Distant scanningDistant-scanning crowds for potential threats
Everyone wants to be safe and secure, but can you imagine if you had to go through a security screening at the metro station like there is at the airport? What if there were a way to safely scan crowds for potential threat items in places like metro and train stations without security officials coming into direct contact with the public and while maintaining individual privacy?
Everyone wants to be safe and secure, but can you imagine if you had to go through a security screening at the metro station like there is at the airport? What if there were a way to safely scan crowds for potential threat items in places like metro and train stations without security officials coming into direct contact with the public and while maintaining individual privacy?
S&T says that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is seeking to address this challenge by developing a millimeter wave imager that will screen for potential threat items unobtrusively as people pass by, without slowing them down.
In partnership with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, the Directorate reached a significant milestone in this pursuit in October 2017.
A prototype of the millimeter wave imager underwent a three-day developmental test and evaluation at the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s (MBTA) emergency training center in Boston, Massachusetts. The facility served as an excellent testing venue by providing a realistic electromagnetic environment to gauge how the system will function in an operational metro station.
“Successful testing in a representative environment was a key milestone for the effort,” said Dr. William Moulder, the program lead at Lincoln Laboratory.
Responsible for this endeavor is a program from S&T’s Explosives Division called Surface Transportation Explosive Threat Detection (STETD). Among its holistic, curb to platform approach, the program aims to develop techniques that will automatically highlight possible threat items and then cue security staff.
The millimeter wave technology consists of a set of antennas installed on flat panels. The antennas send out and receive low-power radio signals that can penetrate clothing and backpacks but will reflect off of certain items. Screening commuters from a distance, the technology produces high resolution images in real time, without negatively impacting the speed of travel, and will alarm operators if someone is concealing potential threat items.
