It's a No or It's a Go?
Itsago, a digital tool to make life easier. No need to worry about losing your belongings at a security checkpoint. Easily verify what is allowed past and be assured you are good to go!
Our Challenge
Brussels Airport aims to improve passenger experience in many ways. However there is, and always will be, a question of how to make passengers feel more at ease. How to make their experience as stress-free and as pleasant as possible.
When departing from an airport, the highest spike in stress a passenger experiences, occurs at the security checkpoint. The main reasons for this are the lengthy queues and fear of confiscation of belongings.
Airports indirectly bear the consequences of this stress peak, since an airport’s revenue strongly depends on securing a high-quality passenger experience.
This is where Itsago comes in with its solution!
Our Solution
Itsago is an application which allows users to quickly check whether or not a certain item will pass through the security checkpoint. Its main purpose is to avoid confiscation of valuable belongings and providing reassurance and peace of mind to our users.
Our solution is based on object detection via machine learning, followed by natural language processing to match the detected item with a database of known items. By fully using state of the art technologies, minimal effort leads to maximal results.
Itsago offers a convenient way for visitors to verify whether or not they are carrying any forbidden items. The application is designed to be straightforward and requires a minimum of user actions. This ease of use is enabled by using technologies like AI and natural language processing. We believe to have found an innovative solution, which is applicable in a very specialized setting. One problem, one solution.
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We see Itsago as a missing link between visitors and venues like airports. Itsago helps people to pass through security checks worry-free. Airports and venues benefit from a smoother process at the security checkpoint and the satisfaction of their customers.
Itsago's Users
Infrequent travellers at airports are Itsago’s major focus. At Brussels Airport, 39% of passengers do not travel often. They are not used to the process and therefore are prone to encounter unpleasant surprises at the checkpoint. This gives rise to uncertainty, a common issue that can be tackled with Itsago. Besides airports, Itsago also wants to be of use for visitors at other venues such as concert halls, sport events, festivals... Security plays a significant role in the experience of these visitors as well.
Itsago offers every user reassurance in a convenient and efficient way.
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Reassurance about whether or not an item the user selected, will pass security screening.
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Convenience since a smartphone can be used anywhere and at anytime.
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Efficiency thanks to a simple design and straightforward use of Itsago.
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Itsago offers a convenient way for passengers to verify certain items. Packing your carry-on luggage is as easy as it can be! Stress is reduced and passengers are better prepared for the checkpoint. Informing more passengers in advance leads to less hassle at the checkpoint. As a result, passengers and staff benefit from a smoother process and shorter queues. This leads to an overall improved passenger experience.
We questioned 278 people about the value of Itsago and no less than 84% would like to use our product before going through the security check. This overwhelming result was affirmed by the reaction we got from 250 users who tested our prototype.
Itsago's Partners
Itsago was initially developed for airports for the evident reason that security screening is a major part of their customer journey. But we wanted to take it a step further. We broadened our idea towards other market segments as well. These are all venues where a security checkpoint is present, such as concert halls, sport events and festivals.
Itsago is available in two formats: Itsago API and Itsago App.
Both come with different features and advantages. Discover them here.
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A happy visitor is more likely to be a spending visitor. Customer satisfaction is therefore vital for airports and venues to be profitable. Worrying about the confiscation of customers' belongings and waiting in queues are dissatisfactory components of security checkpoints. With Itsago these inconveniences are a thing of the past. Visitors' experiences will be improved and Itsago’s partners will profit.
Interested in becoming a partner?
Our Prototype
To bring thoughts into reality, we developed a prototype to show what Itsago will look like and its basic functionality. Eager to test this prototype? Read the short list of instructions and IT’S A GO!
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For the best results please use this prototype on your smartphone.
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Make sure the prototype is accessed through the default browser of your device (this is most likely Chrome or Safari). Using an in-app browser may result in the prototype not having access to the camera.
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As this is a prototype, not every item is properly supported yet. All items present in this list are supported and tested properly.
Future Plans
Itsago is still a prototype, so we aim to improve some features, as well as add a few new ones in the future. All resulting in creating an amazing tool.​
The Start-Up
As a young startup, we are ambitious. Itsago is not the end, it is just the beginning of an exciting story. Innovative ideas will follow in line of our mission. Making passing through a security checkpoint easier for everyone!
"At Itsago Company, we strive to improve the overall experience of security screening on various venues by clearly and efficiently providing digital information, resulting in a carefree experience for our users."
Itsago Company dares to look ahead. We want to convince the world that security screening doesn’t have to be a hassle during your journey. Let’s make security screening enjoyable.​
"We envision ourselves offering our services worldwide in cooperation with numerous organisations and companies that make use of a security screening system. Our services would offer new features that cover additional aspects of security screening, improving the overall experience."
Meet The Team
The 8-member team of young ambitious students from KU Leuven was brought together by the Product Innovation Project (PiP) in October 2019. The team was assigned to a challenge of improving the passenger experience at Brussels Airport. After 8 months of brainstorming, attending workshops, cooperating with Brussels Airport Company and creating a business plan and prototype, Itsago was born.
Let us now introduce you to this team of individuals with various backgrounds.
 Olivier FivetMaster Business Economics Financials |
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 Joren 's JongersMaster of Engineering Science: Computer Science Developer and Deployment |
 Katrien BensMaster of Biomedical Sciences Business Coordinator and HR |
 Boris Paul RoelandtBachelor of Science: Physics Project Coordinator and Design |
 Hoang Phuong ThaoMaster of Numerical and Computational Mathematics Developer and Algorithm Designer |
 Esha KumarMaster's of Biomedical science Logistics and Planning |
 Robbe SimoenBusiness and Information Systems Engineering Copywriter and Webmaster |
 Philippe Van GuchtMaster in Computer Science Team Coach |
Special Thanks
Itsago would not have existed without the help of some amazing people. We would like to thank them here.
We are especially grateful to Christophe Stemberger. He was our contact person at Brussels Airport and has helped us get back on track more than a few times. He provided us with feedback and an outsider perspective. He never let an opportunity to motivate go by. Thank you for believing in us.
A second person who we are grateful to is Philippe Van Gucht. He was our coach during this adventure we took on. He was present at most of our meetings and always provided insights and feedback. When we wanted to take an easy route, he challenged us to do better. Thank you for guiding us.
Our gratitude also goes to PiP, the organisation as a whole, the board and the other coaches. They were always there to lend a helping hand, to answer our questions and to provide feedback and insights. To a broader extent we also want to thank KULeuven Kick, for enabling the PiP course and allowing us to work on real projects during our education. Thank you for bringing us together.
Lastly we also want to thank Brussels Airport. They decided to be a sponsor without even knowing what would come out of a project like this. They believed in the PiP project and wanted to see what value would come out if it. Thank you for making it all possible.