Blog

May 10, 2022

Automated threat recognition software could speed airport security

Posted by in categories: security, transportation

Imagine moving through airport security without having to take off your shoes or belt or getting pulled aside while your flight boards—while keeping all the precautions that ensure the safety of passengers and flight crews.

This is the challenge tackled by a team including researchers from Sandia National Laboratories—a challenge that led to development of the Open Threat Assessment Platform, which allows the Transportation Security Administration to respond more quickly and easily to threats to air travel safety.

“When we wanted to change how we screen in response to new threats,” said Andrew Cox, a Sandia R&D systems analyst who leads the OTAP project. “The technology was too rigid. TSA compensated by adding procedures. There’s a shoe bomber and you have to take your shoes off; liquid explosives arrived, and TSA had to limit liquids and gels.”

Comments are closed.