The Future of Airport Security

November 12, 2003

The Future of Airport Security

By Jonathan Duffy
BBC News Online

It knows your face, your body temperature, your behaviour and can strip
you bare without removing your clothes. And the next generation of
surveillance technology is coming to an airport near you.
Millions of pounds of additional investment have been ploughed into
airport security since the 11 September terror attacks.

In the UK an extra £30m a year is being spent on improving surveillance at
the major airports.

Yet the recent case of Nathaniel Heatwole reminds us that things are still
far from perfect. Heatwole, a student, systematically breached airport
security at two US airports to stow an array of threatening weapons such
as box cutters and bleach aboard two passenger jets.

All too often the security glitch is human. Which is why, increasingly,
airport authorities are turning to electronic surveillance. Technological
strides have resulted in some big advances in surveillance in recent
years.

Some of the latest devices are being exhibited this week at a conference
dedicated to airport security.

The 'X-ray' machine
Just as luggage is systematically "X-rayed" to see what's inside, so
passengers may be in the future. So-called millimetre-wave scanners, which
produce an image similar to X-ray, look through clothes to detect
concealed weapons.


Unlike metal detectors, these can reveal ceramic knives as well as some
plastics. They also forewarn guards what to expect when someone is pulled
over for a further search, says Ben White, of the government-run defence
firm Qinetiq.

Faster than traditional X-ray machines, they produce a moving 360° image.
One drawback, though, is privacy - the machines can reveal rather too much
of what's underneath one's clothes.

"It's still in development," says Mr White. "There are solutions we are
looking at, such as modesty filters that apply a sort of fig-leaf to the
image."

Detecting strange behaviour
The problem with running scores of CCTV cameras in an airport terminal is
someone has to keep a beady eye on the images they produce.


The system tracks movement to detect strange behaviour
To get around that, new devices are appearing that automatically detect
"strange" behaviour. To do this, they learn basic elements of normal human
behaviour in a situation, such as people wandering though a terminal
building.

If someone starts running or jumping over barriers, the system flags up
this "anomalous" behaviour.

Its reliability is hard to asses - what, after all, qualifies as "strange"
behaviour? - but it cuts down the element of human chance, says Emma
Brassington, of the British firm Roke Manor Research.

Biometrics
Biometrics is the buzzword of the moment. It means using the unique
features of each human body to identify them.

The trick is to get computers to do the recognising. Iris scanning,
highlighted in the movie Minority Report, is already in use at Amsterdam's
Schipol airport. Fingerprint recognition has also been tested, but proved
easy to defeat.


Biometrics will be used in the UK identity card
It includes systems such as iris recognition (above) already in use at
Schipol airport, Amsterdam
Critics question its reliability
Another option is facial scanning, where computers seek to match up a face
caught on camera with one of several thousand suspects in the data bank.

In the past its reliability has been questionable, but Paul Crombie, of
the technology firm Novar, says it is improving all the time. The company
has had a kit on trial in Dubai airport.

"Our system measures the distance between the eyes and the mouth and then
generates 1,700 other points on the face before scanning a database of up
to 100,000 images and finding a match - all in one second," says Mr
Crombie.

"It won't be thrown by beards, hats or make-up either. And it doesn't see
skin colour - so a suntan can't fool it."

Reliability, he says, is good, although he concedes the technology is
still in its infancy.

Thermal imaging
One story that knocked war and terror attacks off the front pages earlier
this year was Sars - the potentially deadly virus that swept through Hong
Kong and struck fear into millions of air passengers.


The thermal camera that can 'spot' Sars
Within a few weeks of the initial panic, the UK firm Land Instruments sold
about 50 of its thermal imaging systems to airports in the Asia and Middle
East.

The equipment, which includes a finely tuned infra-red camera, was used to
quickly scan passengers and identify any with even the slightest hint of a
fever.

The Sars threat has abated, but the cameras are still in use, says Gary
Chamberlain, of Land Instruments. "It's a virus and could mutate and
return at some point."

This technology could be used in future to pinpoint possible terrorists,
who might be sweating before boarding. But Mr Chamberlain admits
passengers can be nervous for a number of reasons and there are ethical
issues to consider.



 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

*****************************************