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Undercarriage Inspection of Vehicles

You can throw away the mirrors.

For decades, we have been using handheld mirrors attached to poles to look at the undercarriages of vehicles. While those are inexpensive, they are not comprehensive in their ability to spot bombs or contraband. Thus, when I got an announcement of a new X-ray system to do this quickly at points of entry--I thought it was worth sharing. 

I have no idea what the price point is for these devices, but for some places that have a need for more thorough inspections, it would likely be much more effective method to use. 

"Viken Detection, pioneer of handheld x-ray imaging and analytical devices, today announced an award to install four Osprey-UVXTM under vehicle x-ray inspection systems at select U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) land points of entry. The Osprey-UVX, in conjunction with Viken’s widely deployed handheld imagers, provides U.S. CBP and other security agencies with a comprehensive, practical, affordable and safe non-intrusive inspection (NII) solution for high-throughput vehicle scanning at border, critical infrastructure and other security and military checkpoints.

“Together, Viken’s HBI-120 and Osprey-UVX represent a powerful combination in the fight against drug and human trafficking, and terrorism that targets critical infrastructure,” said Viken CEO, Jim Ryan. “Instead of solely relying on camera-based systems or canine teams, law enforcement and security professionals can actually ‘see through’ an entire vehicle in under a minute to safely make fast and accurate threat assessments.”

The Osprey-UVX is a fixed “in-the-ground” system that provides real-time undercarriage and lower vehicle imaging for security officers. Passengers can safely stay in the vehicle while under vehicle images are created using Viken’s X-ray imaging technology. Both a passenger and commercial versions are available, and mobile configurations are in the works. Viken is also launching its Osprey-EVXTM portal with demonstrations in the first half of 2020. The Osprey-EVX is a complementary solution to already installed Osprey-UVX units and is specifically targeted for locations with the highest traffic.

With nearly 1,000 units deployed, the HBI-120 is currently in use by law enforcement agencies around the country and with CBP at the southern U.S. border. The HBI-120 is responsible for significant seizures of cash, drugs and weapons concealed in vehicles. The addition of the Broadwing-LAD (large-area detector) accessory provides for wider and deeper (and thus faster) scanning, without an increase in X-ray intensity.

Viken Detection is the market leader in handheld X-ray imaging and in handheld lead detection, helping officials in each of these areas keep the public safe. Viken manufactured the first ever handheld device capable of imaging vehicles for drug interdiction."

For more information, www.VikenDetection.com.

 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.