Developed under contract with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Stratovan Corporation is leading the way towards airport interoperability with the launch of a toolkit for the Digital Imaging and Communications in Security (DICOS) Standard.
The DICOS toolkit provides a common interface for checkpoint and checked baggage airport operations using a communication standard defined by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) DICOS specification. The release of the toolkit is a major milestone in establishing the foundation of interoperability standards for airport security equipment and accelerates adoption.
“Security manufacturers leveraging the DICOS toolkit will not only improve the efficiency of airports, but also reduce the overall operational cost and ultimately enhance the safety of travelers,” Stratovan said in an announcement. “A heterogeneous environment better equips airports to deal with continually changing threats – in a highly efficient manner – by leveraging expertise and knowledge obtained at each screening stage.”
“In addition,” the company said, “it shortens the path to market for new products allowing airports to use the latest state-of-the-art technologies. This utilizes operational efficiencies provided by these innovative solutions resulting inan improved passenger experience.”
“A wealth of detection systems currently exist and are bundled together using proprietary interfaces which aren’t compatible with devices from different vendors,” said David F. Wiley, founder, president and CTO of Stratovan Corporation. “This limits buying decisions for TSA and makes it difficult for innovation to occur. Our DICOS toolkit allows new and existing vendors to easily become DICOS compliant and enables them to introduce new products into airports more quickly.”
"Interoperability of equipment is an extremely important requirement for lowest-cost and rapid deployment of ever-evolving enhanced technologies," said Stratovan CEO Jim Olson. "This has been proven in the computer networking industry, the broadcast equipment industry, and many other industries. Through the DICOS toolkit, Stratovan intends to bring the benefits of equipment interoperability to our nation’s airport threat-detection infrastructure."
