Airport Business - 34

SECURITY
AUTHOR Joe Petrie

SAFE AND SECURE TRAVEL IN THE

Age of COVID

Airport security focuses on public health while protecting travelers from threats.
DUBAI NATIONAL Air Transport Association
(dnata) deployed Honeywell's ThermoRebellion
temperature monitoring solution in November
in Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International
Airport (JFK) to support passengers traveling on
major airlines including Air France, Lufthansa,
Korean Air and Japan Airlines.
" dnata USA is continuously
seeking innovation and technology
that provides leading-edge solutions
to our customers' most critical needs, "
said David Barker, CEO of dnata USA.
" The COVID-19 pandemic is redefining
aviation processes and with the holiday
season fast approaching, we wanted to
deploy the best possible temperaturescreening solution for passengers and
airport personnel. The Honeywell
ThermoRebellion solution is accurate,
stable and allows individual travelers
to move through the screening process
rapidly. Installing the solution at JFK
International Airport underscores our
commitment to delivering the highest
levels of safety and efficiency for our
airport and airline partners, as well as
their passengers. "
ThermoRebellion incorporates
infrared imaging technology and
artificial intelligence algorithms to
deliver highly accurate temperature
measurements. As travelers pass in front
of the thermal imaging camera, skin
temperature is detected within seconds
and displayed on an accompanying
monitor, alerting airport personnel if
travelers require additional screening.
Robert Kester, president and
general manager for Honeywell

ThermoRebellion, said the thermal
cameras and hardware were used for
gas leak detection in the oil and gas
industry, but the onset of the COVID19 pandemic provided an opportunity to
use the technology in a new way.
The system collects skin temperature
from around the eyes near the tear
ducts. Combined with the software,
the ThermoRebellion has an accuracy
within 0.5 Fahrenheit degrees.
Kester said studies have shown
correlation of elevated skin temperature
with a higher body temperature, which
is an indicator of fever and potential
illness.
" Standard thermal cameras only
achieve accuracy within a couple of
degrees Fahrenheit, but when you're
thinking about skin temperature
monitoring, the difference between
98.6 F and 100.4 F requires much
better accuracy, " Kester said. " We've
designed this system with a dual black
body, which provides the most accurate
elevated skin temperature monitoring
system on the market. "
The Ther moRebel l ion a lso
monitors travelers to make sure that
they're wearing masks. It doesn't use
facial recognition technology, but
Kester said algorithms can extrapolate

34 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / DECEMBER 2020

out temperature regions of the face and
if someone is wearing proper protective
equipment.
" Terminal One Group Association
strongly believes in the health and safety
of its passengers, " said Steve Rowland,
executive director Terminal One Group
Association. " We have partnered with
dnata and Honeywell to deploy the
Thermo Rebellion solution that offers
an additional layer of safety to the
traveling public and Terminal One
workforce. "
dnata is using a cart-based system to
monitor travelers and employees. Two
carts are located within U.S. Customs
hallways, two at TSA checkpoints and
one at an employee entrance.
" You walk up to it and it takes a
second, " Kester said. " They have a sticker
on the ground and it takes longer for you
to step on the sticker and look up than
the system takes to do a measurement. "
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