Airport security Shoe scanner may improve airport security
The types of shoes you wear when flying matter. And not just shoe types. Size, material, soles and heels are also very important. Why? Shoes can become dangerous vehicles for terrorists’ plots. DHS wants to prevent future incidents, and this is why S&T is working on a millimeter wave technology for screening shoes as part of the larger Screening at Speed Program.
The types of shoes you wear when flying matter. And not just shoe types. Size, material, soles and heels are also very important. Why? Shoes can become dangerous vehicles for terrorists’ plots.
On 22 December 2001, three months after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Richard Reid attempted to light a fuse in his shoe onboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami. Luckily, nearby passengers and crew noticed and subdued him. FBI experts later found explosives in his shoes.
“This was ultimately the reason why now people have to take their shoes off at airport security checkpoints,” said John Fortune, Program Manager for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Apex Screening at Speed Program.
DHS wants to prevent future incidents. That is why S&T is working on a millimeter wave technology for screening shoes as part of the larger Screening at Speed Program. S&T says that the program, which started in 2016, is pursuing transformative research and development activities that support a future vision for increasing security effectiveness while dramatically reducing wait times and improving the passenger experience.
“We are looking for a two-fold benefit – to improve detection of current and emerging threats to aviation and to improve the passenger experience in the airport,” said Fortune.
Similar to the full-body scanners at the airports, which also use the harmless millimeter waves, shoe scanners will be looking for concealed threats. However, knowledge on the types of shoes airline passengers wear when traveling is lacking.
For high-quality results and successful integration at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, the Screening at Speed team and its partner Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory needed additional data – data on the types of shoes passengers wear so that they could create more effective algorithms for the shoe scanner. They also needed to find the best place for the shoe scanner in existing checkpoints.
Fortune asked S&T sociology expert Dr. Kathleen Deloughery to conduct a study in seven airports across the U.S. on the types of footwear passengers wear. The study took place in September and October 2018.
