Walk-through metal detectors for stadium security

Walk-through metal detectors (WTMDs) are increasingly utilized as a security measure at large events held at stadiums. As this is a different environment than standard use cases (e.g. airports, prisons), work has been done to understand how to best integrate this technology into an outdoor high throughput screening environment. We have performed several experiments on these WTMDs to understand their performance in real stadium environments in order to inform security directors of areas of potential vulnerabilities. These experiments also help the security directors to be more informed of the real functionality in the field of the WTMDs, as they were examined to understand performance in non-laboratory settings. Experimental design was utilized to create three types of experiments which were performed on three different brands of WTMDs. These experiments focused on height and orientation, speed passing through the WTMD, and proximity outside of the WTMD. These experiments will help security personnel at large stadium venues gain a greater understanding of how WTMDs work and how they perform.