Sensors can detect tiny amounts of explosives in water, air or soil, and immediately sound the alarm when they discover contaminants in drinking water. They are also used at airports or train stations to detect explosive substances. The aim is to inconvenience passengers as little as possible in the future during check in. To help with this, new body scanners have been developed.
Hand-held scanner for hazardous substances and explosives developed
Together with partners from research and industry, Fraunhofer IAF has developed a hand-held scanner for hazardous substances within the EU project CHEQUERS. The sensor detects explosive, toxic and other dangerous substances in real time and will help emergency personnel with on-site detections at crime scenes, after accidents or terroristic attacks.
The bilateral project DURCHBLICK mainly deals with the robot-assisted application of sensor technologies by task forces to examine potential threats. The motivation for the project is the increasing dissemination of instructions for preparing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the internet and the increasing number of incidents where, because of a suspicious object, for example, a station concourse has to be closed.
The Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI coordinates this German-Austrian research project.
The testing and certification of explosives detection systems in a realistic testing environment is essential for security services and end users such as airport operators who require reliable performance data. The selection of the devices used in the aviation security sector, which is based on these results, ensures a uniform security standard throughout Europe.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
