How can authorities better protect the public and detect the presence of tiny explosives in crowded spaces, such as airports or rail stations?
For scientists at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, the solution is an explosive residue detector using cutting-edge laser technology. The new device is poised to identify small, practically invisible amounts of explosive particles employed in acts of terrorism.
The detection system, dubbed ExDtect or Explosive Residue Detection, combines pulsed lasers and video cameras with a large-coverage, fluorescent imaging capability. It can remotely and instantaneously scan crowded areas and automatically alert its operator once it detects traces of explosives.
The fully automated system is said to produce better images than those generated by most CCTV.
“Using some of the laser technology that we have invented here over the past few years, we were eventually able to adapt this technology so that we could see the explosives and reject all other materials,” says creator and professor, John Tyrer of ExDtect. He and colleagues are currently conducting field trials in undisclosed locations around the UK.
While it is hardly discreet or sophisticated in appearance, ExDtect gets the life-saving job done without causing delay or being intrusive.
“I’m sorry to say, but the Brussels attack, this would have instantly sorted out the terrorist before they came into the terminal, and similarly the concert in Paris,” he tells BBC.
Europe has suffered two major terrorist attacks in less than six months, with at least 162 individuals killed in the Paris attack in November 2015 and in the Brussels bombings in March. The perpetrators detonated eight bombs using potent explosives, reportedly using triacetone triperoxide (TATP).
The creators explain that the technology does away from officials monitoring a TV screen or sniffing dogs that work by detecting particles in the air. Current systems, too, rely on airport security personnel who randomly swab passengers before boarding – considered both time-consuming and prone to human error.
However, creating ExDtect was not without difficulty. Tyrer warns that explosives are sticky, leaving fingerprints everywhere, even days later, posing the challenge of seeing explosive particles alone and not some other traces.
Tyrer’s team addressed the issues – with ExDtect ably seeing the explosives while rejecting all other matter – during 15 years of development that cost them nearly £4 million (about $5.7 million).
The cost is potentially offset by being included in ticket prices. The government will likely put off bulk-purchasing it, Tyrer adds, since ExDtect is a “distressed purchase,” with some waiting time until people realize they need to buy it badly enough.
The developers are currently working on a portable version of ExDtect to enable the use with handheld systems.
Photo: Josh Hallett | Flickr
