The AIR-SEAL project proposes the development of a second generation RFID security seal, capable of monitoring the integrity of an aircraft galley trolley or transportation vehicle. Since the September 11th terrorism attacks in the United States, catering services through-out the world have been seen as the weakest link in the aviation industry’s service supply chain. Existing sealing technologies are time consuming, ineffective and require a complex paper trail. A reusable and retro-fit, electronic sealing device is therefore required with an ultra-low profile. This new technology will enable the automatic sealing and inspections of galley trolleys, while improving their security by utilising a digital, anti-tamper volumetric sensor. 

With an initial market value of €120million retrofitting the technology and an additional €24milion per year in new trolleys, this market has the potential of significant economic returns. Beyond the catering industry this technology will enable international logistics services and all of the SMEs operating within a secure supply chain to seal their vehicles and reduce their operating costs. Supported by a location dependant (Galileo) tag interrogator and central ICT database, a pair of smart tags will be used to seal and monitor unauthorised access to a trolley, based on a received signal strength indication technology. Upon an authorised activation, the novel security seal will transmit its location and a randomly generated locking number to a central database, using a mobile GPRS communication link in the tag interrogator. By cross-referencing the tag and database values using a standard RFID reader, a security official may ensure that a seal has not been tampered with or replaced. A multi-lingual and bi-colour passive RF display will be installed onto each door of the trolley, for a visual indication of the seal status. Alternatively, a RFID reader may be used for an automatic, long range inspection.