Risk, Safety & Security
121
‘
Sniffles’
CASE STUDY
Background
The Schengen free-movement area within the EU-
27
allows European citizens to travel freely between
countries. Goods, however, are subject to customs duty
and tax. It is therefore unsurprising that a high volume of
products are smuggled into, out of and around the EU
every year. These smuggled items include everything
from food, technology and drugs; to endangered
species, firearms and explosives.
There is a growing need for new and/or improved
technologies to scan people and cargo quickly with
minimal disruption to travellers, but with a high degree
of accuracy at identifying illicit products.
The project
The University of Liverpool is the leading partner in
Sniffles, a collaborative FP7 project among nine
European academic and industrial partners. The aim
of the project is to develop a portable artificial sniffer
for EU border control using linear ion trap mass
spectrometry (LIT-MS). LIT technology offers
high-sensitivity MS analysis, fast detection and low
maintenance costs.
The LIT-MS sniffer device is intended to complement
the work of sniffer dogs to detect hidden people and
illegal substances. If successful, the artificial sniffer will
provide a fast, accurate, sensitive, reliable, user-friendly
and cost-effective method for the detection of targeted
substances. In this way, the EU’s borders will remain
open and efficient for legitimate travellers and goods,
while being an effective barrier to cross-border crime.
Apart from its potential impact on EU security,
Sniffles also has the potential for exploitation in
international markets.
Outcomes
•
A portable artificial sniffer capable of
detecting trace ‘fingerprint’ substances
from smuggled goods and hidden people at
border crossings
•
A security method which causes minimal
disruption but with high detection accuracy.
Also see:
Partner
TWI Ltd, University of Liverpool, Université de Provence, DSM Research – Technology and
Analysis Geleen, Q-Technologies Ltd, SAES Getters Group, Envisiontec GbmH, XaarJet AB,
Wagtail UK Ltd.
Activity type
Collaborative research
Academic lead(s)
Professor Steve Taylor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering
and Electronics and Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Electronics
Supported by
The European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)
The concept of the Sniffles
project is to develop a
state-of-the-art miniature
and portable electronic gas
sensor capable of detecting
hidden persons and illegal
substances – providing a
cost-effective and scalable
technology to complement
the work of sniffer dogs.
highlights/sniffles/
