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airport security measures are strengthened through new intelligent system

An undergoing airport security system project, named HAMLeT, tracks down suspected terrorists-carrying hidden explosives through smell sensors in addition to surveillance cameras.

HAMLeT, which stands for Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking, will alert security personnel to suspicious individuals," says head of department Dr. Wolfgang Koch from the FKIE, Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics in Wachtberg.

The prototype was built in response to the increasing number of undetected suspicious individuals, going in and out of national airports carrying hidden explosives that are difficult to investigate especially during peak hours or seasons.

HAMLeT, highly sensitive smell sensors which consist of oscillating crystals on the sensor chips, and whenever chemical molecules are sniffed through the "electronic noses" their oscillation frequency changes. Oscillation frequencies are unique for a particular chemical or substance contained in an explosive.

The system also uses a second network - the sensor's data fusion function, that traces the explosive's trail and tracks down the carrier.

In a mock demonstration, HAMLeT proved effective in sniffing out hidden explosives and tracked down 5 "terrorists". Currently, the researchers are doing some refinements on the prototype's algorithms in order to reduce the false alarm rate.

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