Remote Air Sampling for Canine Olfaction or RASCO (sometimes RASCargO or -in the UK- REST (Remote Explosives Scent Tracing) is a technology for transport security.
Function
The system allows explosives to be detected in the context of transport facilities, specifically within any closed volume being transported, typically transport containers.
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Summary of technique
Samples of air from within a container are remotely collected and presented to a suitably trained 'sniffer dog
Sniffer may refer to:
* Packet analyzer (aka network analyzer, protocol analyzer or sniffer), computer software or hardware that can intercept and log traffic passing over a digital network
*The trademark for the original Network General Sniffer ...
', which will provide an alert if it senses the presence of target material, e.g. explosives.[
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History
The approach was developed by the Transport Security Division of the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...
(TRANSEC) for the UK government in the late 1990s.[Remote Air Sampling for Canine Olfaction]
Published in: Proceedings IEEE 35th Annual 2001 International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, accessed 8 March 2021 DOI: 10.1109/CCST.2001.962819 The company 'Kent K9 Detection Services' offers a RASCO system, and an evolved version is fielded by Chilport for remote air sampling, known as VODS and described as 'an approved variant of the RASCO System'. Towards assessing best practice, the US Coastguard reviewed the system and wrote a brief summary report in 2006. DHL
DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...
mentions its use, and in 'Air Cargo World' it is described as a specifically UK and European approach to security.[Brandon Frie]
Every dog has its day
24 June 2014 ''aircargoworld.com'', accessed 9 March 2021
References
* ''Vapour and Trace Detection of Explosives for Anti-Terrorism Purposes'': Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, held in Moscow, Russia, 19-20 March 2003: 167 (Nato Science Series II:) Paperback – 27 May 2008 (M. Krausa) page 148
External links
DiagNose 'RASCargO'
Detection dogs
Explosive detection
Olfaction
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