Software a potential solution for air cargo screening issues

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have collaborated to develop the Opacity and Complexity Analysis Software Tool (OCAST).

OCAST will be used to assist X-ray operators in determining possible threats in cargo.

Federal law requires air cargo skids and pallets be screened at the same level as checked baggage. X-ray systems produce two-dimensional images that are often difficult for screeners to interpret. To overcome this, screeners often break skids into smaller configurations or single packages and screen them individually.

“TSA is interested in augmenting existing systems to improve their performance and reduce burdens on the operators,” Kumar Babu, S&T program manager for air cargo, said. “OCAST does this with powerful image processing software. It is essentially an automatic algorithm that analyzes an image and provides an operator a description of the complexity of the image. The operator can use that score plus their own view of the image to determine whether to pass the cargo or investigate further.”

The OCAST operator interface uses lights to indicate threat levels. Green means there is no reason for concern. Yellow means the operator should investigate further, and red means cargo should be broken down for inspection.

TSA plans to begin using OCAST in June.