How Image Based Factors and Human Factors Contribute to Threat Detection Performance in X-Ray Aviation Security Screening

Improving the Efficacy of Security Screening Tasks: A Review of Visual Search Challenges and Ways to Mitigate Their Adverse Effects

“…First, an item can stand out because of its physical distinctiveness in a display (Bolfing, Halbherr, & Schwaninger, 2008;Schwaninger, 2003;Schwaninger, Hardmeier, & Hofer, 2004;Schwaninger, Michel, & Bolfing, 2007). For example, the items in the top row of Figure 1 are relatively easy to detect when unobstructed, yet difficult to identify with additional items crowding and occluding them (as in the bottom row of Figure 1; see Figure 2 for enlarged examples of Figure 1).…”

“…Second, an item's visibility can be affected by its physical orientation-for example, someone might intentionally place a prohibited item at a specific orientation as objects can be more difficult to detect when viewed from an unusual, noncanonical viewpoint (Bolfing et al, 2008;Koller, Hardmeier, Michel, & Schwaninger, 2008;Schwaninger, 2006;Schwaninger et al, 2004). In an X-ray image, a knife viewed from the side will likely be easier to identify than a knife viewed such that the base is aimed at the screener; one image readily appears as a knife, whereas the latter image could appear as a block of metal.…”

Imaging Technologies in Aviation Security

“…For instance, there is a problem with detection by some screeners and this is due to image based factor view difficulty as illustrated in [20]. Viewing luggage and its contents, as well as the X-ray machines are the main factors for these difficulties.…”

“…Visual ability is stable but knowledge ability is built up with time. Therefore more training is needed to keep the screeners more efficient and updated [20]- [22]. However, assessing the screener's visual ability is required before employment, and some research has demonstrated that it is important for the manager to asses screeners before they employ them using an object recognition test tool (ORT) in X-ray systems [23].…”

Improving customs’ border control by creating a reference database of cargo inspection X-ray images

“…This database contains X-ray images of illicit and non-illicit cargo, and it is designed to be manufacturer independent. All these database images, particularly the ones containing threats, constitute a significant tool for the training of screening officers and also for machine learning methods in automated detection algorithms [3,4].…”