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As a "techie", what I find most disturbing is that a simple $15 RFID tag the size of a pack of chewing gum embedded in the airplane, along with a $500 RFID tag reader embedded in the runway, could have prevented this airplane from taking off on the wrong runway. A simple alarm should have gone off in either the cockpit or tower (or both), just as if a burgular tried to open the wrong window in a home with an alarm installed.
This is not "rocket science" as they say. If Fedex, Walmart, and UPS can route boxes with barcodes and RFID tags, then why can't an airport route airplanes the same way? (as a backup measure of course) I agree that the responsibility lies with the Captain to make sure he is steering the plane correctly. But it never hurts to backup humans with alarm mechanisms. Heck even a set of pressure sensors on the taxiways, or Infrared "eye" across the runway would work. These are ancient technologies. LOL, my garage door will not close if there is an obstruction in the way of the Infrared LED beam.
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