Rohde & Schwarz will be supplying its mm-Wave Quick Personnel Security (QPS) scanners to Heathrow Airport to help reduce wait times for passengers and enhance security checkpoints. The scanners will be rolled out across the airport, ensuring that all passengers, staff and contractors accessing airside locations are scanned on entry. The installation enables the airport to achieve its vision of a secure and safe environment whilst at the same time providing a positive passenger experience by making their journey through the airport as fast and efficient as possible.
The R&S QPS201 security scanner from Rohde & Schwarz features technology, which increases sensitivity to further boost threat detection while reducing false alarms and processing time. It consists of a flat panel with thousands of transmitter antennas that emit extremely low-power millimeterwaves in very short succession and just as many receiver antennas. Persons being scanned stand squarely between the panels as if facing a mirror, holding their arms slightly away from their bodies.
In addition to strengthening security, these performance gains reduce post-alarm manual checks and so help avoid physical contact to ensure social distancing. The security scanner restores parity to baggage- and personnel-scanning times, helping security staff manage throughput at checkpoints and avoid excessive queueing. Leveraging Rohde & Schwarz's expertise in technology, and utilizing machine-trained software algorithms, R&S QPS201 detects all types of potentially dangerous objects.
Frank Mackel, Vice President Sales Europe, Rohde & Schwarz said that Heathrow Airport is the latest leading international airport to adopt the R&S QPS201, reinforcing their position as the go-to solution for airports around the world. This scanner addresses the three key airport requirements: high accuracy of threat detection, low frequency of false alarms to minimize time consuming manual pat-downs, and fast throughput to reduce passenger wait times even at busy periods.
Heathrow Airport sought a solution that fully addressed current security and throughput requirements but is also being continuously developed and improved to meet future security needs. They were impressed with Rohde & Schwarz's commitment to upgrade the scanners with new algorithms after they entered service. They now allow an easy, hands-down posture for scanning, which is comfortable while at the same time ensures effective screening for safety and security. A full body scan is completed in seconds, and any suspect objects are indicated on an image to preserve passenger privacy.
Click here to learn more about R&S QPS201.
