Jan. 25--NISKAYUNA -- For airline passengers, General Electric Co.'s new security systems could mean clearing the checkpoint in 20 seconds, without having to remove their shoes.
For airlines and airport officials, the new systems could mean enhanced security and safety for the traveling public.
GE's Global Research Center on Tuesday showed off some of the tools it has developed to detect explosives, weapons and other threats to the traveling public. The occasion was a visit to the River Road center by Charles McQueary, the undersecretary for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Joining him was Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, who serves on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, the panel that presumably would have to find the money in the federal budget to buy all the new technology.
One of the systems -- GE's EntryScan -- is already in use at airports in the United States and in high-risk locations here and overseas. The unit is nicknamed the "puffer" because it hits individuals with a gentle puff of air as they pass through. That air is then quickly analyzed for traces of explosives and in some cases, narcotics.
The units, which retail for a bit more than $100,000 each, are already in use at 28 or 29 airports domestically. Two of the devices will be installed at Albany International Airport this spring, said airport spokesman Doug Myers.
Two other detectors, the GE Shoe Scanner and the SafeView Scout millimeter wave portal, were also on display, although they're not yet commercially available. Passengers can leave their shoes on when passing through the Shoe Scanner, speeding up their move through the checkpoint.
The SafeView Scout device, meanwhile, can detect hidden weapons and other threatening devices within two to three seconds. Both devices are still being tested and refined.
A display at the center also showed other potential uses for the puffer and other devices. In a setting that resembled a London Underground station, puffers would check passengers as they purchased tickets at vending machines, and when they used tickets at the entry gates.
One week ago, Siemens AG and GE agreed to cooperate in developing technology to protect ocean-going cargo containers from tampering. Siemens Financial Services took a minority stake in CommerceGuard AB, a subsidiary of GE's security business. The unit is producing a device that attaches inside a container and registers tampering.
Readers record the container's status in a database accessible worldwide by shippers, authorized importers and government officials.
GE officials on Tuesday said the devices might also be used with airline freight containers, or that puffers might scan cargo and luggage as well as passengers.
How quickly all of this technology will be rolled out isn't clear. Sweeney said "we want to make sure it works," and GE officials later said it's important the equipment be reliable and not set off false alarms.
The cargo container devices, for example, must function in harsh weather conditions.
One approach is to develop what are called orthogonal sensors, each of which uses a different sensing method, so that they're not all susceptible to the same kinds of errors. That could also help eliminate the false positives and enhance reliability.
