EMBody - Next generation electromagnetic walk by body scanners
Lead Research Organisation:
The University of Manchester
Department Name: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Abstract
The project is structured with three complementary and interdependent aspects, balancing developmental and strategic research work, with corresponding short / long term goals. Each of the three aspects has clearly defined work packages. The first aspect is the use of tomography to enhance the performance of WTMD's by exploiting the coupling between multiple combinations of coils in the array. Present systems generally use only the coupling between dedicated coil pairs and ignore the information available from other coil combinations. Consequently, the detectors suffer from non-uniform sensitivity distribution, typically with the lowest response in the centre of the portal. This limits their discrimination and ability to locate threat objects. By using the information available from multiple coil combinations, using techniques pioneered for EM tomography, it is expected that both discrimination and location of multiple threat objects can be enhanced The second aspect is the incorporation of video as an integral part of the operation of the detector. Of course video could be simply used to provide security staff with more effective visual feedback. However, this aspect is more fundamental as the video data will be processed to determine the position of the subject during passage pass through the detector, talking gait into account. The time sequenced 3D data can then be used as a-priori information to invert the data from the EM tomography sensors using algorithms devised in our earlier pilot study. In simple terms, the signal profile as the subject passes through the portal contains a wealth of presently unused information on the nature and location of the threat object. It is expected that the improved performance will help to radically improve detectability and object location and reduce false positives (e.g. ignoring belt buckles etc.), significantly reducing operator time. New detector configurations will also be investigated, which are made possible by the integrated tomography / video techniques. These configurations will be compatible with existing building furniture/fixtures and so less conspicuous than existing walk through portals. It is hoped that these detectors can be readily disguised for use in public spaces. The ability to screen subjects, without their knowledge, for significant metal objects, whilst highlighted on video, may provide law enforcement authorities with a powerful tool to counter the growing societal problems such as gun and knife crime. The third aspect is the use of RF and microwave frequencies, with UWB techniques. At low frequencies (less than 100 kHz) the response of metallic objects dominates and is the basis of current WTMD's. At frequencies above 1 MHz, conductive body tissues become detectable by virtue of induced eddy currents. These currents tend to flow near the surface of the body and the response becomes dominated by the conductivity of surface layers as the frequency increases. Above 100 MHz, EM wavelengths become comparable to body dimensions and as the frequencies are increased further, wavelengths become comparable to the dimensions of concealed objects giving corresponding spectral signatures. Frequencies in the low GHz can be used to profile objects with near mm resolution whilst being unaffected by clothing.
Publications

Makkonen J
(2015)
Improving reliability for classification of metallic objects using a WTMD portal
in Measurement Science and Technology

Makkonen J
(2014)
KNN classification of metallic targets using the magnetic polarizability tensor
in Measurement Science and Technology

Marsh L
(2014)
Determination of the magnetic polarizability tensor and three dimensional object location for multiple objects using a walk-through metal detector
in Measurement Science and Technology

Marsh L
(2013)
Three-dimensional object location and inversion of the magnetic polarizability tensor at a single frequency using a walk-through metal detector
in Measurement Science and Technology

Zhao Y
(2014)
On the Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Responses of In-Line Metal Detectors to Metal Contaminants
in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement
Description | This project has made two significant advances: First we have been able to show that metal objects can be effectively characterised by measuring a fundamental property, termed their electromagnetic polarisability tensor. The property allow metal objects to be effective classified into types and positioned on the body to centimetre resolution. Second we have shown that ultra wide band microwave radiation can be very effective in detected non-metallic object concealed on the person under clothing. |
Exploitation Route | To improve security scanning portals for passengers and other personnel. |
Sectors | Electronics Government Democracy and Justice Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
Description | To improve the design of metal detectors and related security equipment. These findings have been used to device new techniques for sorting metallic scrap and improve industrial in-line metal detectors with our partners at Mettler Toledo Safeline Ltd, helping the company to win the Queens Award for Innovation in 2016 |
First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Agriculture, Food and Drink,Electronics,Security and Diplomacy,Transport |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | European Union Framework 7 |
Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FP7-SME-2011 Proposal number 286487 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Department | Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 06/2014 |
Description | European Union Framework 7 |
Amount | £400,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FP7-SME-2011 Proposal 286737 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Department | Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2014 |
Description | Find a Better Way |
Amount | £220,151 (GBP) |
Funding ID | SEMIS |
Organisation | Find a Better Way |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Description | Find a Better Way |
Amount | £1,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | SEMIS |
Organisation | Find a Better Way |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2011 |
End | 08/2016 |
Description | SHREDDERSORT |
Amount | € 4,476,092 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 603676 |
Organisation | European Union |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2014 |
End | 12/2016 |
Description | Safeline Limited |
Amount | £65,681 (GBP) |
Organisation | Mettler Toledo Safeline Ltd |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Description | Safeline Limited |
Amount | £65,681 (GBP) |
Organisation | Mettler Toledo Safeline Ltd |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2011 |
Description | Safeline Limited |
Amount | £35,482 (GBP) |
Organisation | Mettler Toledo Safeline Ltd |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2009 |
End | 03/2009 |
Description | Safeline Limited |
Amount | £35,482 (GBP) |
Organisation | Mettler Toledo Safeline Ltd |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Description | Security monitoring technology |
Organisation | Rapiscan Systems |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Pioneered new detection technology based on metal characterisation (for metal threats) and ultra wide band (for non-metallic threats) inspection |
Collaborator Contribution | Joint patents and know-how |
Impact | Publication, patents and new security screening products currently underdevelopment |
Start Year | 2006 |
Title | ULTRA WIDE BAND DETECTORS |
Description | An ultra-wide band microwave based personnel/passenger screening system, and in particular, a system for material specific detection, uses non-ionizing radiation in which focused beams of low intensity microwave radiation are projected in rapid succession at an individual as they walk through a portal, which has a funneled entrance and a funneled exit with the portal between the funnels. |
IP Reference | WO2015134802 |
Protection | Patent application published |
Year Protection Granted | 2015 |
Licensed | Yes |
Impact | Product development current on-going to exploit this invention |
Title | WALK-THROUGH METAL DETECTION SYSTEM |
Description | The present application is a detection system for locating and characterizing an object placed in a detection area in a three dimensional space. The detection system includes a plurality of magnetic field generators and magnetic field detectors arranged on opposite sides of the detection area and a control system for enabling generation of a magnetic field in the detection area by the magnetic field generators and for measuring of the magnetic field modified by the object at each of the magnetic field detectors. The detection system also includes a processor for processing the measured magnetic field to obtain a data set characterizing the object and a location of the object. The processor applies a reconstruction process on a predefined number of measurements of the modified magnetic field. |
IP Reference | WO2013006373 |
Protection | Patent application published |
Year Protection Granted | 2013 |
Licensed | Yes |
Impact | Product development based on this invention is on-going |