Beating the gun

A portable device capable of detecting concealed guns on people at key locations, such as airports and entertainment venues, is being developed by UK researchers in a two-year project.

Police currently have scanners and portals that can detect the carrying of metal objects, but there is no discrete portable system that allows detection from a stand-off distance of more than one metre.

The team — from

,

,

and

, plus an expert in pattern recognition from

— will begin work on the device within the next three months, with the help of a £530,000

grant.

The initiative is the latest in an array of

projects looking into explosivees and weapons detection. Others include the use of Ultra Wide Band Radar.

Establishing the sort of electromagnetic radiation that best penetrates clothing will be the team's first task — and could be the key to the project's success.