14 DAY TRIAL // German experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE, in Wachtberg, announce the development of a new security system for airports. The complex mechanism consists of several components, which have a very high probability rating of identifying possible terrorists seeking to board crowded airplanes while carrying bombs or the chemicals needed to assemble one. According to EurekAlert, the new system can also detect how a suspect looks like, offering the police an invaluable tool in preventing catastrophes.
The first and most important part of the new system is made up of many chemical detectors, artificial noses that get placed inside airport walls, mostly inside terminals. These highly precise devices are capable of identifying dangerous substances in extremely low concentrations. They are connected to a security system supervised by an armed guard, who is silently alerted that the terminal is in danger, and that suspicious compounds have been found inside. With the guard alert, the system continues to track the odors, creating a virtual representation of the path the suspect takes through the airport.
These chemical detectors are designed in such a way that they work intimately close with security cameras. As the suspect passes in front of a camera, the trail of substances is analyzed, and then the information is relayed to the security guard, which further fine-tunes the cameras to the readings. “HAMLeT will alert security personnel to suspicious individuals,” the head of department at the FKIE, Dr. Wolfgang Koch, explains. In addition to the smell detectors, the Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking system also features a network of laser scanners that is able to more accurately identify a suspect's location.
“HAMLeT's real achievement is its ability to collate all the data and convert it into a clear and accurate overall picture,” Koch reveals. The technology has already been tested by the German Armed Forces. In the trials, HAMLeT proved capable of identifying five terrorists inside a simulated airport terminal, a maximum success rate. The German team is currently working on improving the algorithms the security system uses, so as to reduce the rate of false positive alarms it produces.