Qylur Enters CRADA with DHS Transportation Security Laboratory
Qylur Intelligence Systems, developer of the self-service baggage screening system the Qylatron, has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL) to allow the lab to test and evaluate the company’s screening system. Under the 18-month agreement, Qylur says the Qylatron will be evaluated for its new capabilities, operational models and detection. The company says its vision to provide secure entry point of the future aligns with the department’s vision of smart, integrated, connected and interoperable solutions for airports and other sites. “We are honored to embark on this milestone, collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security,” says Lisa Dolev, founder and CEO of Qylur. “Since the DHS and Qylur essentially share the same vision for secure entry points, we expect very positive outcomes resulting from this CRADA agreement.” The Qylatron has been deployed at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the Statue of Liberty, major international airports, and a high-profile amusement park.
Stratovan in Partnership with Sandia for Dynamic Screening
Stratovan Corp. has entered into a multi-phase partnership with Sandia National Laboratories aimed at establishing a dynamic screening system for seamless aviation security integration. Stratovan says the Open Threat Assessment Platform will lay the foundation for the standardization of data, images and interfaces, a “strengthened and vibrant” threat detection market, dynamic, risk-based screening, and human-centric design of threat detection technology. The company says these concepts will be prototyped with a carry-on baggage X-Ray prototype system implementing open system architecture, laying the foundation for faster product development cycles, and for future efforts expanding to other security technologies across the Transportation Security Administration screening equipment architecture. Stratovan says “An integrated system with standardization of data, images and user-interfaces better equips airports to deal with continually changing threats, and increased the cost-effectiveness of security solutions by leveraging expertise and knowledge obtained at each screening stages. It also increase access to the security technology market for vendors with newly developed technologies, which can be implemented and deployed more quickly and at a lower acquisition cost.”
SRI Demonstrates Integrated Finger, Face and Iris On-the-Go Solution
SRI International, Inc. at the annual Association of the U.S. Army convention in October demonstrated a multimodal biometric on-the-go system for border and military entry control applications. The solution incorporates SRI’s IOM Passport walk-through system for face and iris capture with Advanced Optical Systems, Inc.’s ANDI On-The-Go fingerprint capture system. For the demonstration SRI used Morpho’s ABIS biometric database and Neurotechnology matching algorithms. The system can “plug-and-play” different technologies, Mark Clifton, president of products and solutions at SRI, tells HSR. He says the open architecture system can also tie in biographic data as well. A large scale trial of the system is planned for the National Guard’s Camp Shelby in Mississippi, he says. Morpho is part of the Safran Group. SRI’s face and iris capture system is slated to be part of a Customs and Border Protection entry-exit evaluation that begins in November at the Otay Mesa port of entry in San Diego for pedestrians crossing the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
Rapiscan Introduces New Rad Detection Systems; Developing Benchtop ETD
OSI Systems’ [OSIS] Rapiscan Systems division has introduced new radiation detection systems and is developing a desktop explosives trace detector (ETD), company officials tell HSR at the recent Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Conference this month. Rapiscan has integrated passive radiation detectors with its Metor walk-through metal detectors for use in checkpoint security for automated detection of metallic and radioactive materials. At AUSA Rapiscan also exhibited its CM620 conveyor radiation monitor, which automatically and covertly inspects hand-carried items during X-Ray screening at checkpoints. The CM620 fits directly under the conveyor at the entrance to an X-Ray system, inspecting bags for radiation before they are X-Rayed. The passive system alarms via bright lights. The CM620 operates as a standalone unit but doesn’t require additional real estate given that it fits under a conveyor. The company also showed off its lightweight Backpack Radiation Detection system which fits into a commercial backpack allowing for covert radiation inspection. The desktop ETD the company is developing will be based on a non-radioactive source.
Lockheed Martin Develops Counter-UAS System
With the proliferation of commercially available unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that could be used as weapons or for surveillance, Lockheed Martin [LMT] has demonstrated a counter-UAS software system to operate defensively in threat environments. Lockheed Martin says that its ICARUS counter-UAS system has been field tested and demonstrated to several potential domestic and international customers in the past year. “The U.S. government is seeing an increase in the use of commercially available UAS platforms for surveillance and weaponization,” says Deon Viergutz, vice president of Cyber Solutions for Lockheed Martin. “What Lockheed Martin has developed in ICARUS is a system that can detect, recognize, and counteract these systems with pinpoint accuracy.” The company says its tests have shown the ability to identify and intercept commercially available UAS. The system was developed with internal funding and combines cyber and cyber electromagnetic experience with sensor technology and non-kinetic techniques.
Battelle Introduces Portable Drone Defense Weapons
Battelle has introduced DroneDefender, a portable, rapid-ready counter-drone weapon that can stop suspicious or hostile drones in flight through the use of radio control frequency disruption technologies. DroneDefender looks similar to, and is held like, a rifle and is a non-kinetic point-and-shoot system with a demonstrated range of 400 meters. Battelle sees various military and civil applications for the system. “It can help us in numerous settings, from the White House lawn to bases and embassies overseas, from prisons and schools to historic sites,” says Alex Morrow, technical director of the project. “It easily and reliable neutralizes the threat.” DroneDefender has a cold start time of less than one-tenth of a second and weighs less than 10-pounds. The system doesn’t damage the unmanned aircraft system.