The Bedford Minuteman
October 18, 2001

Hanscom key in modern defense
New technologies one answer to nation’s security

By Noah R. Bombard, Staff Writer

The best weapon in the war on terrorism may be the ability to pick a face
out of a crowd.

Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Lowell) met with officials from the U.S Air Force
Electronic System Center at Hanscom Air Force Base Monday to view the latest
in technological developments that protect troops abroad and could be used
to beef up security here at home.

The technological advances are part of the Tactical Automated Security
System (TASS) that is currently used to protect U.S. forces and bases.

At the same time Meehan was viewing the technological wizardry in Bedford,
U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and acting Gov. Jane Swift were at the State House,
making a case that as one of the Pentagon’s top research facilities, Hanscom
should be protected if any military bases close next year.

Due to its focus on research, Kennedy pegged the work at Hanscom as " key to
our national security. "

At Monday’s demonstration of the Electronic System Center at the base,
Meehan echoed that sentiment.

" Those of us on the Armed Services Committee are well aware of the work
being done here… and will be looking to you for leadership, " Meehan said of
the Bedford base.

TASS is a security envelope of sensors, thermal imagers, alarms and data
links set up around critical resources, such as military bases, ground
forces or weapons facilities, that provide protection to those facilities
and personnel. The Electronic Systems Department pulls together the various
technologies — many from private companies such as BAE Systems and Miter —
in a way that they can be integrated and rapidly set up.

Equipment showcased ranged from perimeter sensors that can differentiate
between a deer and a man climbing a fence to air sensors that alert of a
biological threat.

Although the technology is generally geared toward protection of the
military, Meehan pointed to the need to utilize some of these technologies
to provide protection and security here in the states.

Among advances that peaked Meehan’s interest were facial recognition
technologies produced by Lau Technologies of Littleton. Lau’s products use
surveillance cameras to scan a person’s physical features and run that scan
against a database.

One of Lau’s products, Hunter, is capable of scanning large, fast-moving
crowds. The system searches facial features in the crowd and runs them
against a database. Such systems could be able to identify suspected
terrorists in a crowded airport.

The technology, which was developed in the early ‘90s, is already widely
used in casinos and was used at last year’s Superbowl. According to Johanna
Lau of Lau Technologies, the system was able to identify 19 subjects at the
Superbowl who were placed into the database by police as people to watch.
Police did not say what the total number in the database were.

In order to work, a surveillance camera would need to get a quick glimpse of
a person and would then search the database for a match.

According to Lau promotional information " if you travel through a crowded
facility and glance at a surveillance camera for a quarter of a second,
Hunter has you. "

Meehan praised facial recognition as a " wonderful technology " and the sort
of security measure that needs to be put in place in every airport.

Such technology has raised questions of civil liberties in the past, Lau
admits, but she rejects criticism that the technology is an invasion of
privacy.

" The system only recognizes you if you are in the database, " Lau said.

One of Lau’s first customers was the Auburn Police Department, which uses
the technology to scan the faces of suspects brought into the station. The
subjects are run against a database which alerts police if the subject
matches a person in their database.

Other Lau products include an access system that combines an ID card scan
with a facial scan. The system, already in use by the Department of Defense
on some bases, uses the facial scan to confirm that the person presenting an
access card is, in fact, that person.

" Guards get tired. I could take your badge and I could get in, " Lau said
of older security methods.

Modern technological methods provide the extra protection needed, she added.

Lt. Col. Howard Borst, program director of Electronic Systems, emphasized,
however, that there is no quick fix to security.

" You don’t just want to throw technology at the problem, " Borst said. "
[The solution is not] a particular gadget or policy. You really have to
employ a variety of methods. "

Meehan said the government’s investment in research and technology, such as
that at Hanscom, has been " less than what it ought to be. "

" The campaign against terrorism will be a long campaign, " Meehan said. "
Hanscom Air Force Base is a critical component of our strategy, particularly
when it comes to technology. "

One of the nation’s top research facilities, Bay state officials say Hanscom
is an unlikely candidate for closure. The base provides 9,000 jobs and
brings in $4 billion annually in contracts.

According to the Associated Press, the Defense Department estimates it needs
to cut about 25 percent of the military’s personnel. The last round of cuts
brought a 35 percent reduction along with base closures in 1995.

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