DetectionNew scanning technique may end on-board liquid restrictions

A new machine which can identify the chemical composition of liquids sealed within non-metallic containers without opening them is one of three candidates announced Monday as in the running to win the U.K.’s premier engineering prize, the MacRobert Award. Already being deployed in sixty-five airports across Europe, this innovation can protect travelers by screening for liquid explosives and could spell the end of the ban on liquids in hand luggage.

Based on research undertaken at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire-based Cobalt Light Systems has developed an airport security scanner, the Insight100. It should enable airports to remove the existing hand-luggage liquid ban through phased implementation over the next two years.

An STFC release reports that the Insight100’s underlying technology was first developed by STFC’s Professor Pavel Matousek in a true eureka moment at the Central Laser Facility. Professor Matousek said: “The technology works using the technique of Raman spectroscopy. When combined with advanced algorithms to distinguish between the container and its contents, the technology is able to identify the chemical composition in seconds, and with greater reliability than any other existing system.”

Synonymous with spotting the “next big thing” in the technology sector, the MacRobert Award is the U.K.’s longest running national prize for engineering. It identifies outstanding innovation with proven commercial promise and tangible societal benefit.

Speaking about the shortlisting Professor Matousek, who is also Cobalt’s chief scientific officer, said that “It is wonderful to see this recognition for the work of the STFC spin-out company Cobalt Light Systems. To take such technologically advanced research and develop it in such a way that a successful solution to a key national security challenge has been found is fantastic. It is tremendously exciting to see that this research breakthrough has led to the development of a commercial product that has now been introduced in a total of sixty-five airports across Europe.”

Paul Loeffen, CEO for Cobalt Light Systems, said, “Being selected as a finalist for the prestigious MacRobert Award is an incredible accolade for our team. It is hugely satisfying to see an academic discovery from a U.K. laboratory undergo several stages of innovation ending with deployment at international airports to enhance passenger security. The development of the Insight100 has been a multi-disciplinary engineering effort on very tight timescales and has culminated in dramatic commercial success over the last year.”

The fundamental science behind the device could also be used for non-invasive cancer screening, detecting counterfeit goods, and food analysis in the future. This technique was originally used to help pharmaceutical companies verify medicines.

John Robinson, FREng, chair of the MacRobert Award judging panel, said, “Each of this year’s finalists has demonstrated exceptional innovation and technical expertise but, perhaps more importantly, the significance of how this is being applied for the benefit of society is exceptional.”

The winner will be announced on 2 July 2014 at the Academy’s Awards Dinner at the Royal Opera House in London.

The technology
Cobalt Light Systems says the technology was initially used to help pharmaceutical companies verify medicines. Cobalt has now applied it to a security machine, the Insight100, which is anticipated to enable airports to remove the existing hand-luggage liquid ban through phased implementation over the next two years.

The hand luggage liquid restrictions were introduced in 2006 following what officials described as a threat from liquid explosives. Passengers boarding planes in EU countries are currently allowed to carry within their hand luggage liquids in containers no more than 100ml in capacity. The Insight100 system can analyze bottles up to three liters, in order to determine whether they contain anything considered a threat, without having to open them.

The machine shines a laser at the container, and the spectrum of light returned is then cross-checked against those collated on a library of threats. The technology has already been deployed in eight of the top ten EU airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, and a total of sixty-five airports in Europe have introduced the system since January 2014.

The company says it is collaborating with STFC and other partners to explore the potential of the technology in other areas such as non-invasive breast cancer screening, bone disease diagnosis, detecting counterfeit goods, food analysis, law enforcement, and more.

Cobalt Light Systems was established in 2008 as a spin-out from the U.K.’s Science and Technology Facilities Council.

— Read more in Michael Worobey et al., “Genesis and pathogenesis of the 1918 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (8 April 2014) (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1324197111)