Morpho (Safran group) and Cascade Technologies have installed a security solution for a field trial at Glasgow Airport. The walk-through portal system allows rapid detection of explosives and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in real-time via analysis of air samples without using ionizing radiation or capturing passenger images.
The solution is the first outcome of a partnership initiated in early 2009 between Morpho and Cascade. Already deployed for the detection, measurement and monitoring of gases in industrial processes and emissions, the technology has been tested for IED/explosives detection since 2005 following the July 2005 London terrorist attacks with support from the UK government. It presents capabilities for gas detection in terms of measurement speed and discrimination and is suited for airport security checkpoints which require high convenience and low false alarm standards.
“We have partnered with Morpho over the past couple of years and are excited at the prospect of working alongside them to develop a new domain of applications for our technology and to see the first results of this work getting to the field,” said Iain Howieson, MD of Cascade Technologies.
“We are pleased with this partnership and to have reached trial stage with a major airport operator such as BAA. The combination of Cascade expertise with our detection technologies, through our subsidiary Morpho Detection, will contribute to our range of airport control security solutions,” said Jean-Paul Jainsky, Chairman and CEO of Morpho.