L-3 Communications [LLL] last month introduced a new desktop Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) called OptEX that is based on energetic material detection and is currently going through a round of government testing for possible use at airports.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is testing OptEX, as well as other new ETD machines, for an updated Qualified Products List (QPL) expected to be issued sometime in 2008. The updated QPL will be used by TSA to purchase new ETD machines to eventually replace the current machines being used at U.S. airports.
Like other ETD machines, OptEX requires a sample to be collected using a swab. The swab is inserted into the machine. This is where the L-3 device differs from current technology that typically relies on either ion mass spectrometry or ion trap mass spectrometry. Using energetic material detection OptEX heats the sample and then monitors the temperature fluctuations to determine whether or not traces of explosives are present in the sample.
When any explosive material is heated, they release intense heat. That release spikes the local temperature, which is followed by a sharp decrease in temperature once the energetic material has been consumed. The heat signatures are analyzed with L-3’s algorithms to indicate the presence of explosives.
For now the machine provides a simple yes or no regarding the presence of explosives. Eventually L-3 hopes to upgrade OptEX to be able to identify particular explosives.
OptEX can analyze the entire spectrum of explosives, including new and emerging threats, and there is no need to update a substance library, James Bergen, the marketing and communications director of L-3’s Cyterra business unit, tells TR2 at the recent ASIS International conference in Las Vegas. Other key attributes of the system include low life- cycle costs and the reuse of sample collectors, he says.
The machine also requires no dryer or carrier gases and doesn’t have a radioactive source. Moreover, there is no clear down or bake out time required after a sample has been analyzed, which only takes four seconds. Also, there is no manual calibration needed regardless of the local environment or climate, Bergen says.
Applications for OptEX include detecting traces of explosives in or on bags, people, vehicles and cargo. Potential markets include aviation and transportation sectors, high throughput facilities and venues and military facilities.
In addition to the desktop configuration, L-3 previously integrated its energetic material detection capability into the turnstile subsystem of its checkpoint of the future. The company also expects to integrate the detection capability into its ACX 6.4 X-Ray Advanced Technology system. The ACX system already has some capacity to perform automated explosive detection alerting.