TSA to trial new AI-driven accessible screening solution

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has selected transport security technologists Pangiam to demonstrate its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven accessible screening solution that is said to have the potential to transform aviation security worldwide.

Project DARTMOUTH, the collaboration between Pangiam and Google Cloud, utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and pattern analysis technologies to digest and analyse vast amounts of data in real-time to identify potential prohibited items in carry-on baggage.

“As TSA and other security agencies adopt 3D Computed Tomography (CT), this application of AI represents a potentially transformative leap in aviation security, making air travel safer and more consistent, while allowing TSA’s highly trained officers to focus on bags that pose the greatest risk,” claims Pangiam’s product director, Alexis Long.

“Our aim is to utilise AI and computer vision technologies to enhance security by providing TSA and security officers with powerful tools to detect prohibitive items that may pose a threat to aviation security is a significant step toward setting a new security standard with worldwide implications.”

TSA’s Innovation Task Force (ITF) issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for transportation security solutions in December 2021 to identify innovative solutions that are rigorously evaluated and then demonstrated in a live operational environment.

ITF’s mission is to identify and demonstrate emerging solutions that increase security effectiveness and efficiency, improve passenger experience, and to deliver solutions that secure the freedom of movement throughout the nation’s transportation system.

The first series of Project DARTMOUTH trials is set to begin at TSA’s System Integration Facility (TSIF) – a 128,000 square-foot lab that serves as a testing ground for state-of-the-art technologies for possible implementation at airport security checkpoints.

While TSA is the first to debut Project DARTMOUTH initiative in North America, Pangiam is also working with AGS Airports Group on trials at Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton airport in the UK.

Pangiam’s AI-based solution is built to Open Architecture standards and therefore, it notes, it can be interoperable with hardware and equipment in a “plug and play” manner, allowing security operations to be transformed quickly through software innovation.