Devices such as metal detectors and weapon detection systems reduce violence and eliminate potential threats.
The main difference between metal detectors and weapon detection systems is the technology used to detect weapons.
Weapon detection systems were created to detect weapons, regardless of the metal or material it is made of.
Metal detectors detect weapons if they are made of a certain type of metal. These instruments use a magnetic field to detect weapons. If a weapon or object isn’t made from a metal that signals this magnetic field, the object that could cause harm won’t be detected.
Metal Detectors
Metal detectors were first introduced in 1874. Gustave Pierre Trouvé created the prototype, then Alexander Graham Bell adopted it.
Bell created his own version of the machine to try to locate a bullet inside President James Garfield’s body. This was the beginning of this instrument that eventually became the means of protection that we know today.
Metal detectors use two different technologies to alert when a potential threat is near. One way metal detectors detect weapons by transmitting a magnetic field.
The second way a metal detector detects a weapon is through x-ray scanning. The x-ray scanner pulses energy and shows objects on a screen.
The downfall to a metal detector’s magnetic field technology is that they cannot detect weapons that are made of plastic, steel, or possible objects that are used in terrorist attacks.
Concealed Weapon Detection
Like metal detectors, weapon detection systems detect weapons however, they are far more advanced technologically.
Weapon detection systems use a multitude of technologies to detect weapons and objects that could potentially harm innocent bystanders. These technologies are frequently used in government buildings, schools, and places where high- security or protection is needed.
The technology that weapon detection systems use are,
- Body Scanners – Similar to x-rays, weapon detection systems use body scanners to detect objects that could potentially cause harm.
- Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation – This technology uses electromagnetic radiation to detect weapons or other harmful objects by collecting radiation through images. Objects are visible through the images because of the radiation they emit.
- Passive Millimeter Wave Imaging – PMMW is a technology similar to low-frequency electromagnetic radiation however, it does not emit any radiation. If someone is carrying a hidden object , this system can easily detect it by revealing the weapon through radiation images.
- Artificial Intelligence – Some weapon detection systems are using artificial intelligence to detect potential threats such as guns, knives, and other weapons that metal detectors cannot.
