As the nation focuses on airport security with the 10 year anniversary of September 11 approaching, Newark Liberty International Airport became the first New York City area airport to install the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA)’s new body scanning technology. Dallas Forth Worth International took part in the first wave of the new technology roll out and installed 14 new scanners last week.
The Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machine was designed to address privacy based concerns. Under the previous system, a detailed scan of a traveler’s body was on display in a separate room away from the scanning machine. A TSA officer would then have to radio the agent in charge of the machine about any suspicious findings. Under the new system, the human form is less defined and no longer passenger specific. Instead, each scan just shows a gray silhouette of a generic body.
With the less revealing physique, the scan is now displayed in full view of both the traveler and the security agent. Removing the need to radio between agents speeds up the efficiency of the security process, a step that is sorely needed with Newark’s poor record of delays for the over 8 million passengers who pass through security each year. For further efficiency and privacy, the Automated Targeted Recognition (ATR) software uses yellow boxes to display the exact locations of any offending items.
Credit David Prasad
The TSA began to test the new ATR and AIT technology in February of this year in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C. Officially approved in July, Newark and Dallas are one of the first airports to roll out the new machines. In the next few months, 241 security machines will be installed in over 40 airports around the country, with the final goal of having the technology in all of the airports. The first phase of the project will cost about $2.7 million, which includes research, development and implementation costs.
Overseas, London’s Heathrow airport is currently testing out a similar privacy-friendly body scanner. Germany has also been testing a similar but not identical version of the scanning technology with less than optimal results. Last week, the German government stopped the full roll out of scanners after the Interior Minister said the devices had too many false alarms and even mistook underarm sweat for dangerous chemicals. In a statement to the press, the TSA noted that it is not known if the Germans were using the exact same models, standards and calibrations as the U.S. machines.
by Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com
Related links: USA Today, Daily Mail, Huffington Post, NBC Dallas Fort Worth, TSA Newsroom
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