Micro-X subsidiary awarded contract extension to develop passenger self-screening modules for US airports

South Australian x-ray technology developer Micro-X (ASX: MX1) has confirmed its subsidiary company Micro-X Inc has been awarded a $21 million contract extension with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to build and test fully-integrated passenger self-screening checkpoint modules for airport travel.

The extension will see the project continue over 40 months following an 18-month Phase 1 period which will see the development of a prototype checkpoint.

Phase 1 is valued at $7.25 million and the extension will boost the project’s total value to $28.25 million.

The project has eight phases in total, some of which run in parallel, with milestone DHS payments ranging from $3 million to $6 million.

Micro-X won the original contract in November 2020 after a competitive process which accelerated its entry into the global security market.

TSA testing

Under the terms of the contract, the passenger self-screening stations will be fabricated by Micro-X and tested in laboratories owned by the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and then rolled out to one or more US airports.

After each test, DHS and TSA wil provide feedback on the airport and passenger experience to help Micro-X refine and improve the end design.

The contract extension will enable Micro-X and its partners to build and test fully-integrated self‐screening stations in live US airport environments with travelling passengers.

It will fund Micro-X through the key steps of manufacturing and demonstrating a re-imagined airport checkpoint.

Airport security strategy

Micro-X Inc chief executive officer of Americas and chief scientist Brian Gonzales said the contract extension was a significant step forward in the company’s airport security strategy.

“This extension will fully fund us to build and test the design of a self-screening checkpoint in real airports, demonstrating the improvements and refining the design with real passenger and operator input,” he said.

“US airport security is a unique market, where the government is the regulator and the customer… the partnership we have formed with DHS and TSA enables us to combine input from the end-customer and the safety regulator to deliver a design which completely re-imagines security screening and is grounded in the reality of airport operations and regulations.”

Self-service stations

Micro-X’s self-screening checkpoint modules represent a bank of ‘self-service’ stations capable of scanning passengers and their carry-on luggage all at once.

The concept is enabled by the company’s miniaturised CT technology and is based on the idea of self-service checkouts at supermarkets.

It aims to eventually replace the current conveyor belt design for the screening of carry-on luggage at airports.

It is expected to help airports move from a staffed conveyor system to a smaller and automated self-service environment to increase throughput, improve staff efficiency and improve passenger experience.

Security of travellers

The TSA was created as a response to the September 11 attacks and is responsible for the security of travellers in the US.

The agency screens up to 2 million passengers daily across 440 airports in the US using approximately 2200 deployed x-ray conveyor belt systems.

Its airport checkpoint security systems are manpower intensive, use traditional x-ray technology and can often result in a poor passenger experience.