SITA has launched WorldTracer Lost and Found Property, an artificial intelligence-enabled solution that will enable airports to solve the problem of how to return items left at the airport or on aircraft.
According to SITA, every year passengers leave millions of items in airports and on aircraft, costing the industry millions of dollars in repatriation costs. SITA’s WorldTracer Lost and Found Property solution, which is used in 2,200 airports worldwide, cuts the cost of repatriating lost items by 90%. Employees can register a found item, create a missing item report, and validate a match in under two minutes. The solution is also said to speed up the time taken to find and return found items, with 60% of these items returned within the first 48 hours.
The process of handling lost property today is also still largely manual but with SITA’s solution, passengers can now register a claim using their mobile device in a matter of seconds to report, pay for and organize repatriation as well as track their item at every step.
Using technology such as computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing, WorldTracer Lost and Found Property searches a global database of images and descriptions to match the found item to a missing item report. The solution uses image recognition to identify details such as brand, material and color of the missing item. It is also recognizes similar words in the description to make a definitive match. The airport or airline can then immediately notify the owner and have the item returned to them.
David Lavorel, CEO SITA at Airports & Borders, said, “WorldTracer is a great example of how SITA continues to evolve its portfolio to meet the changing demands of the industry. For almost three decades WorldTracer has helped to successfully trace mishandled bags. Now, using new technology, we are adding further value by helping the industry be more efficient and reduce costs around lost items at a time when it is most needed.”
