New Scanner Allows Air Passengers to Carry-on Liquids Again

 

Cobalt Light Systems has received European approval for its INSIGHT100 bottle scanner, which enables aircraft passengers to carry liquid items larger than 100-milliliters once more. Airports could now allow passengers to take items, such as water, cosmetics, perfumes and duty-free through airport security channels from as early as 2013. The current ban on items over 100-ml in hand baggage can only be lifted when airports are able to effectively screen quickly and without opening the containers. INSIGHT100 screens individual bottles in less than five seconds to determine whether there is a security threat.

The INSIGHT100 scanner exceeded the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) standard for use at airports with an almost perfect detection capability and negligible false alarm rate in unopened containers, ensuring maximum safety for the travelling public with the minimum delays. What makes INSIGHT100 special is the capability of identifying explosives unambiguously inside opaque bottles such as coloured plastic shampoo containers, or green glass wine bottles. Other systems do not precisely identify the threat reliably and may lead to large numbers of false alarms or to missing genuine threats.  The system is currently in trials at several major European airports.

The INSIGHT100 system uses a proprietary technology called Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), which was pioneered at the Science & Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Central Laser Facility at its Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, and led to the creation of Cobalt Light Systems as a spin out of STFC.

“We have worked incredibly hard over the last couple of years to refine the SORS technology and bring the INSIGHT100 to market," said Dr. Paul Loeffen, CEO of Cobalt Light Systems. "It is a great achievement to have exceeded the European standards at this stage so that we are in a prime position to supply this unique bottle screener to European airports”. 

The development of the INSIGHT100 was funded under the Innovative Research Call in Explosives and Weapons Detection (2010) initiative, a cross-government programme sponsored by a number of government departments and agencies under the CONTEST strategy.

"Since STFC made the breakthrough in discovering SORS a few years ago, we have worked closely with the team at Cobalt Light Systems to develop and refine this technology," said Prof. Pavel Matousek, at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and inventor of the SORS technique. "Particularly exciting to see how this particular scientific development could now go on to make a real difference to the safety and wellbeing of our society.”

The restriction on liquids was introduced following a failed al-Qaeda bomb plot in August 2006 to bring down several airliners departing London for North America – the terrorists aimed to use liquid explosives carried onto aircraft in bottles. Recently, the European Commission agreed to relax the limit on liquids by introducing new screening measures from April 2013. In just over a year from now, passengers will again be allowed to carry on that expensive bottle of champagne as a gift for friends, provided the bottle is screened.

Featured

  • Making the Grade with Locks and Door Hardware

    Managing and maintaining locks and door hardware across a school district or university campus is a big responsibility. A building’s security needs to change over time as occupancy and use demands evolve, which can make it even more challenging. Knowing the basics of common door hardware, including locks, panic devices and door closers, can make a difference in daily operations and emergency situations. Read Now

  • Choosing the Right Solution

    Today, there is a strong shift from on-prem installations to cloud or hybrid-cloud deployments. As reported in the 2024 Genetec State of Physical Security report, 66% of end users said they will move to managing or storing more physical security in the cloud over the next two years. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Security Risks for U.S. Retail Chains

    Interface Systems, a provider of security, actionable insights, and purpose-built networks for multi-location businesses, has released its 2024 State of Remote Video Monitoring in Retail Chains report. The detailed study analyzed over 2 million monitoring requests across 4,156 retail locations in the United States from September 2023 to August 2024. Read Now

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions. 3

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3