Using technology that is currently being applied to screen checked bags at airports and automatically detect the presence of explosives, L-3 Communications [LLL] on Wednesday introduced a compact version of an explosives detection system (EDS) based on computed tomography (CT) for use at aviation security checkpoints.
L-3 said its ClearScan EDS, which combines CT technology with advanced detection algorithms, will allow travelers to leave liquids and electronics in their bags, which is something the Transportation Security Administration in the United States doesn’t permit with the current Advanced Technology (AT) X-ray systems used to screen carry-on bags at the nation’s airports.
The new system, which is being trialed at Schiphol Airport in The Netherlands, also features baggage throughput of 500 parcels per hour, which is in line with the medium-speed EDS systems L-3 and its competitor, Morpho Detection, sell to TSA and international airports for checked baggage screening.
“Enhancing security while facilitating passenger throughput, coupled with the need to help our customers control their operating costs, is a huge challenge,” Tom Ripp, president of L-3’s Security & Detection Systems business, said in a statement. ClearScan “is designed to meet these needs.”
TSA is beginning to give checkpoint concepts and screening technologies more attention as it tries to figure out how to create a Checkpoint of the Future in which travelers essentially walk through at the “pace of life” and don’t have to divest liquids and electronics before their bags are scanned. The agency previously pilot tested for checkpoint use an EDS system developed by Analogic [ALOG] but decided against it, in part because of its large footprint, which makes it difficult to easily fit in the current checkpoint environment. EDS systems are also more expensive than AT X-ray systems.
Analogic is a subcontractor to L-3 for EDS systems used to screen checked bags.
L-3 technology currently has a presence at airport checkpoints in the United States and internationally through its ProVision Advanced Imaging Technology, or AIT system, which is used to screen individuals for explosives and weapons.
With the introduction of ClearScan, L-3 also announced a new software solution for checkpoint operations called IntelliCore, which can allow remote screening, image archive retrieval, directed bag search, and real-time operational monitoring and reporting.