Rohde & Schwarz security scanners in test operation at Zurich Airport (Source: Flughafen Zürich AG)

At Zurich Airport, two digital security scanners from the German manufacturer Rohde & Schwarz have been put into test operation. The longer-term plan is to equip all security checkpoints at the airport with the new technology.
Flughafen Zürich AG is testing two R&S QPS201 security scanners. These will be used on two of the 26 passenger screening lines in the security control building. During the test phase, the new devices will not replace the conventional metal detectors, but will serve as additional screening instruments. Passengers stand in the security scanner for a short time, possible threats to the body are displayed on a digital and standardised avatar without revealing personal characteristics.
The security scanner from Rohde & Schwarz offers market-leading security performance combined with high efficiency and an intuitive process for passengers. The scanner works with millimetre wave technology. It anonymises and analyses the captured image data to detect prohibited items on passengers quickly and accurately.

The automatic detection function is based on AI-based algorithms that aim to identify a wide range of object classes of all materials, such as metals, liquids, ceramics, plastics, granulates, powders, organic substances and much more, with extremely low false alarm rates. This reduces the effort required by security personnel for manual follow-up checks.
This technology from Rohde & Schwarz has been proving its worth in the aviation industry since 2015, with over 1,000 scanners already in use at airports worldwide. They have been approved by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and many other national authorities.