Two days after September 11, 2001, scientist Dr. Joseph Heyman put the wheels in motion.  He submitted a proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration and a variety of other organizations for a security scanning device he intended for use in airports, to help identify terrorist threats.  Now, four years later, the technology is in development and may soon be making its way into prisons, as well, to help keep corrections officers safer on the job.

Heyman, Chief Scientist and Director of New Technology for the Blacksburg, Va.-based Luna Innovations, said this handheld, portable screening device will use ultrasonic technology to determine whether or not inmates, or people passing through an airport security checkpoint, are carrying any concealed weapons. 

"What we have demonstrated is that we can, indeed, enhance the ability of ultrasound to see inside clothing and we do this in a way that takes advantage of non-linearity and beam mixing," Heyman said.  "What we basically are doing is creating a sound field on the surface of the clothing that converts sound in the ultrasonic range far beyond what humans can hear to a vibration that can penetrate clothing."

When that vibration interacts with the concealed weapon between the clothing and the skin, it sends acoustic information back to the device, Heyman said.

According to Heyman, the advantage of the technology is that corrections officers or security personnel will be able to determine whether or not inmates or plane passengers have any weapons hidden on their body -- from a safe distance away.

"The basic technology permits us to localize a spot at a distance, so we are not talking about a portal-type device - we are talking about a device that can be used some five to 10 meters [away]," said Heyman.

That distance will, in effect, enable corrections officers to conduct "remote pat downs," said Mark Hinders, Associate Professor of Applied Science at The College of William and Mary in Virginia.  Hinders and some of his graduate students have been working as Luna's partner on the project, which is funded by the Department of Justice.

Proving that the concept works and that hidden weapons can be detected at close range - from a half meter to up to 10 meters - was the first phase of the project, Heyman explained.  During phases two and three, he said the distance will be increased, up to 50 or 100 meters, he hopes.

"What we have demonstrated thus far is that the physics concept is correct [and] that we are achieving the powers and the frequency that we need to excite weapons," said Heyman.

Hinders compares the way the technology works to how bats navigate when they fly.

"It's the same thing that bats use for echolocation and that is a sound that is too high in frequency to hear," said Hinders.  "Think of it like a dog whistle, but it's even higher in pitch than that."

Hinders said that COs will use the technology to find hidden weapons the same way submarines use sonar to determine what objects lies in their path.

"[The] echoes come back to the [submarine] and, by analyzing the echoes, we can tell how far away something is and what it is," Hinders said.

Heyman added that it is possible to determine what objects are at a distance using ultrasonic technology because physical objects all have distinct "sounds."  He said that like car doors make a tinny sound when they are slammed, each weapon has a characteristic frequency.

"There are acoustic characteristics, signatures, that we use to identify things in life and we are able to see those with this system," said Heyman.  "The phase we are at right now is building the first focused system that will let us take this work to the distances that I was describing."

If and when the product hits the correctional marketplace, Heyman envisions it being used in the corrections industry in conjunction with metal detectors that are already in place in prisons and jails.

"What we see here is a device that will be complementary to metal detectors," said Heyman.  "Our system would see even the plastic or ceramic materials."

He explained that the product, in its finished form, will be handheld and provide corrections staff with a weapon or no weapon decision about an offender or a visitor to a correctional facility.  The device will also feature a video image alerting the officer as to where on a person's body the weapon is hidden.

Heyman said that he anticipates having a product to demonstrate to the DOJ before the end of the year.  If the DOJ's response is positive, Luna will move forward to produce the device, he said.

"Our information should only get better than what we have right now and what we have right now is very exciting and very conclusive," said Heyman.  "We think we are on a path to a commercial product that could be a handheld device to see [weapons] through clothing."