qrs - foiling terrorists

Foiling terrorists part of the pitch to clients
By VIVIENNE OAKLEY in Perth
18feb04


AFTER seven years' of hard work, the next will be crucial for listed firm QRSciences with its explosive-detection device.

The Perth research and development firm is close to commercialising its product, which uses radio waves to check for compounds such as explosives.

This makes it a sought-after product in the global anti-terrorism climate.

Chief executive Kevin Russeth says the system is capable of even more.

"We've always been known as a bomb-detection or explosive-detection company, but it's not what we are," he said.

"We actually have a technology which uses radio waves to do material inspection. It just so happens there is a very big need in the security market to use that technology to plug a couple of holes."

"We pick up a range of difficult-to-detect explosives and we reduce false alarm rates (from other detection systems)."

The technology potentially can be combined with traditional airport X-ray scanners to provide a simple pass/fail result.

Protypes already have been sold to three global security customers - Lockheed Martin, Rapiscan and L3 - with more sales expected this financial year.

Those clients are conducting their own testing.

"There's a lot going on," Mr Russett said.

"We've got three big customers and I think it will be a growth year for us.

"We're the kind of company that, if we drive a goal through on this first product, we could significantly ramp up our operations to do all sorts of other things."

Mr Russett said the company - with 30 employees in Perth and a new office in the US - hoped to achieve "some serious licensing revenue" in early 2005.

QRSciences began its R & D work with a core of seven Russian scientists looking at ground-penetrating radar.

The concept was too expensive to commercialise, so QRSciences took up a scanning process called Quadropole Resonance. It uses radio waves to locate more than 20,000 compounds, including plastic explosives and narcotics.