Beumer is a leading manufacturer of intralogistics in the fields of conveying and loading technology, sorting and distribution systems as well as palletizing and packaging technology. Headquartered in Germany, the company employs 4,000 people in more than 70 countries worldwide. With the acquisition of Crisplant, a market-leading provider of automated sorting and high-speed conveyor systems for baggage at airports, Beumer has united two of its strongest brands under one roof.

For the development of its Crisbag airport baggage handling system, a modular conveyor and sorting system that transports individual items of baggage in sturdy containers with RFID tags, Beumer was looking for reliable hardware for automatic identification. A combination of RFID reader and external antenna was important to enable seamless tracking and tracing, even with increased baggage volumes.

As the system was designed for the international market, it was also important that the readers support the region-specific frequency ranges and high security standards. Other requirement specifications included low energy consumption, a direct interface for system integration and firmware and software that is easy to personalize and update.

Beumer opted for the Idtronic RFID industrial readers and antennas from the Bluebox product family to ensure reliable and fast identification of the individually monitored transport containers. Due to the requirements for bulk detection, the choice fell on the UHF frequency range and the Bluebox-Advant-MR reader with 1-channel antenna connection and Profibus interface.

The Cylindrical Antenna M30 is used as the external antenna. Both devices are used by Beumer in the Crisplant Crisbag system and, alongside the internally developed software and the standard modules, form the hub of the entire system.

Beumer was one of the first customers to receive the second generation of the industry-proven Bluebox RFID readers and writers. The device-independent software development kit provided the suitable tool basis for developing own applications and integrating them into the newly developed system. Durable and cost-effective passive RFID tags, which have been specially adapted to the requirements of the system and the Bluebox devices, are attached to the containers themselves.

3,000 pieces of luggage per hour

The Bluebox product family is available with many interfaces and in different versions. Depending on the location and configuration, the number of devices can be scaled and combined with each other. At peak times, Idtronic's RFID readers currently register up to 3,000 items of baggage per hour. Technically, Advant readers are capable of reading up to 36,000 tags per hour. They are therefore equipped for the future, even if passenger and baggage volumes continue to rise. as