BAGdna achieves this by inserting a low frequency RFID transponder (Tag) inside its subscriber’s bags. These tags, similar to those in the necks of dogs and cats around the world, can subsequently be scanned from the outside of the bag with a handheld reader/scanner, supplied FOC to participating recovery partners worldwide (airlines/airport baggage handlers/lost property offices) by BAGdna. This tagging process is so easy to apply that BAGdna believes its system could be rapidly adopted worldwide.
This means that for the first time, even when stripped of any external identification, a bag’s ownership can be easily verified without it being opened. This has obvious benefits over conventional strap-on bag labels that can be damaged or accidentally/
PLEASE NOTE: BAGdna will not stop your bag from being stolen or having things stolen from it by dishonest airline/airport employees; but it does mean that you can now ‘really’ secure it, as it won’t have to be opened by anyone but you, making things far more difficult for opportunist airport thieves. Additionally, BAGdna can’t help locate your bag if the airline you travelled with, or the lost luggage facility that they in turn use, doesn’t care about finding it. However, if everyone in the airport baggage-handling business is being sincere and really does care about passengers' lost luggage, then BAGdna should be, at the very least, the final luggage ID check before your bag is sent off to be sold at auction. Remember, around a million bags a year are lost forever because they allegedly have no form of ID, but with BAGdna installed that can no longer be used as an excuse…sorry, option!
Once a bag is discovered and BAGdna has been notified, we will contact the subscriber via a mobile/cell phone text message, landline voice message and/or email. If the subscriber is still at, or close to the airport, they can return and pick up their bag. For additional security at the point of collection, subscribers will need to show their plastic subscriber card with their unique ID number.
If collection of the bag by the subscriber is not possible or convenient, and the airline cannot deliver the bag to the subscriber’s location in a reasonable timescale, then BAGdna can arrange – for an additional fee based on competitive courier costs – for the bag to be delivered to almost any location in the world, be it hotel, home or elsewhere.
A BASIC SUBSCRIBER PACK CONTAINS:
Two internal self-adhesive RFID tags with the subscriber’s unique code
Four external printed self-adhesive labels with the subscriber’s unique ID number
One plastic subscriber card with the subscriber’s unique ID number and international contact information for BAGdna
Two external printed self-adhesive labels with BAGdna logo and ‘Scan Here’ to indicate roughly where the internal RFID tag is sited
A brochure with instructions and tips on attaching tags and labels and an explanation of the service with contact information
PRICES:
Initial 12- Month Subscription and Basic Subscriber Pack: £19.99
Subsequent 12-Month Subscription (up to 8 tags): £ 9.99
Additional Tag Packs (1 x RFID Tag + 2 x ID Labels): £ 7.50
The price of this basic pack also includes the cost of the first year’s subscription to the BAGdna website monitoring service, which will notify you by several means when your lost bag has been reported found. Subsequent annual subscription (without any tags or labels) will cost no more than £9.99 (less than three pence a day) for up to eight unique tags registered to the same subscriber. Additional ID Tag Packs can be purchased at a cost of £7.50, each pack with a tag and labels for one bag. All prices include P&P to anywhere in the world and VAT where applicable.
Finally, please remember that a proportion of each annual subscription goes towards financing the cost of issuing scanners and training baggage handling personnel in their use at commercial airports around the world.
Telegraph.co.uk Article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Sun Article:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/
BBC Magazine Article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Most FAQ
Further to the initial limited distribution of our Press Release, the following questions seem to be the ‘most frequently asked’ by people who have already had a chance to read it. So, as they are very pertinent questions, we are including them in here along with our answers.
Q. Why are ordinary people going to buy into the BAGdna system?
A. As you probably know, in most countries of the world since the technology was introduced, dog and cat owners have been paying vets to have an RFID chip implant in their pets, so if the animal ever gets lost and their external identification (such as a neck collar and tag) goes missing, they will eventually be scanned and the owners’ details will be made available from a central database to the vet or rescue service doing the scanning.
Q. So briefly, how will the BAGdna RFID work for lost bags?
A. A similar technology and procedures can now apply to your bag as those in your pet, only instead of a vet or rescue service, it’s an airline or lost luggage facility at an airport doing the scanning and BAGdna that holds the owner’s details on its secure database. Once the bag’s ID has been obtained, it is put into the ‘Recovery’
Q. Why would airports and airlines take on the job of scanning lost bags for BAGdna?
A. Why wouldn’t they? Lost bags are currently being scanned, only for security reasons; for BAGdna purposes it’s just another quick scan taking less than five seconds. BAGdna provides the scanners free of charge and will even train airline and airport staff in their use, so there’s no cost associated with the service. Also, and probably the most important factor: if everyone in the airport baggage-handling business is being sincere when they say they really do care about passenger’s lost luggage, then BAGdna should be, at the very least, the final luggage ID check before people’s bags are sent off to be sold at auction.
Having a BAGdna Tag in your bag is like having an extra insurance policy packed away, that doesn’t have to be taken out to be read. So even if your bag does go missing from now on, you can be pretty sure you will eventually get it back. What you have to remember is that around a million bags a year are lost forever because they allegedly have no form of ID, but with BAGdna installed that should no longer be the case. Passengers should feel comfortable about flying and be able to relax and enjoy their journey, not spend the whole flight wondering if they will ever see their bags again!