Trained Mice May be Deployed at Israel Airports to Sniff Out Explosives

Israel is working on a new explosives detection strategy to keep its airports safe with rodents at its centre.

This is because mice have an unusually acute sense of smell, with the capacity to detect explosives – more so even than dogs or machines, according to an Israeli security firm’s claim.

X-Test is the company that proposed this system which, if adopted, could lead the deployment of mice at airport security checkpoints. The firm’s vice-president, Yuval Amsterdam, has also worked with the Israel Defense Forces as a bomb-disposal expert in the past.

“They’re as good as dogs as far as their ability to sense, but they’re smaller and easier to train,” said Amsterdam. “They’re cheap, and you don’t have to take them for a walk. Once they are trained, they become bio-sensors.”

The mice trained for explosive detection will sniff people and luggage discreetly at security checkpoints. The mice will perform the job while being inside cages and signal accordingly if they detect explosives. As mice can be trained in big numbers to perform this job, they have proven record of precise detection in comparison to machines, said Amsterdam.

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