Sowa has been presented to the potential users

Automobile scanning system Sowa was designed by a team of scientists, engineers and constructors from Particle Acceleration Physics and Technology Division. The whole operating system fits in a shipping container, which can be transported to any place. Source of the X-rays is an X-ray lamp located on the roof of the container. On the floor and side walls there is a system of detectors, providing readable image which corresponds to the details of scanned object with precision as high as a fraction of a millimetre. Scanned vehicle is inserted automatically into the container, without any risk to the driver. Container walls also protect people on the outside, which makes the system entirely safe for operators and bystanders, who may be present during a scan. The inspection takes about 2 minutes and the acquired image can be analysed immediately. An important advantage of this system is very precise imagining of chassis and side walls of the scanned vehicle.

Presentation and expert panel, which were held on 13^th February, showed, that the system is well suited meet the need of potential users and sparks high interest. It can be used not only by customs service, but also in safety and technical controls of vehicles. Because of high precision of scans, even small, hidden objects or technical modifications, as well as damage, can be spotted with ease. The system can be easily transported to a new border crossing, parking by a highway, or entry to a restricted area.