Human occupancy detection

In the area of security and surveillance technologies, the problem of the arrival in Canada of illegal and undesirable ship and truck cargo loads is steadily increasing. Of special concern to immigration control authorities around the world is the emerging and increasing trend of illegally smuggling human beings hidden inside of shipping containers or trucks. The paper presents the recently completed 1994 Human Occupancy Detection project explaining the design, development, testing and implementation of two resulting different types of human occupancy detectors. The devices are designed to electronically detect the presence of persons hiding inside of shipping containers, without the requirement of opening the container doors. The security devices have been specially designed and created to address the unique problems of non-intrusive inspections of cargoes and in particular the detection of persons hiding inside of cargo containers destined for Canada. The highly portable battery operated occupancy detectors have undergone extensive scientific and user field testing trials and they are currently being used in Europe to screen containers destined for Canadian ports and harbours. Results as of November 1994 indicate a 60% decrease in the successful arrivals of stowaways in Canada and therefore a significant reduction in potential loss of stowaway lives. In addition, an estimated $22 million cost saving has been realized to Canadian taxpayers and more cost savings can be attributed to the shipping industry