A Novel Shoe Scanner Using an Open-Access Quadrupole Resonance and Metal Sensor

摘要

Airport security and efficiency are both compromised by the process of requiring passengers to remove their shoe. A novel shoe scanner developed at the GE Security San Diego Center of Excellence uses both Quadrupole Resonance (QR) and configuration-sensitive metal detection to identify threats hidden in shoes. The shoe scanner was developed with an open-access chassis and scanning chamber that allows passengers to stand in the system in a natural position during the scanning process. More traditional magnetic resonance systems are closed or partially closed and cannot be used for screening personnel because the scanning chambers confine the object in question. The shoe scanner's novelty lies in a particular chassis geometry that allows both QR and metal screening. The resulting scanning system achieves the same level of performance as a more confining system. The shoe scanner is small enough to allow integration with other sensors such as the GE Itemizer FX~TM trace detection system. In fact, the first application of the novel shoe scanner is expected to be as a component in a multi-sensor verification and security system known as the Secure Registered Traveler (SRT) Kiosk. The SRT kiosk is designed to be used as part of the TSA's Registered Traveler Program.