ITI Techmedia has commissioned its tenth R&D Programme, which is on explosives detection. The three year programme aims to develop a technology platform that will  address future global market opportunities in this important area.

The requirement for stand-off explosives detection technology is considered to be the single key capability gap for protection against explosive threats in homeland security and defence environments. The range of actual and potential explosive substances used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) creates major challenges for explosives detection technologies. The ITI technology platform will feature a detection device where the sensing platform is at a distance from the explosive material, and will be responsive to the need to operate in many and varied environments. The technology platform will enable solutions to be taken to market which allow detection and defensive action to be taken by security personnel, while minimising their risk of injury and exposure to danger.

The core opportunity which the R&D programme will address is the detection of explosives in a Homeland Security setting, where key transit/access points, border crossings, critical infrastructure sites and public places/venues are potential targets for explosive device deployment. Further upside market opportunities lie in the defence sector and in the detection of compounds of interest such as chemical and biological materials.

The value of the explosives detection market - comprising equipment, services, infrastructure and operations - is estimated to be around USD1.2 billion currently and is expected to grow to between USD2.2 billion to USD4.4 billion in 2018 as technology improves, costs decline and novel homeland security applications emerge. Looking specifically at stand-off detection leads to an estimated addressable market for stand-off detection systems and services of between USD180 million and USD810 million by 2018.