Jets, Bombers adopt AI-powered weapon screening for home games

Winnipeg sports teams are embracing artificial intelligence for their security solutions, but a security expert warns about the technology's effectiveness.

Over the team's last three home games, fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been able to walk into Princess Auto Stadium without having to remove any of their belongings at security check, with an AI-power detection system automatically screening them.

The Opengate detector by security equipment manufacturer CEIA USA scans people walking through a screening portal for threats like assault weapons and explosives.

Bombers CEO Wade Miller said in a statement Wednesday the team has been testing the technology since the start of the regular season, and it's decided to put the detectors across all of the stadium's gates after getting positive results.

"This technology has quickly become an essential part of our fan screening process, enhancing safety while making the entry experience less intrusive and quicker," Miller said, adding that the club is the first to use such a system in Winnipeg and across the CFL.

Princess Auto Stadium isn't the only facility in the city now outfitted with the technology.

Detectors from Evolv Technologies — a different company working on the space — have been installed at the Canada Life Centre and put to use during a couple of concerts at the venue last month. The system was also used during the Winnipeg Jets' first three pre-season games.

Some people "look around and they say, 'When do I go through security?' Not even realizing that they've gone through," said Dawn Haus, senior vice-president of culture and guest experience with True North Sports + Entertainment, which owns the NHL team. 

"It's just so much more welcoming, and it's a better experience all around."

Haus said the goal is to address some common complaints from people who have had to wait in line a long time because of bottlenecks going through security.

She said the AI system does that while still making sure people don't have anything they shouldn't be bringing inside the stadium with them.

"We've had an opportunity to work out some of the kinks," she said. "One of the things that we are hoping will happen is people get used to coming to games and having this new security system."

True North says the contactless screening technology is already in place in 10 other NHL facilities, and that Evolv is used in hundreds of facilities such as stadiums, hospitals, schools and casinos worldwide.

'Lack of candidness'

But the technology isn't without its detractors.

Conor Healy is the director of government research at IPVM, an American research firm covering security technology. He said that AI-based weapon detection systems always offer a tradeoff between security and convenience, and that some companies are more transparent about it than others.

In the U.S., Evolv Technologies is facing a class-action lawsuit after the company allegedly misled the public about the effectiveness of its products, as well as two federal investigations.

"Categorically, metal detectors are better at finding weapons. Period," Healy said. "The pitch that Evolv makes is not that it's better finding weapons: It's that it's better, they claim, at ignoring things that aren't weapons."

The researcher said that Evolv's own testing shows that it can only detect about 50 per cent of knives. He said while other companies don't engage in the same marketing practices, there is still a general "lack of candidness" in the industry.

"One could make the argument at a stadium that having Evolv is better than having nothing, as long as you're willing to accept that people will be able to walk through with items that will go undetected," Healy said.

Shared Health said in a statement Wednesday a multi-week pilot project testing out the technology at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre wrapped up in August.

The technology from three different firms was tested during the process. The health authority said it's now analyzing the data it collected at the time, as it considers next steps.