Arkansas is buying two infrared truck inspection systems, following a successful three-month pilot program last fall.

The Arkansas Highway Commission recently approved a request by the state patrol to buy the systems, which use infrared to detect possible malfunctioning truck brakes by the amount of heat they generate.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, one of the infrared vans will be stationed in Crittenden County where Interstates 40 and 55 converge. The second will be located in central Arkansas. However, the mobile systems will be shifted to other parts of the state, as well.
The device works by showing a white glow on each wheel when the brakes are working. If the brakes aren't working, the device would show the wheels as black, or cold. Officers don't stop every truck with cold brakes; trucks with brakes barely registering may have just started their journey or be traveling unloaded. But a truck with one or two cold brakes while the others are hot is targeted for inspection.
The device has its roots in military technology used during the Persian Gulf War. One of the founders of the company that makes the system - IRIS Inspection System Ltd. of British Columbia - was a helicopter pilot during the war. He was using an infrared camera to scan water lines when he noticed that it also showed differences in truck brakes.
Arkansas is the fifth state to adopt the system, according to the paper, including Alaska, Kentucky, New Mexico and Virginia. New Jersey is also considering the system, and it was used in Utah during the Olympic games last month.
The infrared system was tested by Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee in a two-year pilot program jointly funded by the U.S. DOT's Federal Highway Administration and the four-state consortium.