BAA, the owner of seven UK airports, announced today that they have begun trials of a 3D X-Ray machine for screen hand baggage and an enhanced detection portal for screening passengers at London’s Heathrow airport. The IONSCAN SENTINEL II is a non-contact portal that screens people for traces of explosives and narcotics, quickly and accurately–taking the place of trained “sniffer” dogs. As passengers walk through the detection arch, air is blown across the body and clothing, dislodging trapped particles and vapours. Any residue is drawn into the machine and analysed for substances within seconds. The 3D X-ray imaging machine (formally named Rapiscan AXIS-3D), built by Rapiscan in conjunction with Image Scan Holdings, creates a three dimensional image of a passenger’s bag, enabling security staff wearing special glasses to see an enhanced view of the shape of an object in the passenger’s bag and how it relates to other objects around it–a substantial aid in accurately detecting weapons and explosive devices.
BAA’s Director of Security, Ian Hutcheson, said: “I have high hopes for both these systems and, subject to trials, I look forward to their wider introduction across BAA’s 7 UK airports. This latest equipment trial shows that we are constantly looking to enhance our security through new technologies. These trials were planned prior to recent heightened security measures at Heathrow, but the new technologies add yet further deterrent to anyone approaching the world’s busiest international airport with sinister intent.”
This sounds like some very cool hardware that could help save a lot of lives; not just air passengers’ either, as it will probably spread quickly to other security perimeters. Of course, any system has it’s limits, particularly as bombs are so easy to make, and you can easily blow up a car with a disposable cigarette lighter – and no, I’m not providing instructions on how to do it, my mother would never approve. I guess it all comes back to the old saw, attributed to George C. Marshall, that “The price of peace is eternal vigilance”. In this case of course it has also cost hours of labour and no doubt millions of pounds, but I doubt anyone would deny it was worth it (except the terrorists, and who cares what they think).