Present air cargo screening approaches are based, essentially, on X-Ray inspections carried out by operators in a procedure similar to the one performed on cabin luggage, but the X- Ray screening process has a major drawback for aeronautical cargo: When depth of inspected cargo increases, probability of detection decreases dramatically, while inspection time increases also radically.
User Requirements for air cargo explosive screening can be synthesized as follows:
1. Screening for cargo must be done in a single step done at the airport entrance. This type of screening is known as “large freight screening”,
2. Detection of all explosives in amounts much lower than 1 kg per cargo load (the exact figure is classified),
3. Very high Probability of Detection (PoD),
4. Very low False Alarm Rate (FAR),
5. No Operator “interpretation”, and
6. Cost per kg lower than present operation
If we analyze the previous criteria, it is possible to conclude that:
• Requirements 2 and 5 can only be met by a molecular detection method.
• Requirement nº 1 cannot be met by current ETDs (Explosive Trace Detection) , hence EVD (Explosive Vapour Detection) is the method of choice.
• Requirements 1 to 3 call for a very high sensitivity, while requirement 4 requires a very high resolution.
• Requirement 5 is automatically met if detection is automatic.
• Requirement 6 is also met if complete trucks can be screened without unloading them.
The technical challenge for EVDs lies in the fact that the physics underlying vapour detection are still partially unknown, so a debate is open over the sensitivity and resolution levels needed in order to comply with requirements 1 to 4. This challenge, which has been unsolved for decades, has recently been solved by ACES, as proved by the informal and formal tests made in the last years by National Laboratories and Security Agencies, in the EU, Israel and US.
ACES delivers a radical improvement from present explosive screening procedures:
• 100% of air cargo is inspected at the airport entrance.
• Screening is done directly on the truck prior to discharge.
• Screening is completed in a single operation in a few minutes.
• Screenings costs are many times lower than present-day operations.
• Probability of Detection (PoD) and False Alarm rate (FAR) improve considerably over present day performances.
The level of security in airports will increase remarkably giving a boost of the passenger’s confidence within a world where the number of terrorist threats is in continuous rise.
Impacts will also be very relevant at the scientific level, since the ACES technology is considerably superior to present state-of-the-art, and has allowed presentation of more than 15 new patents (most of them prior to initiation of the ACES project, but based on the same technology).
Impact will not remain in a scientific or technological scope, but will extend to the society at large. As a matter of fact, around 3,500 billion enplanements take place every year in the world, which numerically equals to half of the world population. Indeed, air travel is an essential element of business and leisure activities worldwide. Nevertheless, after decades of unfruitful research and development, we still have no-reliable systems to face the increasing terrorist threat. Owing to its outstanding performance and non-intrusive characteristics, ACES will genuinely solve this problem, contributing to maintain and enhance the perception of air travelling as a secure and comfortable activity, with an undoubted positive effect over the global economy and social wellbeing at large.
