Limit Electronic Devices on Airlines to 300 mm and 200 g?

The US and UK have banned electronic devices larger than a cellphone from aircraft cabins on flights from some countries. But what is “larger than a cellphone”?

Perhaps airline check-in counters need a gauge, like the one for carry-on luggage, or weight alone would be sufficient.

It is not clear what the threat from laptops and tablets is. There could be good reasons for authorities are not wanting to make this clear, but I don't know what they are.

The Guardian article mentions the risk of bombs and of lithium batteries. The bigger and heavier the device is, the bigger the bomb or battery it can hold. So it would make sense to limit the size of devices, but to do that an actual size needs to be specified, not just “larger than a cellphone”.

Large phones ("phablets"):

• iPhone 7 Plus, with a 5.5 in screen is 158.2 mm x 77.9 mm x 7.3 mm and weighs 188 g.
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with a 5.5 in screen is 150.9 mm x 72.6 mm x 7.7 mm and weighs 177 g.

Are not that much smaller than a small tablet:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 with a 7.0 in display is 190.09 mm x 120.45 mm x 11.98 mm and weighs 380 g.

A reasonable limit for devices might be: height, width and depth added (the way baggage sizes are set), must be no more than 300 mm and the weight no more than 200 g. That would allow the phablets, but not tablets.

Just to check, my chunky old Lenovo A588T Android Flip Phone is 120.6 mm + 62.5mm + 16.8mm = 199.9 mm at 178.4 g,. That would pass, provided I don't open the flip, which makes the phone 115 mm longer. ;-)

NSW Opal Card Not Compatible With Airport Train

Getting off a 14 hour flight from Vancouver, I was disappointed to find my Opal card did not work at Sydney international airport station. The Opal card has a $10 minimum balance, but a train ride from the airport to city costs more than $10 (the link from the "fare calculator" page to say how much airport access costs is not working). As my card had a balance more than the $10 minimum it had not been automatically topped up to the minimum $40, but was less than the cost of the train fare and so was rejected. I suggest NSW introduce the system as at Vancouver airport, where those with pre-paid tickets do not pay the airport surcharge.

ps: Even when the card has been accepted at a railway station, I noticed that after the gate opens a red "Card Rejected" is displayed.

Extra Charge for Bicycle on Virgin Australia Flights?

I have never been charged extra for taking my folding bicycle on domestic (to Brisbane) or international flights (Beijing, Hamburg). But I wanted to check before turning up at Sydney Airport for a flight to Perth on Virgin Australia, as the excess baggage fees can be high. The Virgin website says:

"If you are travelling on a Saver fare with only sporting goods you will be required to purchase a checked baggage allowance for each separate piece you are carrying."

That would indicate my checked baggage allowance can't be used for a bicycle and I have to pay extra. So I called Virgin and they said that I could check my bicycle in for no extra charge. When I asked what the sentence meant, they did not know. It makes me feel a lot better to know that Virgin don't understand their own terms and conditions. ;-)

High Speed Rail For South-East Australia

Mr. Anthony Albanese , the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, released the High speed rail study phase 2 report, 11 April 2013. This looked at the feasibility of Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane being linked by high speed passenger trains. The report finds this technically feasible, with economic and environmental benefits, but media reports have concentrated on the high cost and long time scale of such a project. In my view the project would be politically and financially feasible if built in stages. The Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne sector could be politically justified by eliminating the need for a second Sydney airport and the treat of further aircraft noise over politically sensitive western Sydney electorates. The project could be funded from the sale of land in new "i-Towns" along the route.

Providing a high speed passenger train from Sydney to Canberra and Melbourne would eliminate most flights on one of the world's busiest aircraft corridors. This would free up slots at Sydney airport for other interstate and international flights. It would also allow Canberra to be the second Sydney airport.

Fast train access to regional Australia would allow the rapid development of new "i-Towns". This would relieve development pressure from Sydney and the sale of the developed land in the new towns would pay for the cost of the railway. The new towns would exploit broadband technology to the maximum, to make them attractive and also low cost to develop. Facilities such as an advanced hospital, university campus, offices and entertainment facilities would be integrated and on-line. The railway would provide rapid access to the city for services not available in town. The towns could be built at the same time as the railway, so that revinue from land sales would be avialabl;e quickly.

No Clowns at 38,000 Feet

For my recent trip to Indonesia I travelled business class (Executive Class) on Garuda International Airlines. To and from Australia their Airbus 330s have power operated seats which convert to not-quite-flat beds. These are long enough to sleep comfortably on, but finished in a slightly slippery cloth, so found myself sliding down into the foot-well.

Noise reducing headphones are provided in a pocket of each seat. These work very well, but I did not find them on the trip from Sydney (they are hidden away low down in the seat arm) and so had no audio.

There are large LCD screens for each seat, which provide the display of documents from a USB memory stick, as well as the usual entertainment (including Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" performed by Mirusia). Most useful was a US/European mains power socket for each seat to run a laptop computer. There was also what appears to be an Ethernet data socket, but no explanation of how to use it.

With business class flights to and from Sydney airport (not just Garuda) you now get a separate security and immigration channel. This allows business class passengers to bypass the long queues at the hand-luggage screening (using the same queue as cabin crew) and then immigration and customs. On the inward leg the priority card you are handed say that you have to have nothing to declare at customs to use the priority queue. But I found there is a two stage process so you can use the card to get into the priority queue at immigration and then go to the normal red channel at customs.

At the Indonesian end the process is very personalised, with inward flights having immigration processing on-board. On the outward leg an airline staff member escorted me through the airport.

Garuda use the Qantas business lounge at Sydney airport, which is excellent, but there are not enough powerpoints. The Garuda lounge in Jakarta  was well equipped, most importantly with power points at each seat and good Wifi, but the light level is so low I found it difficult to read a newspaper.

Broadband and Train to Replace Second Sydney Airport

The NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell, has proposed to use a high-speed rail line from Sydney to Canberra in place of a second Sydney airport. Canberra's airport could then be used for Sydney. This is technically feasible, but it might be necessary to extend the rail line to Melbourne to make it viable. Also I suggest the use of broadband to make new settlements along the route viable and to pay the cost of the rail line.

European experience suggested that a rail service between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne would replace most air travel. Broadband access on the train would also make this form of travel more attractive and something much harder for an aircraft to provide. This would free up the existing Sydney airport for longer trips. Also some international passengers who currently land in Sydney and transfer to Canberra or Melbourne by air, would then instead land in Canberra or Melbourne.

Sydney to Melbourne is the second busiest passenger air route in the world, with 950 aircraft movements per week. A high-speed train could be expected to replace 90% of flights between Canberra and Sydney and 80% between Sydney and Melbourne. Assuming that also 20% of the international flights to Sydney were replaced with ones to Canberra and Melbourne, this would free up significant capacity in Sydney. The use of larger A380 aircraft will also increase Sydney's capacity.

The high-speed train could make new and expanded settlements in inland NSW viable, reducing infrastructure pressure on Sydney. The sale of improved land in the new settlements would be sufficient to pay for the rail line. Broadband Internet could be used to provide jobs and services quickly and at low-cost in the new settlements, making them more attractive to residents. As an example, shared offices could be provided for workers to telecommute from. New schools, TAFEs and university campuses could be built with computer equipped classrooms, allowing access to global education. Medical facilities with instant on-line access to remote specialists could be provided.

e-Learning at Virgin Airlines

Michael Abulencia, e-Learning Technical Developer, at Virgin Australia, discussed the motivations for use of e-Learning. One example he gave was while introducing a new uniform for staff, at they same time they provided training in how to walk (including not running for safety). One motivation for staff is promotion, which can provide them with motivation for undertaking training with a wider view than just how to service one aircraft.

Michael warned about getting sidetracked by hype. He mentioned Gartner's Hype Cycle. Unfortunately, of course, it is very difficult in advance to work out what is hype and what will turn out to be a useful technology. The solution seems simple enough to me: learn from the experience of others (which is why I am at this event).

Airline Security Approved Multi-tool

Previously I carried a Multitool for repairing computer equipment. Airline security regulations now prohibit carrying many Sharp Objects and Tools on an airliner. Are there any multi-tools which would be okay to carry?

The US Transport Security Administration (TSA) prohibit most items with a blade, including knives and box cutters, but scissors of less than four inches are permitted. However, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authory (CASA) prohibits scissors and tools such as chisels.

The more restrictive CASA regulations appear to permit screwdrivers and pliers. So a multi-tool which did not have a knife blade, scissors or a saw blade (TSA bans them) may be okay.

Amazon.com lists some products claimed to be TSA Compliant Multi-Tools. These include the Leatherman 831488 Style PS Multi-Tool and the PocketToolX PIRANHA Pocket Tool. But the Leatherman has scissors and the Piranha a sharp looking screwdriver, which might not pass an Australian inspection.

Such a multi-tool might double as a Car Escape Tool. These have a sheathed blade for cutting the seat belt. The small cutter would be useful for cutting adhesive tape and wire stripping. This should present no threat to an aircraft as the very small blade is enclosed, so it could not be used to injure a person. The escape tools also have a and metal knob for breaking a toughened glass car window. Aircraft windows are not make of toughened glass, so the tool could not break them.

Apart from meeting the letter of regulations, the multi-tool needs to look non-threating so that airport inspectors will allow it through. As an example, the McGowan Extrik-8-R Black Seat Belt Cutter looks a little too much like a knuckle duster to make an inspector comfortable.

Similarly the ResQMe, Keychain LifeHammer may attract suspicion, as this a spring-loaded mechanism.

What might be less threatening is a tool which looks like a pair of pliers, with the extra tool items visible. An alternative would be a credit card sized unit with the seat belt cutter blade only a few mm long.

Too Much White at Qantas Club

The taxi I booked for 8am this morning arrived at 8:30, which did not put me in a good mood for my trip to the 2nd Annual Learning Commons Development and Design Forum in Brisbane. Canberra's new airport terminal is wide and a little empty looking. Standing at the check-in I could not see the departure area or security. It looked more like a large hotel lobby than an airport. This sparseness seems to have caused disorientation for customers, with the airport having to stick extra temporary signs to the floor.

The new QANTAS club lounge in the airport is similarly large and a little empty looking. The wood panelling has a Scandinavian feel to it. The white desktops for the business area may have looked good in a brochure, but at 8:30am the sunlight shining off the surface made the computer screens hard to read. This was not helped by the use of shiny Apple Mac screens, which are good for watching a video in a dim room, but have glare problems in a well lit room.

Detecting Bombs in Air Cargo

Dr Yi Liu described the CSIRO Air Cargo Scanner and its Development and Commercialization at ANU today. Surprisingly this is developed by a group of researchers who previously worked on analysing minerals in mines and processing plants. This used neutrons, X-rays and other techniques to discover the chemical composition and shape of minerals at a distance. This experience was applied to detecting bombs and illicit materials in air cargo. This is more difficult than for normal airport luggage, as the cargo containers are much larger and can have a clutter of different materials. The work started in 2002 and prototype was produced in 2005, with the produce now commercialised by Nuctech.

Neutrons can be used to detect the composition of material , but not density or precise shape (20mm x 20mm resolution). X-rays can be used for density and more precise shapes (5 mm x 5 mm) but not composition. A combination of scanning techniques are therefore used to identify both the shape and composition of materials.

The Mark II scanner is at Brisbane Airport. The device has a concrete shield for safety. Cargo containers travel trough the scanner on a conveyor. The system produces a combined false colour image. In a demonstration image the rubber of a motorcycle seat shows as red and the oil in the sump as green, while the metal is black. The operator sits an a normal office desk and views the images on a computer LCD display. The unit is not intended for people or animals, but even so the radiation is at a safe level.

The commercial version from Nuctech works essentially the same as the prototype, but has improvements with a quasi-3D display, dual energy X-ray system and a water radiation shield. The unit has 960 fixed neutron detectors (levels are too low to use a moving detector). The ray system has two detectors at 9 degrees for each x-ray source to provide some three dimensional information.

Future work is on automatic highlighting of suspicious objects in the container, use for sea and land containers and better neutron sources and detectors.

One suggestion I made at the seminar was automatic matching of the manifest to the material detected. Modern manifests are in machine readable format, so the computer system could work out what proportion of materials should be in the container and compare this to what is detected by the scan. The computer system could also look for suspicious similarities between different containers, even those entering at different ports. Also air containers have transparent sides. An optical scanner could also be used (perhaps using infrared). A high resolution optical scanner could be used to recognise any writing on the contents and use this in automated or manual analysis. Analysis could include use of open source analysis, such as information from the web.

CSIRO Air Cargo Bomb Scanner

The "CSIRO Air Cargo Scanner" is a new device for detecting illicit and dangerous cargo. This combines gamma ray and neutron scanning to detect combinations of metallic and organic compounds, including bombs. There will be a seminar on the CSIRO Air Cargo Scanner Development and Commercialization at ANU, 2pm, 1 February 2010:

COMPUTER VISION AND ROBOTICS SERIES

CSIRO Air Cargo Scanner Development and Commercialization

Yi Liu (CSIRO Process Science and Engineering)

DATE: 2010-02-01
TIME: 14:00:00 - 15:00:00
LOCATION: RSISE Seminar Room, ground floor, building 115, cnr. North and Daley Roads, ANU

ABSTRACT:
CSIRO has developed world first technology combining neutrons and X-rays to present and detect the composition as well as the shape and density information of objects in air cargo. This technology will help Customs to detect contraband and threats hidden in consolidated air cargo more easily.

The presentation will briefly introduce the principles of the technology and the scanner system development. The scanner has been successfully commercialised with a Chinese security equipment specialist - Nuctech Company Ltd.

BIO:
Dr Yi Liu obtained a B.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics from Zhongshan (Sun Yatsen) University, Guangzhou, China in 1982. He then worked at the Control Theory Research Laboratory, Institute of System Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (in Beijing) for 3 years before moving to Australia for further education. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering from the Australian National University, Canberra in 1989. After a short stay in the Mathematics Department, University of Western Australia as a research officer, he joined CSIRO in 1990 working in the areas of On-line Analysis and Control.

Dr Liu's main research interests have been in the areas of signal processing, artificial intelligence, process modelling, control and optimisation and their applications for mineral and energy industries. And more recently, he has been working in the areas of image processing and pattern recognition and their applications to air cargo security scanning. The CSIRO Air Cargo Scanner has been successfully commercialised with a major overseas security company.

Dr Liu was a co-recipient of the IEE (London) Kelvin Premium best paper award in 1989, the CSIRO Medal for research achievement in 2006, and the Eureka Prize for outstanding science in support of defence or national security in 2009.

Functional Online Travel Booking System

Having given up trying to book airline flights with the Qantas, Jetstar and VirginBlue web sites, I was wondering what to do next. On my blog posting Google AdWords had placed a banner ad for WebJet. So I went to their web site (I didn't click on the ad, as that would violate the rules about clicking on your own ads). I found the WebJet web site allowed me to book multiple flights at once (which Virgin did not). It also allowed me to book one flight with Virgin Blue and another with JetStar (which neither airline's system would allow). I was able to register with the WebJet system after having selected the flights.

The system was still not completely trouble free. On Firefox for Linux the Web 2.0 interface tended to jump around. A screen refresh would result in blocks of content moving around the screen for a few seconds as content arrived. Also the left third of the screen was a plain block of colour most of the time.

Perhaps the company should introduce an accessible mobile version of their web site. That is one designed for a smart phone and for people with a disability. That would reduce the amount of stuff the web designer could clutter the screen with.

Just as I was about to confirm my booking I noticed an option for saving my travel search, I clicked this and found that rather than saving everything it erased the details and I had to start again. However, that was a minor glitch.

About the only other problem I found was that WebJet did not allow me to enter more than one frequent flier number when registering (but I was allowed to enter it later).

Overall the online travel website option was a much more pleasant experience than airline web sites. Perhaps this is deliberate, with airlines wanting to concentrate on providing flights and leaving the booking process to specialists.

Non-functional Virgin Blue Online system

Having given up trying to book online with Jetstar, I decided to try VirginBlue to book some flights. As I am a member of the Virgin Velocity Rewards program, I tough this would be simple enough to do. First I had to recover my forgotten password, which was easy enough when I discovered Virgin had a completely separate web site for the rewards program. But then I found that while the password works fine on the rewards program web site, it doesn't work on the Virgin Blue web site.

You might ask why don't I book first and worry about rewards later, but there also appears to be no way to book multi-stop flights on the Virgin system (that is not just a simple return flight). So I would have to enter all my details twice (which I don't need to do if I use my rewards number).

An airline booking system is one of those classic computer applications which I assumed had been sorted out by now. Perhaps I should get the ICT students at the ANU onto fixing it.

Non-functional Jetstar Online system

In attempting to book a flight via the web with Jetstar, it appears there is no way for me to actually register in their system. As an existing Qantas frequent flyer customer, I am asked to enter my Qantas user id and password. For Qantas my user id is my frequent flyer number. But Jetstar's system then rejects that user id as it is not a valid email address. I attempted to contact Jetstar about this, but they do not appear to have any way to do so in writing, apart from sending them a paper letter through the mail. Jetstar do not appear to accept email or messages viw their web site. Perhaps it would be simpler to travel VirginBlue.