Leading industry experts, from the Government, armed forces, police, and global security organisations convened yesterday at the Institute of Directors in London, to hear five world-renowned professors from the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology - present the most advanced security technologies available to market as well as those currently under exploration. The Professors presented their influential and extensive research covering areas such as Homeland Security, the threat of peroxide-based explosives, 3-D facial recognition, video surveillance and ground-breaking biorobotics.

The event was introduced by Professor Abraham Marmur, the Head of the Centre for Security Science and Technology at the Technion, who outlined his approach in developing appropriate counter terrorist technologies.

The attendees heard from peroxide-based explosives expert Professor Ehud Keinan, who demonstrated the pocket-sized Peroxide Explosives Tester (PET). The PET is able to detect trace amounts of Peroxide Explosives including TATP and HMTD, the explosive used in the 7/7 London bombings, and is currently being used in Iraq by American military personnel. The small, disposable device is designed for non-experts to allow fast identification of suspected materials in a variety of settings.

Professor Ron Kimmel, an expert in face recognition, presented one of the world’s most advanced systems which allows accurate three-dimensional face recognition in almost real time. Professor Kimmel introduced the concept of Generalised Multidimensional Scaling which allows precise face recognition even when parts of the face are hidden.

Biorobotics expert, Alon Wolf, presented some of the most flexible robots used to access testing environments in the aftermath of global disasters, and Professor Ehud Rivlin presented the next phase in video indexing for surveillance, moving beyond detection and tracking of objects to detection, recognition and understanding of the activities that objects are engaged in.

Professor Avi Marmur, Head of the Center for Security Science and Technology at the Technion commented: “The Center for Security Science and Technology at the Technion is a point of contact between Technion’s know-how and the needs of the security world. Its main goal is to initiate interdisciplinary counter-terrorism projects, in collaboration with other universities, research institutions, and industries worldwide. The technology that we are developing at the Technion helps minimise the damage of terrorism, buy time, and, ultimately, save lives.”