ePaper NFC Luggage Tag (First Publish: 2019)

October 27, 2019, is an unforgettable day for both China and Beijing. On this day, Beijing Daxing International Airport officially opened to the public. For Rinlink Intelligence, this day is also very memorable. After nearly 6 months of hard work by our company, the world's first passive electronic luggage tag, was placed in the first flight gift bag of every Eastern Airlines passenger as one of the black technologies of Daxing Airport.

Electronic luggage tag is a kind of green and low-carbon travel equipment advocated and promoted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It uses electronic paper display instead of traditional paper luggage tags. Through the app, passengers can refresh the electronic baggage check list generated by the system cloud to the electronic baggage tag.

In 2019, China's civil aviation consumes 400 million checked baggage strips annually, and the global civil aviation consumes 3.6 billion baggage strips annually.

This story goes back to the day after May Day 2019. In the temporary headquarters of China Eastern Airlines, a hotel near Beijing Daxing Airport, people found that the electronic luggage tag has no battery, and is maintained only by electricity generated by RF induction. Electronic paper can ensure that the luggage information is also clearly displayed without electricity. That's what Daxing Airport wants, thus they decided Such luggage tags must be put into use in October.

Rinlink Intelligence is a technology company dedicated to full-stack solutions for the Internet of Things. With relying on technology, we like challenges and new technology, and has created a miracle of more than 100 million revenue in the first year of establishment. Passive electronic luggage tag, jointly developed by Zero Zero Intelligence and China Eastern Airlines. Prior to this, the international electronic luggage tag manufacturers used battery power, which has always been unable to avoid the security risks of passenger luggage consignment. Rinlink intelligence adopts China's local NFC RF passive power acquisition chip, equipping with 2.9 inches electronic paper display module with 300x200 resolution. Given the fact that the electronic paper does not use electricity, we emit energy through NFC (13.56MHz) radio frequency standard of mobile phone to generate weak current, and transmit data through NFC. After the refresh of display, the picture on the e-paper can be maintained permanently after the phone is removed. Our innovation perfectly solves the long-standing technical bottleneck that digital products must rely on built-in batteries to display updates.

However, the development of innovative products is not smooth. In 2019, Apple has not yet opened the data transfer function of NFC to third-party applications, which is a problem facing our company. IPhone has a high share in first-tier cities. What should we do? Eventually, Rinlink technology controllers solved the problem. We use NFC for electricity and Bluetooth for data transmission. Using NFC+ Bluetooth dual-chip architecture, we finally overcome the communication problem of Apple mobile phone.

For innovative products, this is far from over. Reliability is the performance of baggage tags that must be tested. Due to the powerful power of the baggage sorting carousel, the luggage will repeatedly collide with the metal guardrail on the carousel tumbling and squeezing, and the baggage sorting staff will also carry and pull the baggage, which are also the baggage tags to face. Finally, 2mm thick Corning toughened glass, carrying 60kg of luggage 1m cement ground drop, roller test, pull test and so on. In the luggage lab, electronic luggage tags suffer all kinds of torture.

For our products, there is still a long way to go. How to design the most convenient luggage tag is the hardest thing. First, travelers don't understand NFC, especially women. Secondly, passengers do not know where NFC is on the phone; In addition, travelers don't know where to put their phones and for how long, because many people don't read the instructions or even notice the on-screen messages on their first use. The technology is so new that the cost of education is really high. This is also the way to be original and new.

October 27, 2019, is unforgettable for Rinlink intelligence. We witnessed thousands of passive electronic baggage tags arriving at Beijing Daxing Airport on schedule and lying quietly on every passenger seat of China Eastern Airlines. At the same time, NFC passive electronic baggage tag technology has also been written into the IATA electronic baggage tag guidelines. However, at this moment, Rinlink Intelligence does not have a sense of satisfaction, nor does it stop the pace of innovation. The second generation of electronic luggage tag has been in the new brewing. From use to easy to use, from conditional reliability to unconditional reliability, from operation according to regulations, to small white stickers, this is the second generation of electronic baggage tags must have.

In March 2020, the second generation of electronic baggage tags arrived on schedule. The e-paper screen is larger and comes with an all-in-one mold, strap built-in steel sheet, and omnidirectional antenna design. The new generation of electronic luggage tags do not pick the location, that is, by that brush. Innovation doesn't happen overnight. It need a spirit of dissatisfaction, generation to iteration.

2020 was accompanied by the Coronavirus pandemic. Civil aviation is in a slump, and so are the second generation of electronic baggage tags. In 2023, the haze of the epidemic lifted, and the electronic baggage tag project was restarted by Rinlink Intelligence. Now, we are working with China Air credit to write electronic baggage tags into the standard of China Airlines. Small electronic luggage tags have the power to change the way people traveling. Through electronic baggage tags, passengers can complete the update of baggage tags information at home, and the logistics personnel designated by the airline can complete the check-in of baggage at the passenger's home or hotel. Passengers can carry their carry-on bags directly to the airport to get on the plane, realizing the green and intelligent travel of passengers without luggage.

1. Product description

L1000 passive electronic luggage plate (Electronic Bag Tag: EBT) adopts advanced radio frequency charging technology, combined with EInk ultra-low power e-ink display technology to achieve the world's first battery-free electronic luggage plate supporting display. L1000 can change to display the image without battery, and can permanently maintain the image without electricity.

L1000 is compatible with Android and Apple phones, and can be generated through the built-in NFC module of the phone. The L1000 internally integrates high performance RFID RF tags compliant with IATA 753 / 754 specification standards. Can effectively replace the traditional paper RFID electronic luggage strip.

With the help of L1000, passengers can not only realize self-service consignment at home through the airline APP, but also obtain and view the location information of luggage in real time through the APP, so as to realize passengers' secure, intelligent and efficient travel.

2. Product pictures

3. Product Spec