Efficiency drive

A system that could tell mechanics which car parts need servicing has been developed by

researchers aided by specially-designed ID tags from Omni-ID, a subsidiary of defence company

.

The team attached RFID tags, each with its own unique identification number, to the engine parts of a specially-adapted Fiat prototype. With sophisticated software, the system could speed up servicing and identify which parts can be recycled or re-used when the vehicle reaches the end of its life.

The researchers, from the university's Institute for Manufacturing, demonstrated how the car could be examined by driving it at low speed over a one-metre square servicing pad fitted with an ultra-high frequency reader and four antennas.

As the car passes over the pad, the readers transmit the identity number from the electronic tags to a computer.

By cross-referencing this information with a computerised database — for example, one showing the part's date and manufacturer — mechanics would be able to identify at the click of a mouse those parts that needed to be checked for wear.