Mon, 31 October, 2022
With two new projects added to its project portfolio recently, the autumn season is full of innovation at TWI Hellas! The latest research initiative, funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe programme, is PARSEC which focuses on Parcel and Letter Security for Postal and Express Courier Flows.
The consortium, including the countries they come from, comprises the following 19 business and government entities:
Starting in November 2022, PARSEC aims to revolutionise the current condition of parcel and letter security. With a particular focus on postal and express courier services, the consortium will develop, configure, customise and pilot, tools and services to create a protective shield against criminal and terrorist purposes.
The project will employ next-generation, non-intrusive detection technologies like a multi-energy photon counting detection, neutron-induced gamma-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, and combine them with new analytical tools, datasets and more. In this way, the consortium will create a detection architecture system that accurately, speedily and reliably detects anything suspicious or harmful such as drugs and explosives. Consequently, by incorporating the PARSEC solutions, postal and express operators, customs and police authorities will get a much-needed helping hand to improve inspection, and ensure the smooth operation of postal and express services.
TWI’s mission is to integrate state-of-the-art, multi-band energy-resolved, photon-counting X-ray detectors and software into the system to achieve fast and accurate material discrimination. More specifically, TWI Hellas, in collaboration with Direct Conversion, will be working on delivering a scalable, fast X-ray scanning system that will perform all of the required functions of the inspection process for postal items. Additionally, the team will be responsible for the modular built system to promote easy transportation and reassembly on site.
In a nutshell, PARSEC aims to create a protective shield around postal and e-commerce infrastructure without hindering the quality of services. In addition, the project aspires to become the connecting link between postal and express operators, customs administrations and police agencies in Europe. By rethinking and redesigning the existing processes, the consortium will develop and test its solutions, leading to the next generation of postal and express delivery services.