Researchers at India’s Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab have devised a smart system for preventing baggage theft at airports.

By linking data about passengers with their luggage via barcodes, the system can scan and authenticate the luggage as passengers collect it from the conveyor system and attempt to leave the airport. Once scanned, the data from the bag is then matched to a centralized database where passenger and luggage information is held. When a match is established, the passenger is allowed to exit the gate. However, in the event that the information does not match, the person with the luggage is prevented from leaving the gate.

The system also reportedly improves baggage pickup by displaying estimated time of arrivals (ETAs) on a nearby linked liquid crystal display (LCD) board. The same data that prevents the bags from being stolen also informs the system where the bags are along the luggage conveyor, thereby eliminating wait times for passengers. The system also alerts forgetful passengers leaving the gate without their luggage.

LPU assistant professor Gurjot Singh Gaba explained: “During our research, we could not find any existing systems providing services similar to us. Our solution is helpful to resolve these problems that have not been addressed so far. Passengers who pay a huge amount as airfare would benefit from this technology. Their baggage loss would be prevented and also they would easily collect their luggage at the airports.”

Despite tight security, luggage theft at the airport is still very common. A report from IT specialist SITA puts the number at 40 pieces of luggage that go mishandled every minute. In 2018, 24.8 million pieces of luggage were mishandled, resulting in a cost of $2.4 billion to the air transport industry.

Gaba said: “Airport authorities receive baggage loss cases of million dollars every year which tarnishes their reputation. With our system, they could prevent losses of this kind. Hence, it will be beneficial for airport authorities as well.”

For now, the team has only tested a miniaturized version of the system with the hope of eventually bringing the technology to market.