Dubai National Air Transport Association (dnata) deployed Honeywell’s ThermoRebellion temperature monitoring solution in November in Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to support passengers traveling on major airlines including Air France, Lufthansa, Korean Air and Japan Airlines.
“dnata USA is continuously seeking innovation and technology that provides leading-edge solutions to our customers’ most critical needs,” said David Barker, CEO of dnata USA. “The COVID-19 pandemic is redefining aviation processes and with the holiday season fast approaching, we wanted to deploy the best possible temperature-screening solution for passengers and airport personnel. The Honeywell ThermoRebellion solution is accurate, stable and allows individual travelers to move through the screening process rapidly. Installing the solution at JFK International Airport underscores our commitment to delivering the highest levels of safety and efficiency for our airport and airline partners, as well as their passengers.”
ThermoRebellion incorporates infrared imaging technology and artificial intelligence algorithms to deliver highly accurate temperature measurements. As individuals pass in front of the high-resolution, thermal imaging camera, skin temperature is detected within seconds and displayed on an accompanying monitor, alerting airport personnel if travelers require additional screening.
Robert Kester, president and general manager for Honeywell ThermoRebellion, said the thermal cameras and hardware were used for gas leak detection in the oil and gas industry, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to use the technology in a new way.
The system collects skin temperature from around the eyes near the tear ducts. Combined with the software, the ThermoRebellion has an accuracy within 0.5 Fahrenheit degrees.
Kester said studies have shown correlation of elevated skin temperature with a higher body temperature, which is an indicator of potential illness.
“Standard thermal cameras only achieve accuracy within a couple of degrees Fahrenheit, but when you’re thinking about skin temperature monitoring, the difference between 98.6 F and 100.4 F requires much better accuracy,” Kester said. “We’ve designed this system with a dual black body, which provides the most accurate elevated skin temperature monitoring system on the market.”
The ThermoRebellion also monitors travelers to make sure they’re wearing masks. It doesn’t use facial recognition technology, but Kester said algorithms that can extrapolate out temperature regions of the face and if someone is wearing proper protective equipment.
“Terminal One Group Association strongly believes in the health and safety of its passengers,” said Steve Rowland, executive director Terminal One Group Association. “We have partnered with dnata and Honeywell to deploy the Thermo Rebellion solution that offers an additional layer of safety to the traveling public and Terminal One workforce.”
dnata is using a cart-based system to monitor travelers and employees. Two carts are located within U.S. Customs hallways, two at TSA checkpoints and one at an employee entrance.
“You walk up to it and it takes a second,” Kester said. “They have a sticker on the ground and it takes longer for you to step on the sticker and look up than the system takes to do a measurement.”
dnata tested the systems for several weeks before taking them live Nov. 18. It’s the first deployment of ThermoRebellion in an airport.
“Deploying solutions like this in U.S. airports provides a piece of mind beyond a mask,” Kester said. “If you’re an airport and you’re trying to get people back to flying, I’d definitely encourage them to go to JFK and take a look at how the passengers are responding to the system.”
Less Touch Means More Safety
Security queues have many challenges when it comes to protecting the public during the pandemic. Not only are people standing closer, but they’re handling communal plastic bins before placing them into x-ray machines. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers are then not only exposed to the swath of travelers but they also need to handle traveler baggage when additional screening is required.
This challenge highlights the additional need for more deployment of Computed Tomography (CT) scanning equipment at TSA checkpoints to protect workers and the public.
Sally Nordeen senior director of government and aviation solutions for Smiths Detection, said CT scanners allow TSA workers to see contents in 3D so they better understand what’s in the bags. It also means travelers can leave items like liquids and laptops inside their bags, reducing the number of bins they need. The lower false alarm rate means less rechecks by staff.
Prior to the pandemic, airports and airlines who knew the CT equipment existed were pushing it to improve throughput due to the record numbers of travelers working their ways through limited terminal space. Nordeen said it now reinforces the idea of less bags being touched.
“It means less bags being opened, the TSA workers don’t need to touch as much of your stuff and secondary screening doesn’t have to happen because the false alarm rates are lower,” she said. “It's almost a parallel argument to deploy the technology quicker.”
Smiths was contacted by TSA to deploy 300 CT systems at 100 airports at a cost of $97 million. Nordeen said they expect to finish the deployment by the end of the year. They were placed in a stand-alone fashion, but the addition of Automated Screening Lanes (ASL) will further help throughput.
“We designed the 6040 CTiX to be very much a plug and play system to our current multi-view 6040 ATiX that’s already been at airports,” she said. “We wanted to keep the footprint very similar. We also designed the electrical requirements to be the same so there wouldn’t need to be site work done to increase the power requirements needed to operate the systems.”
Lisa Farbstein, spokesperson for TSA said the new CT technology provides critical explosives detection capabilities at the checkpoint and improves the capability for TSA officers to determine whether an item inside a carry-on bag is a possible threat.
The system applies sophisticated algorithms for the detection of explosives by creating a 3D image that can be viewed and rotated on three axes for thorough visual image analysis by a TSA officer. If a bag requires further screening, TSA officers will inspect it to ensure that a threat item is not contained inside. It's expected that it will result in fewer bag checks. Plus, passengers can be allowed to leave laptops and other electronic devices in their carry-on bags.
“The 3D imagery of this new unit is so good that our TSA officers can manipulate the image on screen to get a better view of a bag’s contents and often clear items without having to open a carry-on bag,” she said. “Not only does this state-of-the art technology represent an improved security threat detection capability at the checkpoint, but it also reduces the need for pulling aside a bag to be opened, thus reducing a touchpoint during the pandemic.”
Nordeen said Smiths Detection also developed a modular UVC light sanitation module that goes into the ASL. This allows each tray to be sanitized between each use. They’re currently being used across the U.K. and Canada. The company is working with the TSA to get them installed at the new terminal at LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
“Nobody likes to handle those bins, but after COVID, that was a rapid engineering moment that we saw an opportunity to solve a problem very quickly knowing the impact COVID was going to have within the first few weeks on aviation and travel,” she said.
