DT-Solutions joins consortium ‘Bright Sky’ to innovate Dutch airport security
We are very proud to reveal that our joined proposal has been honored by the R&D Mobility Sectors subsidy scheme in which DT-Solutions, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Stage Gate 11 and the University of Applied Science of Amsterdam are jointly involved. The coming years these organizations will work together combining experience, business, and technology for a huge gain in security of airports.
Wil Ruijsbroek, CEO of DT-Solutions explains: “It is a great opportunity to work together in this consortium. We can develop our Echo X technology into an alarm resolution solution for the Hold Baggage Screening process in partnership with a leading airport like Schiphol and experts in this field. It will accelerate our roadmap to bring our solutions to the market and helps us to identify other areas within security where Echo X can be of value.”
The consortium’s aim
Many events, like the climate crisis and the past pandemic, have a huge impact on the aviation industry. In addition to their position as a global transport hub, large international airports such as Schiphol are also a testing ground for technological innovations due to the high concentration of aviation-related activities. The Dutch government sees an obvious necessity to maintain its international competitive position this industry currently possesses. To remain internationally progressive, the aviation ecosystem at Schiphol must developed continuously and this can be achieved by supporting innovation. This subsidy project is specifically granted to promising parties, that, when joining forces, stimulate and contribute each other to achieve innovative success. The aim of this project focusses on technological innovation in the field of:
- Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
- Airport security and ground handling
- Airport systems
Contribution DT-Solutions
DT-Solutions will contribute with its Echo X technology to the consortium by the development of an alarm resolution system for the Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) process at airports. The solution is based on X-ray diffraction and spectrometry methods and can identify illicit material (solids, liquids, aerosols, foams and gels) through barriers as baggage, drums and parcels. The joint collective is of great value for the development and implementation of the systems and thereby innovation of the complete airport security system.
Ruijsbroek: “We see a huge challenge for airports regarding the HBS process. Due new legislation, airports were forced to upgrade their screening level of HBS, leaving an open spot for automated alarm resolution. This change has resulted in a strong increase of rejected baggage that must be screened manually. Significantly more agents are needed it results in a tremendous increase of costs for airport operations. The technology of Echo X can do its measurement through barriers and cluttering of a suitcase, meaning no manual labour will be needed to resolve alarms that are generated by the primary screening device.
We are proud to be joining this consortium and contribute to the security of airports. All involved parties have great experience in the field of airport security and will contribute to the further development, business case and usability of our solution.
Details of the program
A total of 8 projects received a subsidy from the R&D Mobility Sector and will be involved with this project for the coming 4 years. More information about the subsidy program and an overview of the winning calls can be found on the RVO site link.