“The Doctor” that takes X-ray photographs of airplanes

This fact represents a revolution for airport security. At this point, after being licensed, the system called “Roboscan 2M Aeria” is in the phase of performing the prototype.

Mircea Tudor, the president of MB Technology, placed two Romanian flags on the background of its company stand during the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in 2009. “Roboscan”, the radiograph system for trucks and containers, was installed on a Mercedes chassis and being near Germany’s stand (because it didn’t had enough room in the Romanian one), all visitors would approach saying “guten tag”. The Romanian flags cleared any misunderstanding and by the end of the event, when he received the grand prize for “Roboscan”, everybody knew already that the invention is Romanian. But this accomplishment was only possible due to Mircea Tudor’s stubbornness and his research team, without any help from the government.

Ukrainian contrabandists unveiled by “Roboscan”

For some people, national pride lasts as long as all the lights are projected down on their faces, but for Mircea Tudor, the Geneva moment also meant going further and selling “Roboscan”, as well as testing it in concrete situation. Its rivalry consists in large corporations that take full advantage of the facilities their governments offer. For MB Technology, only the Romanian customs, understanding the invention’s value and needing to secure the euro-Atlantic border, bought 12 systems. Also there is another request for three “Roboscans”. “The system proved its performances and I can firmly say that it detected one of the genius methods of contraband. The Ukrainian branch of cigarette smuggling, but it could have been anything, used an under pressure transporting butane gas.   Without a tank scan, the smuggled products weren’t detectable.

Secret project “Aeria”

The technological success made for the inventor of “Roboscan” to be approached at conferences by representatives from over 60 countries for possible partnerships. During a conference organized by the State Department of USA, back a few years ago, Mircea Tudor was asked if the scanning technology developed for trucks can also be used for airplanes. The stake was and still is huge, as private planes can easily transport contraband products or other illegal materials, taking advantage of legal gaps. When Mircea Tudor returned to Romania, he transposed the idea to a project to which 15 researchers of MB Technology have been secretly working for three years. “The big impediment for major international companies is that an airplane has wings and one cannot go through with the scanner without coming up against the classic left-right scanning procedure”, says the MB Technology president.

“In spite al all this, we managed to solve this problem by changing the perspective. We sufficiently lift a hydraulic arm, we place the detectors on the ground and a robot tows the plane so it can pass through the system and be scanned”, explains Mircea Tudor.

At this point, the invention license was registered nationally and internationally, so the project called “Roboscan 2M Aeria” became public. The strategic system for airport security has already received appreciations as the ones coming from the international syndicate of private pilots and the prototype is expected to launch in about six months. Because the system production is now in an accelerated phase, five new members were added to the initial research team.  “We have already received requests to sell the license or to form a partnership with an important American company to develop the product, on their expense, but I have the ambition of developing it here so that will be written on it “Made in Romania”. Our team has the strength of accomplishing this. Only then, we are open for partnerships”, said Mircea Tudor, determined to bring our country back into the world’s attention for an exceptional technological accomplishment.

How to bring the idea to life

“Aeria uses the experience of three “Roboscan” generations. If for the initial version we had a budget of six million euro, and the next ones requested four more million dollars, the radiograph system for airplanes needs a budget of five million euro”, calculates Mircea Tudor. Obtaining finance for such projects is extremely difficult in Romania. For example, even though the invention license is worth a lot on the international market, the MB Technology president says that banks in Romania don not accept it as a warranty. “Banks finance post-contract projects, but never research projects”, according to Mircea Tudor.

Although, thanks to the success of “Roboscan”, MB Technology has now actives of more than 20 million euros and can further fund its projects. Another option would be participating in competitions, where the state finances research. But, in this case, according to the “Roboscan” inventor, there is a big difference between projects made by real economy representatives and representatives of the Romanian academic field. The late ones’ projects are often abstract, winning profile competitions.

In contrary with Romanian habits, Mircea Tudor offers as an example its Chinese competitors that have a university intensely working on research programs right near the company, being of a major help.

The MB Technology President is forced to be the one fighting with the university inertness. “90 percent of the public funds for research are wasted without bringing any added value to the real economy”, warns Mircea Tudor.

International market for scanners

Right now, there are 350-400 radiograph systems for trucks and containers in the world. But this market’s potential is huge, due to a new USA law stating that all containers reaching the American ports must be scanned in the departure country. Also, in the European Union, there is the Container Security Initiative with the purpose of creating a system similar to the American one. These facts make it possible for the market to reach a level of 1000 scanners per year, thinks Mircea Tudor. To prove the viability of the systems developed by MB Technology to the highest international standards for radiologic protection, Romanian researchers attended a certification process for the French nuclear environment.

This is a first step to approach collaboration with the administration of Le Havre port, one of the biggest in Europe and which will develop a pilot project in concordance with the Container Security Initiative. Then, the first aircraft scanner will become a major asset for the Romanian company.

“There is a lack of interest coming from the administration”

The aircraft scanner will keep the same technical characteristics as its early version developed for trucks and containers.  The system reunites hydraulic solutions, nuclear physics solutions, auto technique and soft development. For operating “Roboscan” there is only needed one operator and the personnel training can be performed in only one day. Understanding the radiographs becomes an ability for the user after 10 days maximum. “Roboscan” is the smallest scanner, weighting 5 tons, while its closest rival weights 12,7 tons.

Also, “Roboscan” can scan 200 containers per hour, while its closest rival only scans 85 per hour. It is remarkable that “Roboscan” is the fastest scanner in the world, managing to scan a vehicle moving at 15 km/h.

“Although this product is entirely strategic, having obtained international results and certifications, we are not considered a national treasure. Our project could be a solution for off-set contracts but there is a lack of interest coming from the administration. Furthermore, our project could be promoted for export, and a proper example are the national leaders of our competitors’ countries”, said Mircea Tudor.