An Israeli firm has developed a laser device that can detect a suicide bomber's explosives belt or chemical weapons from dozens of metres (yards) away, an executive said on Monday.
International Technologies Lasers Ltd (ITL), a publicly traded company that makes semi-military equipment such as night vision systems, began developing the laser spectroscopy solution three years ago.
"The device can detect anyone who is carrying explosives on his body, is wearing an explosives belt or has been working with explosives. They will all be contaminated with particles," said ITL's business director, Ami Rudich.
The company said its laboratory system has a near-perfect detection rate and that a prototype is six to eight months away.
The target market for the new device is the aviation industry and the company is currently negotiating a deal with two major US firms, Rudich said.
ITL is also working on an application of its solution for Israel's Defence Ministry and a second application that will detect material traces on documents.
Since an outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence more than three years ago, scores of Israelis have been killed in suicide attacks.
In an attempt to keep bombers out of its cities, Israel has set up numerous checkpoints in the West Bank where Palestinians must go through stringent, time consuming and often humiliating searches before being allowed entrance to the Jewish state.
The ITL system, if the Israeli army decides to use it, would not only make the checkpoint experience a quicker one, it would avoid the need to demand Palestinians bare their stomachs to prove they are not hiding explosives, Rudich said.
The device, which can be programmed to detect any material entered into the ITL database, can also give early warning of buried explosives such as those troubling US forces in Iraq, Rudich added.
It can scan cars from metres away, and could be installed in toll booths to detect explosives.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_729694,00040006.htm
International Technologies Lasers Ltd (ITL), a publicly traded company that makes semi-military equipment such as night vision systems, began developing the laser spectroscopy solution three years ago.
"The device can detect anyone who is carrying explosives on his body, is wearing an explosives belt or has been working with explosives. They will all be contaminated with particles," said ITL's business director, Ami Rudich.
The company said its laboratory system has a near-perfect detection rate and that a prototype is six to eight months away.
The target market for the new device is the aviation industry and the company is currently negotiating a deal with two major US firms, Rudich said.
ITL is also working on an application of its solution for Israel's Defence Ministry and a second application that will detect material traces on documents.
Since an outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence more than three years ago, scores of Israelis have been killed in suicide attacks.
In an attempt to keep bombers out of its cities, Israel has set up numerous checkpoints in the West Bank where Palestinians must go through stringent, time consuming and often humiliating searches before being allowed entrance to the Jewish state.
The ITL system, if the Israeli army decides to use it, would not only make the checkpoint experience a quicker one, it would avoid the need to demand Palestinians bare their stomachs to prove they are not hiding explosives, Rudich said.
The device, which can be programmed to detect any material entered into the ITL database, can also give early warning of buried explosives such as those troubling US forces in Iraq, Rudich added.
It can scan cars from metres away, and could be installed in toll booths to detect explosives.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_729694,00040006.htm