Reviewing UK Security Expo 2017 at London Olympia

The UK Security Expo (UKSE), staged in the Grand Hall at London Olympia from 29^th to 30^th November 2017, is regarded as a premier global security showcase attracting an audience from government, transport, intelligence, defence, law enforcement, emergency services, critical national infrastructure and the private sector.

10,236 attendees over two days included senior ministers and government officials, with hosted delegations from 57 countries providing 361 delegates, and overall there were visitors from 108 countries at the event. Indeed, one of the most important aspects of the UK Security Expo this time was the principle of cooperation in security, not just agencies working together nationally but, to maximise their effectiveness, internationally and together on multinational bodies.

UKSE opened with a Safer Cities roundtable briefing co-chaired by the London Metropolitan Police and the UK Home Office. It brought together for two hours 14 panellists from governmental, municipal, police and defence bodies representing eight different cities worldwide blighted by recent terrorist atrocities, to examine the lessons learned and discuss cooperative ways forward and best practices. Those 14 included the Mayor of Melbourne, the Chief of Police of Berlin and the Deputy Mayor of Nice.

In all there were nine high-level Conferences and over 200 world-class speakers; Technology Workshops providing valuable insight into what technologies are available to help keep your operation safe and secure; and live demonstrations based on scenarios including improvised explosive device (IED) disposal, vehicle searches, drone and anti-drone operations, and even protester removal. Government and closed door briefings covered Security and the Media, Women in Security, the Security in Complex Environment Symposium, and Making Resilience Work for Everyone.

The nine Conferences ranged comprehensively from Global Counter Terrorism; Aviation and Border Security; Maritime and Transport Security; and Building and Facilities Management – through to Cyber Security; Major Events and Stadium Security; Designing Out Terrorism; Protecting Crowded Places; and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). There was also a special forum on International Arts and Antiquities Security.

The second day of UKSE featured some fascinating and thought-provoking presentations on projects being funded by the Innovative Research Call (IRC) for Explosives and Weapons Detection, a joint £3,000,000 initiative of the UK Government and the US Department for Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.

There were 274 exhibition stands in total, within the 8000m² Grand Hall at Olympia. So, of the many stands we saw, GIT SECURITY has picked out just ten to highlight below, from among those which we felt offered the most important and ingenious security solutions likely to be of practical value to our readers.

Physical security has come significantly to the fore now that terrorists are increasingly employing fast-moving vehicles as their weapons of choice. US OEM Hesco has been protecting personnel and property for more than two decades with its impressively solid defence barriers that are rapidly assembled and can be easily dismantled to provide permanent or temporary protection.

From wide experience acquired in war zones such as Afghanistan, Hesco is generally regarded as the “bee’s knees” in physical protection, and it is only to be expected that the company’s new products would attract major interest (www.hesco.com).

Accordingly, in response to the changing defence threats facing urban areas, the group has developed Terrablock, on display at UKSE. Tested to withstand the force of a 7.5t truck driven at up to 50mph as pictured here, its modular design offers the versatility of being installed as a permanent feature or for one-off events with minimum environmental impact.

Commercial organisations, municipal authorities and public utilities can install Terrablock to quickly put up a security fence around vulnerable sites. Those can range from engineering and construction projects, mass entertainment venues and sports stadia to other busy civilian locations such as travel hubs, markets and places of worship.

Then we checked out the stand of our longstanding friends from Texas, Garrett Metal Detectors, worldwide leaders in metal detection equipment. They are proud to design and manufacture hand-held, ground-search and walk-through metal detectors for security, sport / hobby and countermine / ERW (Explosive Remnants of War) applications all over the world (www.garrett.com).

At Olympia they were showing their multi-zone PD-6500i walkthrough metal detector: the unit runs on steel castors and is simplicity itself to set up and operate. Being easily moved by one person, its versatility and flexibility allow it to be quickly deployed in any vulnerable security environment – for mass transit, sports and entertainment venues, schools and colleges, places of worship, courts, prisons and more.

The team on the Garrett stand also demonstrated to visitors their Super Scanner V handheld metal detector, a high-tech wand relied upon for checks at entry points just about everywhere you can think of. And where it isn’t used yet, it really should be!

Our next call was to check out the QPS200 millimetre-wave technology available from the international test and measurement OEM Rohde & Schwarz, which has now achieved TSA Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) detection certification (www.rohde-schwarz.com). TSA certification validates that the QPS200 meets TSA’s stringent aviation security detection requirements.

The QPS200 security scanner is stated to use safe mm-wave radio frequency technology to screen passengers automatically for concealed threats, whilst protecting passengers’ privacy.

Scott Bausback, President and CEO of Rohde & Schwarz USA, Inc, commented: “We are pleased that our QPS200 has achieved the milestone of TSA detection certification and look forward to building a partnership with TSA at US airports to deliver next-generation security capabilities. We are dedicated to providing airports, air carriers and passengers with high-performance, passenger-friendly, security screening technology.”

The QPS200 is the first Rohde & Schwarz AIT system to achieve TSA detection certification, has achieved certification by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and has been deployed at airports across Europe. The QPS system requires only a few milliseconds to scan passengers, which can speed checkpoint screening operations and increase throughput.

Privacy is protected by the use of a generic outline of a person, to indicate to operators the location of an alarm. Scanning is easy, since individuals simply stand in front of the technology with their arms held slightly away from the body, and the system automatically detects potentially dangerous objects on the body.

Staying with the theme of detection, Passport Systems, Inc of Billerica, Massachusetts (www.passportsystems.com), was demonstrating the enhanced version 2.0 of its SmartShield networked radiation detection system software, including features trialled with the London Fire Brigade earlier in 2017.

The SmartShield system comprises small gamma-radiation detectors that collect radiation data and transmit the information wirelessly through smartphones, forming a network that allows security forces to simultaneously respond to any threats. While on patrol, security and law enforcement officers collect background radiation data. If gamma radiation is detected, an alert and GPS coordinates are sent throughout the network to a central command station, and to all law enforcement responders.

Tom Hughes, the company’s Director of Product Management for SmartShield Technology, told us more: “Passport Systems has been pleased to work with the London Fire Brigade and British military in exercises, trials and demonstrations to explore Concepts of Operations based on networked radiation detectors. SmartShield technology has been proven on British soil.

“Additionally, the SmartShield Source Simulation application enables hazmat units to train without the logistics of live radiation sources, in public areas should they choose, using the equipment that they would use in day-to-day operations.”

Pure technology, as sophisticated as it is, can have practical limitations for detection, however! For 15 years Wagtail UK (www.wagtailuk.com) have been leading international specialists in detection dogs and dog handler training. From their headquarters in Flintshire, North Wales, Wagtail provide detection dogs and related services for government agencies such as the UK Border Force, HM Revenue & Customs, Police, Trading Standards and Armed Forces.

Then we moved on to see a demonstration of the latest in its Titan portfolio from regular UKSE exhibitor Visual Management Systems, who reported significantly higher levels of interest from delegates visiting its booth at this year’s Expo. Presenting a simulated control room environment, the Visual Management Systems team introduced visitors to the latest developments within the Titan Vision PSIM (Physical Security Information Management) system, aided by the full-function Titan Wall video wall processor and management suite (www.titan-vision.com).

Jay Shields, the Glasgow firm’s Managing Director, emphasised the benefits of being at Olympia: “I believe that the event was extremely valuable: not only were we able to provide live demonstrations of the products, but we were also able to establish the true needs of our potential clients, which may influence our development path going forward.

“Visual Management Systems and the Titan team are continually developing additional and exciting functionality for our systems, so that feedback is extremely useful. Our plans to launch a range of revolutionary Facial and Behavioural Recognition solutions in Q1 of 2018 is well under way, so watch this space.”

User-friendly entrance control is provided by another regular UKSE exhibitor, Integrated Design Ltd (IDL) of Feltham, Middlesex. IDL designs and manufactures in the UK its Fastlane range of turnstiles and Door Detective anti-tailgating products (www.fastlane-turnstiles.com).

In summary, IDL’s range of pedestrian entrance control products – which include optical turnstiles, speedgates, barrier arm turnstiles, entrance gates, tripods and tailgate detection devices – are designed to balance the needs of aesthetics, security, ease-of-use and flow rates demanded by today's modern entrance environment.

Next up, showing in the Drone Zone at the Expo, bright, new, Uxbridge, Middlesex, supplier The Bionic Eye (www.thebioniceye.co.uk) designs and builds UAVs for the security sector. Its speciality is custom commercial solutions which dovetail high-quality airframes in with dedicated sensors, whilst optimising flight endurance.

The company has worked with a wide range of specialist sensors, such as Corona UV for the powerline industry, up to its most recent and demanding project in which it delivered a UAV-based, survey-grade LiDAR system. This system was designed to carry a valuable sensor whilst flying around oil rigs in the harsh operating conditions of the North Sea.

The Bionic Eye manufactures bespoke UAV solutions which are optimised for your required payload, ensuring maximum durability and safety, where multiple failsafes can be integrated to protect valuable sensors or payloads, especially in more hostile and challenging environments.

Also in the Drone Zone, the UniFly team – based at Antwerp Airport and with a background in air traffic control, aviation and software engineering – are pioneers in the exciting new field of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM). They have developed a platform of four software applications which together facilitate drone traffic in very low-altitude airspace (www.unifly.aero).

The focus is always on safety for the stakeholders involved. Their innovative tools inform drone operators where it is safe and legal to fly their drone and enable authorities and other aviation stakeholders to track drone traffic and manage their airspace. Following drones in real time – and determining who is flying where – make denser traffic possible for automated drone operations. UniFly’s technology embraces flight planning, airspace approval, live tracking and dynamic situational awareness.

Threat assessment and incident preparedness and management are very much part of the security scene, as recognised at the UKSE event. The Ross-on-Wye, UK, counter-IED, landmine clearance and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) services company Dynasafe MineTech was in fact a first-time exhibitor at UKSE (www.minetech.co.uk). It provides training, mentoring, direct engagement and operational support in over 50 countries.

It responded with typical efficiency to the Safari Hotel blast in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, in mid-October 2017. All buildings within 300m of the blast site of the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), a truck bomb, were damaged beyond repair, thousands of people were injured and some 300 killed.

Dynasafe personnel used their own initiative immediately after the blast to deploy all available assets to the site to aid the recovery effort in whatever way they could. Over the following days, the Dynasafe recovery team organised plant equipment, conducted structural assessments on damaged buildings, led the Post-Blast Investigation (PBI), checked for Explosive Remnants, searched for survivors and provided advice to Somali National Army (SNA) commanders.

The ten stands on which we have focussed should give you a clear insight into the leading-edge security technologies which pulled so many attendees in to the Olympia exhibition centre. The eagerly awaited 2018 UK Security Expo will be held from 28^th to 29^th November at the same central London venue. This year the exhibition will occupy the whole of the Ground Floor, as well as the Gallery Level, of Olympia Grand Hall. So put those dates into your diary now!