 MHz On-Board Evaluation FAA Policy Memo ATA Spec 2000 Standards AS5678 Released Extended User Memory Devices Available

24 Future RFID Outlook for Aerospace and Defense Purely passive integrated circuit designs will provide extended user memory beyond 64 KB. Data transfer rates will increase dramatically and reach Megabytes per second. Innovative antenna designs will increase range and performance. Active tags incorporating onboard wireless sensor networks will proliferate aerospace products. Prices for commercially available off-the-shelf readers will decrease due to economies of scale.

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