Liberty Defense Holdings today announced that it will partnerwith Port Tampa Bay to beta test HEXWAVE, a system that detects concealed weapons.

HEXWAVE uses low-power radar imaging and artificial intelligence to detect and identify weapons. The system may be used both indoors and outdoors and provides security teams a flexible security solution, according to the company.

“Having recently celebrated over one million cruise ship passengers in one fiscal year for the first time in our history, it’s imperative that we continue to seek opportunities to evaluate technologies like those developed by Liberty Defense,” said Paul Anderson, CEO of Port Tampa Bay. “The potential of HEXWAVE’s high throughput is very appealing to us because it provides a new way to strengthen our security posture and ensure the safety of all passengers without slowing down the flow of visitor traffic. We are looking forward to working with Liberty Defense to test this new technology that will help us to stay ahead of potential threats.”

Beta testing involves testing HEXWAVE in a live environment such as Port Tampa Bay, following the initial alpha testing at Liberty Defense’s laboratory in Atlanta.

Beta testing is expected to begin later in 2019 and progress into 2020.

“Port Tampa Bay will be an excellent partner on this project. The port will be able to provide Liberty with new learning opportunities by opening up access to the unique aspects of security for cruise lines, which have frequent vacationers traveling in and out of Florida,” said Bill Riker, CEO of Liberty Defense. “The port environment will bring its own set of challenges from an operational perspective. Ultimately, the data’s integration into our product development efforts will be invaluable.”