Artificial intelligence software can help airport security experts plan for rapid changes in passenger flow

PETERBOROUGH, England, 17 Oct. 2011. Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems AS in Peterborough, England, is adding passenger flow forecasting and passenger line time management capability based on artificial intelligence software to the company's Airport Realtime Collaboration (ARC) system, which is designed to help airport operators and airport security experts plan for routine and unexpected passenger flow rates. In this way, airport officials can keep wait times in airport security lines to a minimum, and to make efficient use of security search personnel and equipment.The ARC passenger flow module draws on historical and live data from sources such as airport parking lot entry car park entry systems, archway metal detectors, and dedicated people-counting sensors, and presents this data in real time to security teams. The system is able to suggest the best security lane configuration to deal with the predicted flow. Park Air Systems AS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) in Falls Church, Va.The ARC passenger flow module uses advanced artificial intelligence software developed by VenueSim Ltd. in Leicester, England -- a spinoff of De Montfort University U.K., which has been in operation at the East Midlands Airport southwest of Nottingham, England, since 2009.

Northrop Grumman first launched ARC last January this year to help with airport planning and collaborative decision making. It uses existing infrastructure to deliver a situational awareness picture through Web-based views of the airfield operations. ARC's processes can be optimized to combine industry best practices with local airport needs.

For more information contact Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems online at www.parkairsystems.com.