Athena Launches AI Bag Screening for Schools
New A-Series equipment combines X-ray scanning, AI analysis and tablet-based review for K-12 security checkpoints.
- By Chelsey Arries
- September 16, 2026
K-12 schools can use a new AI-assisted X-ray system from Athena Security to screen bags for weapons and vaping devices at campus entrances.
The company’s A-Series includes its first internally designed X-ray hardware and an updated inspection platform that can also work with equipment from other manufacturers.
Athena said the system can process up to 2,000 bags per hour. It is intended for high-volume entrances at schools, hospitals and other facilities where checkpoint delays and limited floor space can affect operations.
Operators review scans through an iPad interface instead of a fixed workstation with a keyboard and console. Removing the traditional console can reduce the amount of space required at a checkpoint by about 3 feet.
The system uses cross-vendor image normalization to analyze scans produced by different X-ray machines. Purpose-built hardware connects older machines to the platform without requiring modifications to the original equipment.
Other capabilities include combining multiple data streams to assist threat detection, confirming that a trained operator is monitoring the checkpoint and automatically checking system performance.
The tablet hardware supports the FIPS 140-3 cryptographic standard. The system can also operate through an isolated iPad-based configuration intended to limit network exposure and reduce the technology infrastructure required for deployment.
About the Author
Chelsey Arries is assistant editor of Security Today, Campus Security Today, Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Protection Online.