Kyocera ceramic UHF RFID tag works for aerospace

Kyocera has developed tiny ceramic UHF RFID tag that can be attached to metal tools in the aerospace industry for identification and tracking.

Kyocera has developed tiny ceramic UHF RFID tag that can be attached to metal tools in the aerospace industry for identification and tracking.

RFID tags will be attached to workshop tools of maintenance and repair service providers. The attached tag will withstand harsh environments which are typical for workshops, including impacts and dirt (e.g. oil, fuel, lubricants, etc.) without negative effects on the reading performance due to the robust ceramic package of the RFID tag.

Apart from tracking metal workshop tools, it is also possible to trace aircraft components with RFID technology.

The RFID tag will be attached to an aircraft component either during production or during repair services, which will stay afterwards on the tagged component. The tag will withstand the temperature differences which occur during flight operations. This way, it is possible to track the path of different aircraft components.

Kyocera's UHF RFID tags come in ceramic packages with a proprietary multilayer structure, including a built-in RFID antenna. The company has also developed a new ultra-small tag with a size of 5 x 2 x 1.5mm, meaning a further reduction in the tag volume of almost 50 % compared to the tag with a size of 3 x 6 x 1.7mm.

Additionally, RFID technology does not require line-of-sight scanning, in contrast to barcode labelling or direct marking technology. Due to the fact that no line-of-sight scanning of RFID is required, it is also possible to read RFID tags regardless of a tool's condition (e.g. in case that the tool is covered by dirt, oil, etc.).