The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), is partnering with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) on a new device that can help officials detect whether an individual is concealing an improvised explosive device.
The passive system, known as a stand-off explosive detection unit, triggers an alarm if an individual carrying/wearing a person-borne improvised explosive device (PBIED) passes by the mechanism.
The system, developed as result of a contract between the TSA and QinetiQ, is capable of quickly screening large groups of people for concealed threats such as improvised explosive devices (IED).
It does not require people to stop and turn out their pockets, enabling screening of crowds without inconveniencing the public.
(QinetiQ’s SPO stand-off threat detection system enables the operator to scan crowds and search for anomalies without the need to disrupt the flow of foot traffic through the area, minimizing inconvenience and enabling security screening in locations where it was impractical before. Courtesy of QinetiQ Australia and YouTube)
To safeguard privacy, SPO-NX does not generate any image of bodily characteristics beneath the subject’s clothing.
Instead, it displays a threat level when it detects the presence of an anomalous object concealed on an individual, so that law enforcement or security personnel can investigate further.
at QinetiQ
Additionally, the system is entirely passive and does not emit any radiation so it is completely safe.
“The law enforcement community has been asking for this solution for many years,” said Colin Cameron, QinetiQ’s SPO-NX Product Manager.
“Under the supervision of the TSA, some police teams in the USA have already been trialling SPO-NX at special events and on some of the country’s busiest mass transit systems.”
It is a type of screening technology that can be used by transit agencies to detect potential threats—metallic or non-metallic—by identifying objects that block the naturally-occurring emissions emitted by a person’s body.
The operator of the equipment sees a camera image of a person, similar to what the person looks like to the plain eye.
Security personnel can then manage that person, resolve the alarm and further investigate as appropriate.
The use of such a device enables a transit agency to help safeguard against terrorist threats in the mass transit environment.
It is operated by employees of the transit agency, not by TSA.
TSA is, however, supplying the equipment for the purposes of the demonstration.
“Along with industry partners, we are committed to identifying, testing and deploying technology that addresses threats to transportation across the spectrum,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.
“We need to innovate and evolve faster than the adversary, and more importantly, deploy technology ahead of the threat-curve,” he added.
It can be used to scan people in a crowd and alarms when a person is concealing something potentially suspicious under their clothing.
Security personnel can then manage that person, resolve the alarm and further investigate as appropriate.
The QinetiQ SPO-NX can detect a range of large threats such as improvised explosive devices, large assault weapons and contraband.
Features Include:
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Safe:
- SPO-NX uses advanced passive millimetre wave (PMMW) technology which means that it emits no radiation and is therefore completely safe.
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Privacy guaranteed:
- The system does not produce a detailed spatial image.
- No PMMW image of the person being scanned is created and therefore privacy is protected of everyone being scanned.
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Improved management of risk in a layered security approach:
- SPO-NX scans crowds of people at a distance.
- This moves the security perimeter further back by making the detection of a threat possible at an earlier point, particularly where there is a high throughput of people flowing into a contained space.
- By scanning the crowd before they converge, risk is managed without the need to funnel or slow down the footfall further.
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Mobile deployment:
- SPO-NX is a portable system that can set-up by one person in less than 5 minutes.
- This makes SPO-NX a cost-effective asset that can be re-deployed at a new venue or location as required.
- Alternatively it can be fixed permanently on a wall or ceiling mount.
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Fast, automatic calibration and integration:
- SPO-NX is a realtime system, self calibrates and can be operated locally at the sensor head or remotely, for example from a CCTV control.
TSA has been working with five passenger rail and transit agencies as test beds on demonstrations of this type of security equipment since 2004, including Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.
