UPDATE!!! Due to technical glitches, this tech talk was recorded instead of live. Access the video by visiting: http://bit.ly/2rfJHTf
Do you ever wonder why you stand in line at the airport checkpoint, and what those machines are doing? Well, they are looking for, among other things, explosives.
The emergence of homemade explosive threats is a challenge for aviation security. Explosive trace detectors (ETDs) are one type of screening technology being used in a wide variety of operational environments including aviation, maritime and at the nation’s borders.
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Secondary Screening Program works with the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and others across the Homeland Security Enterprise, as well as with academia and industry. The goal is to develop technology that can detect trace particles or residues of explosives left on surfaces -- like clothing or electronics or bags.
The program focuses on research, development, testing and evaluation of the next generation of ETDs. The program also invests in scientific efforts that provide broadly applicable and foundational research to benefit the trace explosives detection R&D community.
Join us on S&T’s Facebook page, May 1 at 1 p.m. ET for a live tech talk discussion about a screening technology tools under development that can find microscopic amounts of explosives on people, baggage, cargo and tools.