Faster passenger flow and increased security standards for carry-on baggage inspection resulting from new automated handling process with integrated automatic explosives and liquids detection
Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, today launched its revolutionary automatic iLane checkpoint concept at Inter Airport Europe 2007. iLane focuses on the automation of the security inspection process to increase passenger throughput while raising security standards.
The handling system of the iLane checkpoint automatically separates suspicious bags from those that are cleared, diverting them on to a separate lane to a defined re-inspection area. Disruption for the great majority of passengers, collecting their cleared items, is thus minimised. A tray return system automatically takes empty bins back to the start of the security lane, reducing repetitive movements for operators and allowing them to concentrate on security related activities.
Cost-efficiency and smooth processes for operators and passengers are central characteristics of iLane. It offers a wide variety of modular components that allow for individually designed set-ups, intelligently integrated into existing airport environments and infrastructure. The innovative iLane concept’s principal security feature is automatic explosives detection, provided by the HI-SCAN 6040 aTiX X-ray system, which also detects liquids in carry-on bags.
Roland Muesse, President of Smiths Detection EMEA, speaking at the opening of Inter Airport 2007 in Munich, said: “The new iLane concept is the perfect example of a far-sighted innovation that can be achieved by tenacious questioning of the status quo in security inspection processes. Through iLane we have resolved the contradiction that has existed between improved security standards and higher passenger throughput.”
Interest in aTiX machines by airport authorities is already intense and most advanced in both the UK and in the US, where aTiX has been involved in major trials and deployments with contracts awarded by BAA in the UK and TSA in the USA.
HI-SCAN 6040aTiX
The HI-SCAN 6040aTiX is a high-performance multi-view X-ray inspection system that in real-time automatically detects and pinpoints explosives as well as liquid substances in carry-on baggage. It works by determining the atomic number and density of objects, using technology based on Smiths Detection’s proven hold baggage screening systems.