GERMAN technology giant Siemens showcased at the Airport Show, held recently in Dubai, its latest innovations, the Baggage Vision System and the Siemens SmartTilter, which are aimed at greatly reducing manual efforts associated with baggage and cargo handling.

The event, held at the Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre, was the 14th edition of the Airport Show.

Michael Schneider, CEO of Siemens for the Infrastructure & Cities Sector, Mobility & Logistics Division and Logistics & Airport Solutions, said at the event: “We are showcasing the technologies for the first time in Dubai. The cutting-edge features ensure faster movability and reduced footprint.”

Schneider, whose company is a major technology supplier to Dubai International Airport, the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers with over 66 million passengers in 2013, said about the Baggage Vision System: “This is smart way to load and unload baggage and handle it more efficiently. We are hopeful about the technology being deployed in Dubai as the Al Maktoum International Airport is getting ready to handle a much bigger number of passengers who will require faster baggage and cargo movability.”

He explained that the new system would be quite helpful as sometimes baggage labels with barcodes end up torn or twisted after the wear and tear associated with loading and unloading and long trips around baggage carousels. That often leads to baggage diversions and manual coding stations.

“The Siemens Baggage Vision System does not only rely on the barcode, but combines barcode reading with optical Character Recognition (OCR) to identify the flight number and destination airport shown in the label. This results in better recognition rates and reduces the work needed at the manual coding stations,” commented Schneider.

The Siemens SmartTilter also represents the very latest technology for dynamic tilting of trays. The new SmartTilter enables bags to be offloaded at their delivery point at a very fast speed. It can reach a maximum throughput of 2400 discharges per hour, the official said.

The B2B event had 25 exhibitors from 39 countries and saw the launch of 40 new technologies, products and solutions by various global companies looking for a strong footing in the region’s highly-promising aviation markets.

The Middle East region is investing $100 billion, including $40 billion in the six GCC states for airports expansion and new developments to handle anticipated growth in air traffic. The Middle East, according to International Air Transport Association, is expected to record the fastest growth rate of 6.6 per cent until 2016, making it the second-fastest growing aviation market in the world.