10 To Go
Innovation is changing the landscape of transportation security. Here are some examples of new technologies to watch.
- Transmitting Video Wirelessly
An optical wireless data transceiver can transmit live streaming video via radio frequency from security cameras on a moving bus or rail car to a central operations facility. A county in Southern Florida has secured its public transit trains by installing the technology — Canon U.S.A. Inc.’s Canobeam DT-120 optical wireless data transceivers — as part of its video system to provide high-bandwidth video over data connections. From the central operations facility, the data moves via a mobile access router to Canobeam-equipped central aggregation points, which connect to matching Canobeam units installed at the facility.
“[The technology] was a key component in creating an increased video/data bandwidth connection for this particular transit system, as well as enabling support of applications that hadn’t been possible with other technologies,” says Chris Sellati, general manager of Miami-based installer Trident Telecom. “For transporting data over short-to-medium range distances, especially in areas where the RF frequency spectrum is crowded, the Canobeam DT-120 makes a great deal of sense.”
Canobeam systems use a line-of-sight beam of light to transmit data, and they incorporate Auto Tracking as a standard feature to maintain beam alignment and signal strength despite vibrations caused by wind, weather and building vibrations. Canobeam is protocol-independent (like fiber), and the data transmitted is secure and cannot be intercepted.
The Canobeam DT-120 has a range of 1.24 miles and provides data speeds of up to 156 Mbps. Other Canon optical wireless data transceivers offer features such as performance for shorter distance applications, from 21 yards to 546 yards, at speeds from 25Mbps to 156Mbps. Another model offers a transmission distance of up to almost a mile and incorporates a 3R Function (Re-shaping, Re-timing and Re-generating), which allows the data signal to be relayed without loss of strength or quality.
“It’s lighter than many of the other free space optics solutions, which was very important considering the high wind-load restrictions that we have in South Florida due to hurricanes,” Sellati says. “A smaller footprint and lighter installation requires less of a structure to support it.”
- Detecting, Deterring ‘Dirty Bombs’
If a “dirty bomb” were to be detonated, officials estimate it could cost $100 billion to clean up, and trigger business interruption losses of up to $1 trillion. Technology may help prevent such an event.
Illinois-based Vidiation LLC was formed just a year ago, developing the Vidiation Radiation Analytics Detection System, or V-RADS, gamma radiation detection technology that identifies radioactive materials by analyzing streams of surveillance video. It protects against the unlawful possession or transport of source materials and, ultimately “dirty bomb” attacks. V-RADS uses information generated when high-energy gamma rays and particles interact with the image sensors of video surveillance cameras; its proprietary algorithms and expert system analyze data and identify radiation that may pose a security threat.
According to Eric Rubenstein, Ph.D., Vidiation’s chief technology officer, co-president and inventor of Vidiation technology, “The technology has undergone comprehensive testing at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Results validated the ability of V-RADS to detect the small quantities of radiation needed to construct a dirty bomb in various amounts, and at different distances and angles. Most detection occurs within one to three seconds.”
A goal of the company is to offer deterrence at places that store or house radiological materials for medical or industrial purposes and to defend points considered to be “dirty bomb” targets. A third and important aim is to provide detection at what Vidiation calls transit “choke-points,” allowing for detection in the event illicit radiological materials or weapons are being moved.
Vidiation is providing assistance in thwarting the act of transferring radioactive material or constructed “dirty bombs” through transportation venues. This can include mass transit hubs such as airports, subway and train stations; transit infrastructure including weigh stations, bridges and tollbooths and ports and private facilities such as truck stops, marinas and gas stations.
Placed at one of these points, V-RADS will combine passive surveillance and active alerts in its subscription-based software, and is built to avoid the common pitfalls of “false positive” alerts. It can also be integrated with existing video surveillance systems.
- Comprehensive Cargo Inspection
American Science and Engineering Inc., a provider of X-ray detection technology, has developed the OmniView Gantry X-ray Inspection system, a comprehensive cargo and vehicle inspection system for detecting security threats and contraband. The OmniView combines high penetration transmission X-rays with AS&E’s Z Backscatter technology to deliver a system that is able to penetrate up to 14-in. of steel or more than 8.5-ft. of oil, but does not require heavy shielding or standoff zones, making it suitable for security checkpoints at ports.
The X-ray inspection tool also uses AS&E’s patented Shaped Energy technology, which provides highly penetrating X-rays for objects like dense materials and liquids, and offers discrimination of organics and inorganics, clear, photo-like images that are easy to interpret and optional Radioactive Threat Detection.
Because of the Z Backscatter imaging, the product is multi-view, offering various angles of the cargo under inspection. The relocatable system can be configured with one, two or three Z Backscatter X-ray detectors, allowing left, right and top down views of the object under examination. “The relocatable OmniView Gantry is an ideal solution to secure our nation’s ports,” says Anthony Fabiano, AS&E’s president and CEO.
The technology also creates images that highlight low atomic number (“low Z”) materials, such as explosives, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. These stand out as bright objects in the Z Backscatter images, making them easy to identify in even the most complex X-ray backgrounds.
AS&E and The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center-South East deployed the OmniView at the Port of Charleston’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection Container Examination Station.
“This further enhances the Port of Charleston’s aggressive security posture,” says Bernard S. Groseclose Jr., president and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority. “It is vital that increased security be balanced with the smooth flow of commerce. This new unit will help do that.”
- Advanced Technology for Checkpoint Screening
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has purchased 250 Advanced Technology or AT X-ray systems from Torrance, Calif.-based Rapiscan Systems and Smiths Detection of Pinebrook, N.J., for $30.3 million. Each company will supply approximately 125 systems, which will be used to screen carry-on luggage at airport checkpoints.
The contracts follow successful pilot tests at Reagan National, New York-Kennedy, Los Angeles International and Albuquerque airports.
Adapting AT X-ray to screen carry-on baggage promises to improve the ability of checkpoint screeners to detect weapons and explosives made of diverse materials, including plastics and ceramics.
Advantages of the technology include clearer, more detailed images than current checkpoint X-ray systems. Both Rapiscan’s 620V and Smiths’ HI-SCAN 6040aTIX provide two X-ray views, one from the top and one from the side. The dual views make it easier for screeners to identify objects. The systems also include explosive detection software that analyzes the interaction of the X-rays with elements in the bag. If the software identifies a potentially explosive material, it will draw a red box around it to ensure that the screener investigates further.
Additional advantages include the ability to upgrade the system as enhanced algorithms and software programs emerge, a stable, low-maintenance platform, a smaller profile and easy training with an interface that is similar to that of current X-ray systems.
- Biometric Solution for Airports
Tested for speed, accuracy and false accept and reject rates, a biometric reader for physical access control has received approval from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to secure restricted areas of U.S. airports.
The V-Station MIFARE V9.50 from Bioscrypt Inc., uses a fingerprint-matching algorithm and is designed for high-throughput, high-volume applications with verification taking less than a second.
The system consists of a silicon-based finger sensor keypad and an 80-character LCD display. Designed for standalone and fully networked applications, the terminal supports both standard and proprietary Wiegand communication formats, making it compatible with the de facto standards for security systems. The terminal is compact and can store up to 3,550 templates on the unit, and the reader supports proximity or contactless smart cards and has a 1 to 500 searching capability.
It can include an integrated proximity or smart card reader, either HID iCLASS or MIFARE.
Bioscrypt’s multi-factor authentication V-Station solution can use a combination of: who a person is (his or her fingerprint pattern); what he or she has (smart card token) and what he or she knows (personal identification number) in order to verify that employees are who they claim to be. The readers check templates stored on MIFARE smart cards against airport employees’ fingerprints to conduct a 1:1 match.
“Bioscrypt’s solutions are already being used by many airports around the world in order to enhance passenger safety,” says Robert M. Douglas, president and CEO of Bioscrypt.
- A DVR for ‘On The Go’
A new digital video recorder features small size and aerospace-grade anti-vibration to allow it to be readily mounted under a seat of a bus or in the trunk of a car.
The TransVu Express mobile digital video recorder (DVR) from Dedicated Micros Inc. is a compact and lightweight system for smaller transportation outlets such as bus operators, public service vehicles and taxis.
The ruggedized device can run off of batteries via solar power, allowing low power consumption and fast set-up in isolated areas where there is no electrical supply. Because of its intelligent power management based on ignition and supply voltage sensors, the unit will carry on recording for a predefined period after the vehicle’s engine has been switched off.
Users can access the TransVu Express remotely through wireless networks and automatically download footage and system status on request. “[Those] are features that are commonly found on larger, more expensive units,” says Mark S. Provinsal, Dedicated Micros vice president of marketing for the Americas region. Once retrieved, images can be stored on a fixed or removable hard drive in transport applications. A compact flash variant is available for extreme conditions in markets such as mining, oil rigs, heavy-duty mechanical equipment and in generally dusty environments.
“We are confident that the TransVu Express will be very well received in the transportation market,” says Provinsal.
- Automatic Explosives Detection
Airports around the world use large, minivan-sized computed tomography (CT) scanners to screen checked baggage for explosives.
CT Technology generates a three-dimensional image that can be viewed and rotated on three axes, a process that enables a more thorough image evaluation. The three-dimensional image is created from many two-dimensional cross sections. According to a TSA spokesperson, “You can virtually unpack the bag on the screen to resolve issues.”
The CT scanners use automated explosive detection software to alert screeners to materials that should be investigated further. The software draws a red box around suspect materials.
In October, TSA announced that it had purchased CT machines designed for use at passenger checkpoints from Analogic Corp. and Reveal Imaging Technologies. Analogic will supply 12 Cobra units, and Reveal will supply eight Fusion machines. The two deals totaled $13.2 million. The order is part of a broader Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) contract for dozens of systems and field support services over a multi-year period.
Both the Cobra and Fusion equipment are slightly larger than Advanced Technology X-ray equipment and perform a similar function.
- Detecting Liquid Explosives
After the 2006 plot to smuggle the components of a liquid bomb onto airplanes was foiled, TSA effectively banned liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on luggage. Since then, the rules have been loosened a bit to allow travel-sized amounts of these materials as well as liquid medications. But smuggling liquids that can combine to make a bomb onto an airplane remains a concern.
Not long after last year’s crisis, TSA began pilot testing a handheld technology capable of screening sealed bottled liquids for explosives. Pilots have been conducted at Miami International, Newark Liberty International, Detroit Metro, Los Angeles International, Las Vegas McCarran International, Chicago O’Hare International and Boston Logan International Airports.
The technology detects small quantities of vapors that leak from all bottles of liquid, no matter how tightly capped. It then conducts a chemical analysis that can differentiate between liquid explosives and common, benign liquids.
The first pilot tests looked at Fido PaxPoint detectors from Nomadics Inc., Stillwater, Okla. Testers also evaluated SABRE technology from Smiths Detection, Pine Brook, N.J.
Both Fido PaxPoint and SABRE explosives detection scanners provide mobile explosives vapor detection as well as trace detection for solid explosives. SABRE can also detect threats from chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals or narcotics.
While other companies participated in the pilot tests, Nomadics and Smiths Detection received contracts. At the beginning of October, TSA acquired 200 Fido PaxPoint units for $3.4 million and 23 SABRE units from Smiths Detection for $650,000.
- Passenger Screening Technology
A new technology enables checkpoint screeners to look for concealed threats when screening passengers with casts, braces, heavy bandages or prosthetics.
Following a successful pilot test begun in April 2007, TSA has purchased 37 CastScope cast and prosthetics screening devices from Spectrum San Diego, a research and development firm based in San Diego, for $1.7 million.
CastScope uses X-ray backscatter imaging technology, which scans a narrow, low-energy X-ray beam over the surface of the object or body being inspected. Some of the beam is reflected or backscattered. The reflection can be detected, digitized and displayed on a monitor as a high contrast image that TSA screeners use to differentiate between medical equipment and prohibited items.
According to TSA’s Web site, CastScope technology works fast, producing a computer-enhanced image within 2.5 seconds.
The large backscatter machine has been mounted on a movable platform and can be positioned easily in a convenient, private cubicle adjacent to the checkpoint.
CastScope emits less than 10 microRems of radiation per scan; a typical medical X-ray emits 10,000 to 100,000 microRems per scan. Two minutes of airplane flight exposes an individual to 10 microRems. In addition, naturally occurring background radiation exposes people to about 10 microRems of radiation every 15 minutes.
While overexposure to medical X-rays is generally considered harmful to people, no such concerns exist for backscatter X-rays. TSA notes that backscatter systems have not been shown to affect human health.
- Two Varieties of Millimeter Wave Imaging
In April, TSA began testing an explosives and weapons detection technology called millimeter wave. All objects emit electromagnetic radiation called millimeter wave, and waves emitted by specific objects have unique signatures.
The human body, clothing, guns, ceramic knives and plastic explosives all emit different millimeter waves. Sophisticated electronics can differentiate between signatures and construct images of objects emitting the radiation.
This capability enables millimeter wave security devices to conduct what some call an electronic strip search. An imaging device can be set to filter out clothing and construct an image of the body as well as any materials concealed under the clothing such as knives, guns, ceramic weapons and plastic or conventional explosives.
TSA is interested in two types of millimeter wave imaging technology: passive and active. The passive technology creates an image of the body that is too vague and fuzzy to be considered revealing. So privacy is probably not an issue, but the image is clear enough to detect explosives and weapons on people.
Airports in Phoenix, Los Angeles and New York-JFK are currently testing active millimeter wave systems for TSA. In these tests, passengers selected for secondary screening at checkpoints are given the option of undergoing a pat down search or stepping through an active millimeter wave portal. The portal sends out millimeter waves, which are changed by the objects they pass through and reflect off of. Using this information, the portal constructs a surprisingly clear image of a person and any objects hidden beneath his or her clothing.
Because of privacy concerns, passengers are given the option of going through the portal, which is fast, or submitting to a pat down search, which is slower. The operator works from a remote location and does not see the actual person he or she is scanning.