RFID Law Blog

The Deparment of Transportation's Transportation Security Administration is looking for feedback on how to design a system to help them track passengers and luggage from the start to finish of their travels. This RFI process is usually designed to help educate government policymakers about new and innovative solutions to government problems for the purpose of shaping their purchasing decisions. They don't know everything about what tracking and tracing technology solutions exist, so they ask for feedback from the public -- but they will only know what people submit to them.

CQ HOMELAND SECURITY – TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
April 10, 2007 – 5:49 p.m.

TSA Seeks Industry Help to Build Beginning-to-End Airline Tracking System of the Future

By Matthew M. Johnson, CQ Staff

Private technology firms have a little more than a week to respond to a Transportation Security Administration request for advice on how to build the airline passenger- and luggage-tracking system of the future.

TSA wants to create a continuous system that can monitor passengers and bags during the entire extent of their travels — from the time they book a reservation to the time they exit their destination airport.

But the agency wants more than the ability to track passengers and bags independently. It also wants the ability to continually confirm the identification of every airline passenger and link them to their checked and carry-on baggage at every step of their trip.

"Though TSA is conducting its own inhouse research for the future of aviation security, we are also interested in the experience of private industry in similar environments, to determine what practical solutions may exist," said TSA spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.

The agency last week submitted a request for information (RFI) on the Federal Business Opportunities Web page asking the private sector to suggest potential uses of biometrics, smart cards, radio frequency identification systems, video surveillance, document scanners and various other technologies to build the tracking system.

Companies are being asked to draw on their business experiences in environments similar to those in the transportation system when they submit their concepts.

The companies should respond to the RFI in reports of no more than 25 pages that identify operating systems, integrated portals and kiosks, products, platforms and processes that would contribute to an integrated personnel and baggage identification system, according to the RFI.

TSA will rate the technical suggestions based on their relevance to the agency’s overall mission and its goals for the airport and transportation environments. Furthermore, past projects that companies have worked on, life cycle costs of the proposed concept, interoperability and several other factors will have an influence TSA’s appraisals.

The agency may also hold technical information meetings with respondents prior to the review of related material.

Company responses to the RFI will not be returned and they will not be considered offers that can be accepted by the government in the form of a binding contract.

Matthew M. Johnson can be reached at mjohnson@cq.com.

Source: CQ Homeland Security