The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shortly will begin testing a prototype self-screening solution at a passenger security airport checkpoint that meets the same screening standards currently required at airport checkpoints while allowing travelers to move at their own pace.
Vanderlande Industries is supplying the self-service solution to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, which awarded the company a $2.6 million contract in December 2021 to develop the self-screening concept design and prototype to streamline TSA PreCheck trusted traveler operations. Vanderlande’s solution was previously successfully tested in the TSA Systems Integration Facility.
The evaluation at TSA’s Innovation Checkpoint at Harry Reid International Airport is expected to run three to six months but could last longer depending on data requirements. During the live operations, travelers will receive step-by-step instructions through a video display. Once the screening steps are completed and the all-clear is given, passengers will pass through automated exit doors to retrieve their belongs and head to their flights.
Vanderlande said in January 2022 that its self-screening solution includes Rohde & Schwarz‘s Quick Personnel Security scanner for on-person screening and Dormakaba‘s secure access control systems.
Transportation Security Officers will be present to assist and ensure screening protocols are followed but the goal is to have travelers received on-person alarm information and self-resolve any anomalies to minimize instances of pat-downs or secondary screenings.
TSA said it will collect passenger feedback and data on system performance, design, cybersecurity, human factors, and other variables to inform future design considerations. S&T in late 2021 also awarded self-screening concept contracts to two other vendors that are still in development of their prototypes with plans to begin laboratory testing soon.