In a rapid response to calls for heightened security measures, an Israeli company is offering a luggage inspection system developed specifically for El Al to the commercial market for the first time.
Zeeve Maresse, managing director of Yavne, Israel-based Maresco Technologies, which is marketing the system, says that the decision was taken to offer it commercially in response to last month's events. He says the company has already received "much interest" from potential customers.
The fluroscopic screening system, known as the SDS 400, was developed by Israel's SOREQ nuclear research centre for El Al, and utilises high powered fluorescent tubes to project a live, enlarged "x-ray" image of a suspect piece of luggage on to an opaque screen. This allows visual detection of unauthorised items in unattended luggage or that belonging to suspected passengers.
Maresse says that 45 of these machines are already in service at El Al's stations throughout the world. The commercial system is being offered for a unit price of $100,000.
Meanwhile, two baggage security system manufacturers have found increasing interest in recently developed "level 3" detection machines that utilise advanced technology. Yxlon International and Heimann Systems offer devices capable of detecting suspect substances in luggage by analysing the scattered spectra signals of the contents.
"If the substance has a unique spectra signal, the system can detect and identify it by running a comparison with a database," says Dieter Schaüfler, project manager at Yxlon. "This will differentiate between, for example, plum pudding, heroin and Semtex," he adds.
Yxlon claims its XES3000 system is more advanced than Hiemann's rival Hi-SCAN 10065 HDX, as it can scan an entire bag rather than needing a pre-scan to detect a suspect area. However, this does result in a slower bag through-put rate.
Source: Flight International
