Wine Spoiling Technology Leads to Development of Liquids Scanner for Airport Security

Air passengers one day may be able to carry their soaps, shampoo and bottled water onto the plane again, thanks to technology originally developed at UC Davis to check the quality of wine.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate recently awarded a contract to a Denver-based defense firm to develop a magnetic resonance scanner that could be placed in airports and used to check bottles and cans for explosives without opening them. A prototype of the machine will be constructed in the laboratory of Matthew Augustine, the UC Davis chemistry professor who invented and patented the technology, with an initial allocation of $800,000.

The technology is similar to the magnetic resonance imaging machines used in medical scanning. It employs a pulse of radio waves and a strong magnetic field to extract a signal that shows the chemical structure of the sample.

Augustine began experimenting with the technology some years ago to check bottles of wine for spoilage without opening them.

That technology was patented in 2002 and licensed by UC Davis to Madison Avenue Management Inc., which set up a subsidiary company, Winescanner Inc., to commercialize it.

After a thwarted 2006 plot in which terrorists planned to carry liquid explosives on board at least 10 transatlantic airliners, Augustine started looking into whether magnetic resonance could be used to identify more than bad wine.

"I'm a tinkerer, I like to build stuff," Augustine said.

Early tests showed that his wine-analysis technique could distinguish gasoline or other dangerous liquids from toothpaste or other innocuous ones.

But the challenge was to design a system suitable for use in airports: relatively small, easy and quick to use, and capable of scanning containers in a wide range of sizes and shapes, from lipsticks to water bottles.

Arriving at such a design involved careful trade-offs between high-frequency radio waves, which give the best information about chemical structures but are blocked by metal, and lower-frequency waves that could pass through a soda can.

UC Davis is the lead subcontractor on the project. The contractor is Defense Capital Advisers LLC of Denver, which has a sublicense from Madison Avenue Management to develop Augustine's technology for airport security.

Featured

  • Progressing in Capabilities

    Progressing in Capabilities

    Hazardous areas within industries like oil and gas, manufacturing, agriculture and the like, have long-sought reliable video surveillance cameras and equipment that can operate safely in these harsh and unpredictable environments. Read Now

  • A Comprehensive Nationwide Solution

    A Comprehensive Nationwide Solution

    Across the United States, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, truck yards, parking lots and car dealerships all have a common concern. They are targets for catalytic converters. In nearly every region, cases of catalytic converter thefts have skyrocketed. Read Now

  • Planning for Your Perimeter

    Planning for Your Perimeter

    The perimeter is an organization’s first line of defense and a critical element of any security and surveillance program. Even if a building’s interior or exterior security is strong, without a solid perimeter surveillance approach any company or business is vulnerable. Read Now

  • The Key Issue

    The Key Issue

    It is February 2014. A woman is getting ready in her room on a cruise ship when she hears a knock on the door; it is a crewmember delivering breakfast. She is not presentable so she tells him to leave it by the door. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

New Products

  • Genetec Security Center

    Genetec Security Center

    This major new release allows more system components to run in the cloud, reducing the gap between cloud and on-premises security systems. It also makes it easier to connect external systems and tap external data for use in dashboards, maps and investigations without relying on complex, specialized integrations. 3

  • VideoEdge 2U High Capacity Network Video Recorder

    VideoEdge 2U High Capacity Network Video Recorder

    Johnson Controls announces a powerful recording solution to meet demanding requirements with its VideoEdge 2U High Capacity Network Video Recorder. This solution combines the powerful capabilities of victor with the intelligence of VideoEdge NVRs, fueled by Tyco Artificial Intelligence, for video management that provides actionable insights to save time, money and lives. 3

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation. 3