For airlines and cargo handling companies, the inability to know precisely where a specific item was located on a belt could (understandably) prove to be quite the limitation. Thankfully, the gurus at Alien Technology are aiming to add more functionality to a few of its readers in order to nix said quandary. The company recently showcased its Intelligent Tag Radar reader firmware in Las Vegas, which essentially provides its ALR-9900, ALR-9800 and ALR-8800 Enterprise-Class reader platform with the ability to understand "information about the velocity and position of tags, in addition to the contents of tag memory." Furthermore, the included ITR-Singulation features allows the reader to "easily discriminate amongst adjacent tagged objects on a conveyor such as items, cases or airline baggage." One less excuse for lost luggage? Where do we sign?

[Via CNET]

It's not like we haven't seen RFID in luggage before, but a highly focused company is looking to make that niche blossom into a thriving industry with its latest BagChip system. RFID Limited is currently marketing its chipped luggage tags to airline industries as a means of reducing human error and decreasing the amount of luggage lost in transit. Additionally, the company is adding a dash of glitz and glamor to its BagChipElite lineup, which will reportedly be designed to match luggage crafted by the likes of "Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton." Of course, there's nothing like a little knockoff material to grace the side of your entirely overpriced luxury bag, but unless the company lands approval to use the branding of these high-end boutiques, we guess you'll end up with second rate pattern mismatches. Nevertheless, there's no hard details regarding when we can expect to see these hovering around in airport kiosks and travel shops, but until RFID Limited sweet talks the airlines into providing support, we doubt this gets very far.

[Via BoyGeniusReport]