No Need to Remove Shoes for Airport Security Checks

No Need to Remove Shoes for Airport Security Checks

airport security

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A new airport security technology developed. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is to be the first to use new ultraviolet scanners, eliminating the need for passengers to remove their shoes for security checks.

The Delta R shoe scanner was developed by Dutch startup, Stage Gate 11 (SG11), who specialize in technological product development for the security industry. The scanner has a detection unit that uses UV light, meaning airport security staff can more easily pick out passengers who have hidden unsafe substances, such as drugs or explosives, in their shoes. The technology is suitable for many different applications, like parcel scanning.

The need for such technology follows the attempted bombing of an American Airlines flight in 2001 with an explosive concealed in a hollowed-out shoe heel. According to passengerterminaltoday.com, the shoe scanner detects traces of substances using UV reflection, comparing the emitted beam of light with the reflected one that has bounced off a surface. Since all substances have their own unique patterns, the technology quickly and accurately recognizes traces of illegal or threatening substances.

SG11 worked with interior specialists INTOS in the design of the product. Michiel Poppink, co-owner of SG11, commented, “We have the technology and application possibilities, but we really needed INTOS as a knowledge partner to design the show scanner. Their experience at international airports meant that INTOS knew exactly which requirements a product had to meet for optimum performance. All of this led to the perfect transformation of our ideas into an aesthetic concept and ultimately a functional product”.