Toronto Pearson Airport tested a new security portal. This is how it works
Toronto Pearson International Airport says their new security portal has eliminated the need for travellers to remove items from their pockets.
“We are very pleased with the results of our beta testing trials to date, having screened approximately 8,000 people in total, and we anticipate reaching 10,000 screens as we plan to deploy at other beta sites,” President and CTO of Liberty Defense, Michael Lanzaro, said in a corporate update Tuesday.
Over the last two weeks, Pearson has been testing a new walk-through security scanner. Liberty Defense, the security company behind it, aims to identify concealed weapons through its technology.
This new security portal uses HEXWAVE technology, which involves 3D radar imaging and low-frequency radio signals to detect and identify both metallic and non-metallic items.
“What HEXWAVE does is it provides us with that added layer of security screening, without impeding the movement of travellers coming into the airport, without slowing down [the] public, it allows passengers to keep their benign items on their person without having to divest,” Jeffrey Barrow, associate director of safety and security at the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said in the video.
The new technology allows travellers to keep items in their pockets and avoids the removal of clothes, unlike the traditional security scanner. According to the update, HEXWAVE successfully identified metallic and non-metallic threats as people walked through, including concealed un-assembled gun parts.
Bill Frain, CEO of Liberty Defense, previously told CTV News Toronto in February the system can spot the difference between everyday personal items, like a cell phone or wallet, and a threatening object, like a gun, pipe bomb or knife.
“What we do is we’re able to detect any type of threat,” he said. “We’re really looking at any type of anomaly that shouldn’t be on the body.”
Liberty Defense confirmed testing will continue until the end of 2022 and into the new year.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Katherine DeClerq
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.