Convergent Software Ltd. has announced a new version of its software supporting the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) RP1740C RFID airline baggage handling application. The UK-based company predicts RFID solutions like the IATA’s will become an increasingly common tool in combating the issue of lost baggage in airports around the world.

According to industry statistics, 42 million items of luggage were delayed or lost in 2007, at a cost of $3.8 million to airlines.

The software, with upgrades based on the feedback of early adopters of a version released earlier this year, offers easier use and more flexible integration with business applications.

Convergent’s software package consists of three modules. The first is a template builder designed to enable new models to be produced to support different business applications and the availability of new RFID tag products. The second module is a data builder which supports different templates for different needs, such as multi-leg trips and those with no transfers; it also serves as part of a quality assurance system to create correctly encoded RFID tags. The third module is a “data doctor” for use as part of a quality control system for tags created outside the system and to support low volume data capture applications.

The enhanced software also supports improved interfaces, including Java APIs, XML and output reports in HTML format.