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Japanese researchers have developed a counterterrorism device that can quickly determine if the liquid inside a bottle or can is explosive or flammable, which could greatly speed up baggage inspections at airports, local media reported Monday.
The compact bomb-detecting apparatus, developed by a team led by Hideo Itozaki, a professor of engineering at Osaka University, can be installed anywhere.
"The device should prove useful not just in airports, but also in a variety of event venues and museums, including the Olympic Games," Itozaki was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun as saying.
Its detection accuracy meets the global standards set by the European Civil Aviation Conference.
The developers, who conducted a month-long trial of the device at Narita Airport's international terminal, hope to collaborate with private companies to sell their detector next spring.
To operate the detector, a bottle of liquid is placed between two cylinders that emit light. The device cross-references the light-absorption properties of the liquid with information stored in a database.
A lamp glows either red or green, depending on whether the content in the bottle is safe. Results take less than a second if the content is an ordinary fluid such as water. For other less common liquids, the machine will determine their safety in about five seconds. The findings can also be displayed on a portable device.
Liquids in opaque containers such as aluminum cans are inspected using a different method whereby sensors touch the surface of the container.
Many of the devices that currently examine fluid content in airports around the world are cumbersome and take time to give results. In addition, in Japan, fluids brought onto domestic flights are checked only for their flammability.
