Fujitsu, Boeing to develop aircraft tag system
Computer giant Fujitsu Ltd. on Friday announced an accord with Boeing Co. to jointly create a smart-tag-based aircraft parts management system designed to help airlines reduce maintenance costs.
The two companies plan to launch the system in the first quarter of 2012 for Boeing and other makes of aircraft, the Japanese firm said in a statement.
Fujitsu is in charge of manufacturing the smart tags, which will be attached to some 2,000 aviation parts including life vests to record data such as their life spans, maintenance history and scheduled replacement dates.
The data can be read instantly to help identify parts and equipment that need to be serviced or replaced, a Fujitsu spokesman said.
"According to our study, the system is expected to reduce overall maintenance costs by some 15 percent" by enabling airlines to keep parts inventories at airports at ideal levels, the spokesman said.
Fujitsu and Boeing hope to sign up about 10 customers in the first four years, implying sales of 20 billion yen (238 million dollars) for Fujitsu alone, he said.
Boeing and Fujitsu intend to pitch the system to Boeing's rival, Europe's Airbus, the Nikkei business daily said.
Major air carriers are spending 50-100 billion yen a year on maintenance of aviation parts, the daily reported.
(c) 2010 AFP
