DAYTON — An advanced radio frequency identification technology tag that a University of Dayton researcher developed to monitor whether aircraft wiring was dangerously frayed is being licensed to a Moraine company to report whether perishable cargoes and railroad train wheels have reached unsafe temperatures.

The university has licensed research chemist Bob Kauffman’s SMART (Status and Motion Activated Radiofrequency Tag) technology for commercial development by American Thermal Instruments, 2400 E. River Rd., the University of Dayton Research Institute said on Tuesday.

The company said it plans to develop new RFID monitoring tags that will track whether food and medicine cargoes have reached unsafe temperatures during transit that would result in spoilage. The tag also would monitor temperatures of train wheels that may have overheated because of mechanical problems.

The tag reports temperatures outside a predetermined safe range by emitting radio waves that would be picked up by a handheld scanner to alert employees.

Randall Lane, president of American Thermal Instruments, said he expects the new devices to be on the market within 18 months. The restaurant and transportation industries will be among the target markets, he said.

The company’s products include forehead thermometers, along with RFID tags and other devices used for temperature monitoring and inspections.

Kauffman developed the SMART technology with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration, in response to the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 near New York City. Kauffman, a member of the crash investigation team, has said he thinks that a frayed fuel-sensor wire played a part in the explosion that brought down the plane.