The aim of SENSeC

Seamless Emergent Network for Security (SENSeC) is a collaborative network spun out from Cranfield University's Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC). The key driving tenet of SENSeC is to bring a critical mass of security related stakeholders onto a single ‘platform’ to promote and develop closer interactions of diverse parties for a common goal; to develop as a knowledge exchange hub and to progress research and development of future novel security solutions. The initial focus will be on an aviation case-study but the application of SENSeC is far beyond aviation itself.

SENSeC will provide a novel incubation platform to prototype [aviation] security solutions well in advance of their availability, and viability trials in a realistic [airport] setting.

Areas of focus

Key research and develop priorities for SENSeC include:

"Break the island"

Facilitating a paradigmatic shift in how security is conceptualised, moving away from simple updating and replacement of equipment to understanding the value of security in the overall journey.

Sensing and screening

  • How does shape recognition help the screening process?​
  • Where is the machine learning in security capability coming from?​
  • Remote Sensing and screening – layers of security​

System approach and integration

  • Understanding passengers needs and requirements of novel security solutions​
  • Open system architecture for aviation security solutions
  • Integration process, data and system at airports
  • Integration of human considerations within security solutions
  • Model-based system approach for development of concepts of novel security solutions
  • Understanding of security system resilience for improved passengers experience ​

Flow management

  • Managing passenger flow to deal with the rejected passengers that require further baggage checks.
  • Managing passenger queues
  • Managing processes such as baggage collection lounges after security screening in some airports
  • Understanding human system interaction with physical security systems

Seamless journey

  • Security linkage between different public buildings and functions for passengers, airport staff, third party users and local community
  • Integrating new security technologies into the existing environment
  • Off-airport security​
  • Security combined with bag-drop

Passenger Experience

  • Understanding how people respond mentally, physically, and behaviourally to their environment
  • Passenger perception of visible security measures, e.g. central search, walk-through screening

Why you should join SENSeC?

Through partnership between government, industry and academia, we use the Cranfield campus to develop an Academic Research Evaluation Networked Area for emergent public safety and security screening and protective security technologies/process for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)/crowded places/spaces.

Industry

Through the provision of academic licences from companies, industrial partners, SENSeC will provide emergent technology to be integrated into the test environment. Companies will see the following benefits:

  • From positioning their technology in a visible active environment.
  • Contribute to the development of their technology in an integrated public environment
  • Drive the emergence of standards
  • Facilitate emergent policy and regulation to allow the legal deployment of their capability

Academia

Through agreement with our staff and student population, we use all aspects of the Cranfield campus to:

  • Academia will have a ‘safe-sandpit’ in which to develop new research and provide an environment in which to develop new educational interventions and teaching practices
  • Contribute to the development of their technology in an integrated public environment
  • Provide safety and security to its students
  • Build knowledge base to facilitate new technologies to mainstream

Government

Encourage the growth of new and existing UK businesses. Also, SENSeC will have a test and evaluation environment to

  • See new technologies in an integrated, non-commercial environment
  • Be able to understand and discover emergent policy, regulations and standards
  • Understand the impact on society of technology and policy

Opportunities for engagement

  • Become a founding member
    • Run your own projects through the centre
    • Project partner collaboration.
  • Capital and/or in-kind contributions to SENSec activities, e.g., access to equipment, data, specialist expertise.
  • Private contract research
  • Research collaboration - part of funded research programmes (Innovate UK, UKRI, ATI, EU H2020)
  • Knowledge exchange network memberships