초록 ▼

A method and a system for efficiently screening for dangerous threatening items in or on an animate subject (e.g., a person) are presented. The system includes a portal that accommodates an animate subject and a test unit that includes equipment for subjecting the animate subject to a combination of

A method and a system for efficiently screening for dangerous threatening items in or on an animate subject (e.g., a person) are presented. The system includes a portal that accommodates an animate subject and a test unit that includes equipment for subjecting the animate subject to a combination of two or more tests. There are sensors located in the portal, wherein each of the sensors reads data resulting from testing the animate subject and generates an output signal. A computation unit receives the output signal from each of the sensors and processes the output signals in parallel to determine a risk factor based on parameters resulting from the two or more tests. The test unit may be coupled to a portal and an object unit, wherein the object unit is for screening inanimate subjects (e.g., bags, coats). The parallel acquisition and processing of the output signals enhances accuracy. By testing multiple animate subjects (or a combination of animate subject(s) and inanimate subject(s)) at once, the system improves throughput.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A system for screening an animate subject for a threatening item, the system comprising: a portal for accommodating the animate subject;a test unit including equipment for subjecting the animate subject to a combination of two or more different types of tests;sensors located in at least one of th

1. A system for screening an animate subject for a threatening item, the system comprising: a portal for accommodating the animate subject;a test unit including equipment for subjecting the animate subject to a combination of two or more different types of tests;sensors located in at least one of the portal and the test unit, wherein the sensors read data resulting from testing the animate subject and generate output signals that correspond to the data; anda computation unit receiving the output signals from the sensors, processing the output signals individually to generate parameter values, and combining the parameter values from the different types of tests to determine a set of risk factors, wherein each of the risk factors is associated with a category of threat. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the two or more tests are performed simultaneously. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the two or more tests are performed sequentially. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computation unit processes the output signals from different sensors simultaneously. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the tests are selected from ionizing radiation test, chemical analysis, and non-ionizing test. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensors are in the form of a fused sensor array. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computation unit determines a set of parameters that include one or more of texture, density, electrical conductivity, molecular class, location, visual classification, radioactive potential, biological class, and biometric class of the animate subject based on the output signal from each of the sensors. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein an output signal from one of the sensors is used to determine values for multiple parameters. 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computation unit has a threat determination function that includes conditions that determine the set of risk factors, the system further comprising an interface unit for generating an alert if one or more risk factors of the set of risk factors is determined. 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a moving mechanism in the portal for moving the animate subject to a desired position in the portal. 11. The system of claim 1, further comprising an object unit designed to hold an inanimate subject, wherein the test unit tests the portal and object unit. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the inanimate subject unit is a modular unit that is detachable from the test unit. 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the test unit has a mechanism that allows the test unit to test an animate subject and the inanimate subject sequentially. 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the test unit tests the animate subject and the inanimate subject simultaneously. 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the object unit comprises an automated receiver that identifies an owner of the inanimate subject and provides information about the owner. 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the portal is a first portal, the animate subject is a first animate subject, and the test unit is a first test unit, further comprising: a second portal for accommodating a second animate subject; anda second test unit including equipment for subjecting the second animate subject to a combination of two or more different types of tests;wherein the computation unit receives output signals from the second portal and the second test unit as well as from the first portal and the first test unit. 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the test unit comprises subunits, wherein each of the subunits contains a unique test equipment and is independently replaceable with a different subunit. 18. The system of claim 1 further comprising a camera in either the test unit or the portal to obtain an image of the animate subject. 19. A system for screening an animate subject for a threatening item, the system comprising: a test unit including equipment for subjecting the animate subject to a combination of two or more different types of tests;modular portals coupled to the test unit, wherein each of the portals accommodates an animate subject, and wherein the test unit tests each animate subject in the different portals; anda computation unit receiving output signals from at least one of the portals and the test unit and determining a risk factor for each animate subject in the different portals. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the test unit performs one of the tests simultaneously on different animate subjects in the portals. 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the test unit performs one of the tests sequentially on different animate subjects in the portals according to a predetermined order. 22. The system of claim 19, wherein some of the tests are performed simultaneously on different animate subjects and other tests are performed sequentially on different animate subjects according to a predetermined order. 23. The system of claim 19, wherein the combination of two or more different types of tests are performed simultaneously on one of the animate subjects. 24. The system of claim 19, wherein the combination of two or more different types of tests are performed sequentially on one of the animate subjects. 25. The system of claim 19, wherein each of the portals includes a set of sensors. 26. The system of claim 19, wherein the set of sensors is a fused sensor array. 27. The system of claim 19 further comprising an object unit coupled to the test unit, wherein the object unit is designed to hold an inanimate subject and subject the inanimate subject to tests by the test unit. 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the test unit is a first test unit, further comprising a second test unit coupled to the object unit, wherein the computation unit receives output signals from the portals, the first test unit, and the second test unit. 29. A method of screening an animate subject for a threatening item, the method comprising: identifying an animate subject in a portal that has multiple sensors located therein;subjecting the animate subject to a combination of different types of tests for identifying properties of materials in contact with the animate subject;reading output signals from the multiple sensors;processing the output signals individually to generate parameter values; andcombining the parameter values to determine a set of risk factors, wherein each of the risk factors is associated with a category of threat. 30. The method of claim 29 further comprising subjecting the animate subject to the combination of different types of tests simultaneously. 31. The method of claim 29 further comprising subjecting the animate subject to the combination of different types of tests sequentially. 32. The method of claim 29, wherein processing different output signals comprises processing the output signals simultaneously. 33. The method of claim 29 further comprising selecting the combination of tests from ionizing radiation test, chemical analysis, and non-ionizing test. 34. The method of claim 29 further comprising determining values for a set of parameters based on the output signals, wherein the set of parameters includes one or more of texture, density, electrical conductivity, visual classification, molecular class, location, radioactive potential, biological class, and biometric class. 35. The method of claim 34 further comprising determining values for multiple parameters by using one output signal of the output signals. 36. The method of claim 34 further comprising determining the risk factor by combining values for the set of parameters according to pre-existing threat determination functions. 37. The method of claim 29 further comprising generating an alert based on the risk factor. 38. The method of claim 29 further comprising moving the animate subject inside the portal to properly position the animate subject for different tests. 39. The method of claim 29, wherein the animate subject is a first animate subject and the portal is a first portal, further comprising testing a second animate subject in a second portal after testing the first animate subject in the first portal. 40. The method of claim 29, wherein the animate subject is a first animate subject and the portal is a first portal, further comprising testing a second animate subject in a second portal unit while the first animate subject is being tested. 41. The method of claim 29 further comprising obtaining an image of the animate subject.