Research - Innovations

Australian technology improves border security

Technology that helps the organisations responsible for finding the proverbial needle in a haystack has proven itself in Australia - and looks set to be adopted internationally. 

Working in conjunction with the University of Canberra, Australian Customs and Border Protection, and with support from the Australian Government, ANSTO have developed standards that help to quickly check equipment used to find contraband in air cargo, shipping pallets and large shipping containers.

Just about every object you can possibly imagine crosses our borders, and the examination of air and maritime cargo is complicated and time consuming. Clear images are essential for customs officers to detect anomalies: for example cartons of cigarettes mixed in with cartons of ceramic items. 

The new x-ray imaging standards ensures customs officers can quickly verify their methodology by reducing a testing process that used to take many hours down to 20 minutes.

The standards originated in a conceptual design by the University of Canberra’s Professor Dudley Creagh who evaluated the performance of large scale X-ray equipment used in major Australian ports and airports. 

ANSTO’s Ned Blagojevic said these were the first independent scientific standards developed to determine the best X-ray equipment for air and sea cargo examination around the world.

“The key role of the project was initially to test manufacturers’ claims about how good their machines are. The new standards have led to improvements to equipment and therefore better border security,” he said.

“With large volumes of material entering the country, checking the throughput is a major challenge for maritime cargo. This system saves time and ensures that the best options are taken according to international best practice.” 

The ANSTO-University of Canberra collaboration designed two test pieces– called AUS1 and AUS2 – which are a standard that quantifies and tests the performance of the X-ray equipment; testing the resolution and material discrimination characteristics to ensure equipment is operating efficiently.