Millivision Technologies has launched a series of passive millimeter wave imaging systems based on its core imaging camera and software that eliminates privacy concerns and automatically highlights potential threat objects hidden beneath a person’s clothing.
Massachusetts-based Millivision introduced its millimeter wave portal system about six months ago and then followed that with introductions of its walk-by and stand-off systems three months ago, Paul Nicholas, president and chief operating officer, tells TR2. Nicholas joined Millivision in 2005 to help it transition its technology from the research and development stage to commercial products.
“We’re at the go to market stage now,” Nicholas says.
With its three products the company is targeting a wide swath of potential opportunities and markets, everything from law enforcement, cultural and aviation security markets to checkpoint and high-throughput applications.
With its Portal System 350 Millivision is aiming at the same markets that L-3 Communications [LLL] has already begun to penetrate with its active millimeter wave whole body imaging (WBI) portal system, the ProVision. The ProVision is being pilot tested by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in both primary and secondary applications at aviation checkpoints. In the primary mode, the device provides airline passengers a voluntary alternative to a metal detector and possible pat-down search. L-3 has also sold the system to court houses and the U.S. military.
The key discriminator that Millivision is offering with its imaging technology over L-3’s system and X-Ray backscatter imaging systems that TSA has tested is privacy software that was part of the development of the millimeter wave camera system from the start, Nicholas says. The Automatic Threat Detection (ATD) software highlights potential threats in red while displaying an image of a fully clothed person for the screener to see. The red marker provides a visual alert to the screener, Nicholas says.
The backscatter-based systems, which are built by American Science and Engineering [ASEI] and OSI Systems [OSIS], as well as L-3’s ProVision, do a good job highlighting potential threat objects. The drawback for some critics though is that these systems reveal details of body parts. That said, in the pilot tests that were done with the backscatter systems–which TSA has discontinued–and the ongoing operations with the ProVision system, TSA has maintained that the vast majority of passengers choose the WBI systems over a pat down search.
Congress and WBI
Still, despite acceptance by the public in the limited trials so far, the House this month passed an authorization bill (H.R. 2200) for TSA that includes an amendment restricting the use of imaging systems that can peer beneath a person’s clothing to secondary screening applications at airport checkpoints. Gale Rossides, the acting head of the agency, tells Congress that those restrictions will limit TSA’s ability to detect threats on people.
“In all honesty…based on the intel that I and the leadership team at TSA sees every single day, if we do not have the ability to deploy this technology and utilize it to the best abilities for the system, it will represent a severe limitation of our detection capability,” Rossides tells a House Homeland Security Committee panel. “And we know that those who intend to do harm today have move way beyond metal items and they are, in fact, looking for things that they can conceal, they are looking for things that the walk through metal detectors cannot detect and the whole body imagers can.”
The TSA Authorization Act must still be taken up by the Senate.
In separate reports, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees both address the issue of WBI systems in their recent mark-ups of the FY ’10 Homeland Security Appropriations Bills. Both panels want TSA to report to them on how the agency is ensuring tat individual privacy is being protected when the WBI systems are used. The report language from both bills is similar although the House wants to see a spending plan for how new algorithms are being developed to protect individual privacy.
Advantages of Privacy Software
To mitigate privacy concerns with the use of the WBI systems, TSA screeners viewing the images are located remotely so they can’t see the person being screened. Also, female screeners review images of women and male screeners review images of men. Images cannot be stored or printed. Also, the operator of the WBI system doesn’t see the images of the persons being scanned.
Millivision’s ATD software eliminates the need for the remote viewing and for having separate screeners–male and female–providing a labor advantage over the existing technology. A further advantage in labor savings would be obtained if the operator is the same person viewing the image just like a metal detector requires a single operator.
As a passive imaging system the Portal System 350 relies on radiation given off by individuals whereas L-3’s technology actively radiates a person inside the portal. However, the active radiation system doesn’t appear to be a health concern.
The Portal System 350 requires an individual to enter directly into the system between two panels, put his hands on his shoulders, and then rotate 360 degrees before exiting the imager. Nicholas says it takes about 6 seconds to complete the step-in, rotate, and step-out process and another four seconds to clear the person.
Millivision has been in discussions with the DHS Science and Technology’s Transportation Security Laboratory about the portal system, says Nicholas. The system has been pilot tested with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority policy as a force protection measure when suspects are brought to police headquarters. The portal is also being trialed at a federal courthouse in Washington D.C. to screen members of the public and employees, Nicholas says. The pilot test began recently and is expected to continue at least through July, he says.
Nicholas adds that the same court house has tested L-3’s ProVision system and Brijot Imaging Systems passive millimeter wave sensor unit. The court house is also conducting a short pilot test of Millivision’s Stand-off System 350, which consists of two passive millimeter wave cameras and two internal video cameras, to monitor an employee entrance. After that pilot the system will be moved to another venue for testing, he says.
That stand-off system was also used by the energy delivery company National Grid, Nicholas says.
Among the lessons learned so far in the pilots, Nicholas says is the need for the customers to understand their concept of operations with the technology, from how it integrates with current operating procedures to how to respond to an alert. He also says that there still is no “silver bullet” in security so a layered approach is necessary.
Nicholas believes the aviation market through TSA is critical for the wide-scale acceptance of WBI systems. He expects WBI systems to one day have the same market penetration as metal detectors, which were deployed broadly once they became standard in airports.
“The airport market validates the technology,” he says.