A COMPUTER system that can spot unusual behaviour and suspect packages could help in the battle against global terrorism.

North Shields-based ISEiT is a UK distributor for an "intelligent" surveillance product that can learn to look for suspicious behaviour in a given environment, such as unusual packages or bags, and missing objects.

Managing director Peter Houlis said that, in the wake of terrorist attacks in London, experts were saying that it was impossible to stop suicide bombers.

But he said: "This is simply not true. It is very difficult, but by no means impossible."

Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, the IQ series, developed by Australian-based iOmnisient, can be applied to closed circuit television technology (CCTV) to spot certain things on camera.

Mr Houlis said: "Whilst it cannot guarantee to stop bombers, it can give an early indication of people who are acting suspiciously so that they can be tracked and assessed.

"Suicide bombers are the most difficult to identify, and there is the risk that they may detonate themselves if they feel spooked.

"Experience has shown that suicide bombers do exhibit certain types of behaviour.

"For instance, they tend to loiter in one place as they build up their courage to blow themselves up.

"The system can identify a person who is showing strange behaviour, such as loitering suspiciously.

"Moreover, if we look at the evidence of places like Israel or Spain, only a proportion of bombs are caused by suicide bombers, and the authorities need to protect themselves against incidents that they can definitely prevent - namely, the left objects that the IQ system can detect."

Mr Houlis is a member of the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board and is their representative on the British Standards Institute technical committee, which is responsible for creating European standards for CCTV.

It is estimated that there is currently one camera for every 14 people in the UK, making it one of the most watched societies in the world. However, tests have demonstrated that, after only 12 minutes of continuous viewing of two or more sequencing monitors, an operator will miss up to 45 per cent of on-screen activity.

After 22 minutes, an operator will miss up to 95 per cent.

Mr Houlis said that spotting a suicide bomber or a left package was indeed almost impossible using conventional CCTV systems monitored by people.

He added: "There is an urgent need for a non-conventional but intelligent surveillance technology that can overcome human shortcomings and deal with the escalated terrorist activity."

For more information about the IQ range, visit www.iseit.co.uk