DALLAS — For the first time this year, the State Fair of Texas is using high-tech scanners designed to detect weapons at its entries.
Italian security giant CEIA manufactures these 'OpenGate' towers, which stand about 6 feet tall. The company says its machines can identify threats inside purses or bags.
"You can keep your bag on, you can keep your phone in your pocket and walk through it," Karissa Condoianis, the fair's senior vice president for public relations, told WFAA in September.
That convenience has made the technology attractive to concert venues, arenas and school districts. In theory, such devices can find weapons without delaying egress like a traditional metal detector and x-ray apparatus would.
A handful of Texas school systems, including Mansfield ISD, have purchased similar weapons detectors from CEIA competitor EVOLV. This company claims its detectors use artificial intelligence to distinguish threats from everyday items.
But critics worry the technology is "over-marketed."
"The term 'Weapons Detectors' implies this is a technology that is capable of detecting weapons," researcher Nikita Ermolaev said. "Through real-life experience, independent testing, and just the basic physics of these systems - it's clear they won't be able to detect all the weapons in the world."
Plastic explosives and ceramic knives could stump a 'weapons detector,' Ermolaev says. The engineer tests and reviews security systems for IPVM, a leading security industry trade publication. He notes that neither EVOLV nor CEIA have allowed his company to analyze their machines.
Each company has been tight-lipped about its systems' designs and operations, though patent data makes clear their devices use metal-detecting technology.
CEIA, which did not respond to WFAA's request for comment, has been careful to market its products as able to prevent "the access of mass casualty shooting weapons in protected areas." The devices are likely better at finding high-caliber rifles than handguns or knives, Ermolaev speculates.
The OpenGate system has sensitivity controls, though.
"If you increase the sensitivity, you'll decrease the possibility of missing a weapon," Ermolaev said. "However, the false alarms will increase significantly."
Ermolaev said there is no evidence CEIA's OpenGate has ever failed to identify a handgun or rifle.
But critics worry false alarms lead to alarm fatigue, leading operators to ignore actual threats. They've coined the term 'security theater' to describe systems less effective than advertised which may create a sense of security.
"We believe that, in some cases, installing weapons detectors is more of a political decision," he said.