TSA Adding More Millimeter Wave Imaging Technology Trials

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will trial millimeter wave technology at Los Angeles and New York's Kennedy airports to evaluate its use in detecting weapons, explosives, and other concealed threat items on passengers, without having to make physical contact.  The system is already used at Phoenix Sky-Harbor.

Active millimeter wave technology passes harmless electromagnetic waves over a person to create a robotic image, based on body heat.  The TSA says it is safe and the energy emitted during the process is 10,000 times less than a cell phone.

At LAX, millimeter wave will be used continuously, but on randomly selected passengers.  Alternative screening measures will be offered to individuals who decline to go through millimeter wave when asked to do so. All passengers will continue to pass through metal detectors, even if they go through the millimeter wave machine.

Millimeter wave at JFK will be piloted as a secondary screening device similar to what is done at Phoenix, where the technology is a voluntary alternative to a pat-down during secondary screening. During the Phoenix pilot, 90 percent of passengers have chosen the technology over traditional pat-downs.

At both locations, a security officer will guide passengers through the process, which involves stepping into the machine and remaining still for a matter of seconds while the technology creates a three-dimensional image of the passenger from two antennas that simultaneously rotate around the body.

To ensure privacy, security officers view images from a remote location where they can’t ascertain the identity of the passenger, but can communicate with a fellow officer at the checkpoint if an alarm is presented.  A security algorithm will be applied to the image to blur the face of each passenger, further protecting privacy.

TSA recently announced it will purchase and deploy 30 more of the machines this year. 04-18-2008.

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