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2 New Airport Technologies able Smarter Travel AIRPORTS ARE SOME OF THE MOST CRITICAL SITES TO SECURE IN ANY COUNTRY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, IN MANY PLACES THEY ARE UNDER THREAT. HOWEVER, SEVERAL NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE ENABLING AIRPORT SECURITY AND EXPERIENCE TO BECOME SMOOTHER AND MORE EFFICIENT. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE TAKE A LOOK AT A FEW OF THESE INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS. BY Prasanth Aby Thomas here is no doubt that the global security threats and the concerns associated with them are on the rise. Across the world, nations are strengthening their security infrastructure in order to counter issues like terrorist attacks. This is especially true of critical infrastructure, in particular, airports. According to the research firm Global Market Insights, airport security market was worth US$8.8 billion in 2015, with gains at over 4.6 percent CAGR. This is expected to reach $12.8 billion by 2023, as governments prioritize the need to protect passengers and infrastructure. Asia Pacific is expected to see substantial development due to the emerging markets in India and China. The region accounted for over 25 percent of the global revenue in Economic progress and better infrastructure are driving demand for advanced security solutions in the region. The Middle East and Africa airport security market size is expected to witness notable growth due to the rise in the vulnerabilities and undesirable attacks in the countries including Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., Global Market Insights added. Growing air traffic with the increasing air travelers owing to the time-related factors and rising disposable income may contribute towards the industry demand, the research firm said. Increasing number of airports are investing in complex control & command (C2) and integration solutions due to the high level of security offered by such systems. Moreover, these systems provide greater situational awareness. Patrik Anderson, Director, Business Development, Transportation, Axis Communications Challenges to Airport Security The sheer number of people that pass through an average international airport itself should be considered a major hurdle to providing effective security. According to Stephane Cheikh, Ventures and Innovation Manager, SITA Lab 27

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4 New Airport Technologies Smarter Travel Enable Kevin Gramer, VP, Digital Barriers Mark Laustra, VP, Global Development and Government Relations, Analogic standardization come into play. Aviation is highly regulated. Therefore, funding, accreditation, standardization, and the time it takes to gain approval are all major challenges in today s environment, Gramer said. As suppliers to the industry, it s important we work with bodies such as the TSA to ensure the most effective technologies are highlighted and that best practices are quickly shared. After all, our aviation system is highly interconnected and we are only ever as secure as our least secure airport. Speaking of major factors that should be considered in this vertical, Gramer added that flexibility of existing security technologies and processes to adapt to the new threats is key. Another factor to consider is where the security perimeter begins and how easy it is for existing measures to be rehearsed against, Gramer said. For example, lone wolf attacks are a growing threat to domestic security and the insider threat has proven to be one of the vulnerable areas of airport operations since most employees entering an airport are not screened the same way passengers are screened. Patrik Anderson, Director of Business Development for Transportation at Axis Communications, gave similar comments. to ceramics, plastics, liquids, gels and powders even under multiple layers of clothing. Critically, it offers ample privacy protection as even though the camera can detect objects in a distance, it does not reveal invasive anatomical details. The camera uses varying levels of natural Terahertz energy emitted by people, objects and their surrounding environment to highlight any concealed objects, the company explains on its website. Reflected energy from the body is able to pass through clothing. However, any object between a person and the camera is shown in contrast. These differences, in contrast, are clearly visible to operators and an operator-assist utility can be employed to support detection because it uses an entirely passive sensor system. ThruVis units are completely safe in their operation as they are as harmless as a normal video camera. Checkpoint Security Revised A medical technology has now been found to be effective in airport security. No doubt, the checkpoints are one of the most sensitive areas in an airport. The technology used at checkpoints are always a cause of debate as they should be effective without invading passengers privacy. Analogic, a Peabody, Massachusetts-based company has come up with a solution that uses the latest in computed tomography (CT) technology yes, the same lifesaving technology used to diagnose diseases in humans to offer better protection. ConneCT is Analogic s next generation scanner for airport checkpoint security, explained Mark Laustra, VP of Global Development and Government Relations at Analogic. It uses the latest in CT technology in conjunction with cuttingedge threat detection software. The various innovations ConneCT employs will elevate the level of security for travelers, decrease the cost per passenger airports spend on screening while simultaneously increasing passenger throughput. The scanner offers 100 times the amount of data available in current 2D X-rays and generates a 3D image that airport security screeners can manipulate, or toggle onscreen. This gives screeners a complete 360-degree view of a bag and affords them multiple points of view and the ability to digitally unpack a bag to detect threats. The company expects three major factors to drive demand for its solution. The ever-changing threat environment, need for improved travel experience and the possibility of upgrading to better technology at lower costs. There are at least three key factors 29

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7 VERTICAL SOLUTION facilities infrastructure and building management data are all being reviewed for how to increase the effectiveness of the environment through true unification and more adept visualization and analytics. Fly Safer, Smarter MAR Security solutions in today s airports go beyond their primary purpose and are part of daily airport operations itself. Enides pointed out that a well-designed solution is one that is already being used beyond its initial design. Airports have installed an intricate network of cameras and ALPR units which gather data, so the question becomes how else can we use that data to provide better analytics and intelligence? Enides said. We ve started helping our customers utilize their cameras beyond VMS, to also analyze passenger flow, retail engagement and density. Retail vendors within the airport terminal are also able to leverage this visual data to understand patterns, so they can affect better patron engagement strategies when comparing the analytic data of their sales volume, employee count and product displays. Having the insight into how much product is sold, on what days and peak hours is great, but being able to contrast this to how many potential patrons came into your store or paused in front of your display creates an even more complete data set to help make strategic decisions for increasing customer engagement. Equally, many airports are also using ANPR units to keep vehicle counts at the parking level and to understand lot utilization. This data can also be effectively used to inform airport patrons via digital signage or airport mobile applications to help them quickly find parking. Using both cloud-based and onsite analytic packages to process and analyze data from the sources in the environment are crucial new ways to enhance the passenger, client and employee experience at airports today. Airports continue to remain one of the key critical infrastructures in most countries. Several challenges remain in making these travel hubs completely safe, but with new technologies and further investment, governments across the globe are trying to make them as secure and easy to operate as possible. 34 Drone to Keep the Skies Clear A A drone built for bird control near airports irports are keen to keep their skies clear of anything other than aircraft, living or nonliving. The dangers of the use of drones near airports are something that has gathered a lot of attention lately, but here is a company that believes flying its drone near airports can be beneficial. Clear Flight Solutions, a Netherlands-based company, has come up with a wing-flapping bird drone, to keep other birds away. Robirds are truly unique remotely controlled robotic birds of prey, with the realistic appearance and weight of their living counterparts. Robirds use flapping wing flight as a means of propulsion, with a flight performance comparable to real birds. Speaking to a&s International, Jan-Willem van den Eijkel, International Sales Manager at Clear Flight Solutions, pointed out that the main objective of the drone is to have a very effective bird control management system. The company is in talks with airports across the globe to implement this device and expects them to be operational in the coming months. Robot to Guide Passengers N A friendly robot to help you at the airport. avigating your way through large airports can be difficult, given the number of flights that take off in quick succession or even simultaneously. LG Electronics has come up with a solution for this a passenger guiding robot. Launched at the recent CES 2017 trade show, this friendly machine can read your boarding pass, tell you how to get to your gate and even walk you there. Responding to voice, it can also tell you the weather at your destination and offer directions in four different languages. The robot has a giant display on it that it uses to show you where to go.