New security technology? HOU
Jul 31, 2014, 11:07 am
#1
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New security technology? HOU
I was walking through HOU this morning and noticed something new at the checkpoints -- there were these thin poles with black circular devices (disk shaped) on the end of them hung to suspend over certain portions of the lines. It almost looked like a camera install that was incomplete, but it could be a microphone, some sort of passive scanner, etc.
Anyone see this yet at any other airports and/or have any idea what it is?
Anyone see this yet at any other airports and/or have any idea what it is?
Jul 31, 2014, 12:33 pm
#2
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I was walking through HOU this morning and noticed something new at the checkpoints -- there were these thin poles with black circular devices (disk shaped) on the end of them hung to suspend over certain portions of the lines. It almost looked like a camera install that was incomplete, but it could be a microphone, some sort of passive scanner, etc.
Anyone see this yet at any other airports and/or have any idea what it is?
Anyone see this yet at any other airports and/or have any idea what it is?
Mike
Aug 1, 2014, 3:19 pm
#4
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ETA: Ooo, I bet someone is wasting money on radiation monitors! That'd be the sort of stupid pointless crap that TSA and DHS specializes in. Think of the delays they can cause by picking up everyone that has been through chemo or had a barium contrast xray recently and the press they can generate about how they're "protecting" everyone as a result! Press release after press release along the lines of, "See! It works so it must be protecting you!" (even though it means the line stops & someone is needlessly violated every ~30 minutes as a result of a false alarm).
Aug 1, 2014, 5:21 pm
#5
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I'd ante up a dollar and say "a waste of money"?
ETA: Ooo, I bet someone is wasting money on radiation monitors! That'd be the sort of stupid pointless crap that TSA and DHS specializes in. Think of the delays they can cause by picking up everyone that has been through chemo or had a barium contrast xray recently and the press they can generate about how they're "protecting" everyone as a result! Press release after press release along the lines of, "See! It works so it must be protecting you!" (even though it means the line stops & someone is needlessly violated every ~30 minutes as a result of a false alarm).
ETA: Ooo, I bet someone is wasting money on radiation monitors! That'd be the sort of stupid pointless crap that TSA and DHS specializes in. Think of the delays they can cause by picking up everyone that has been through chemo or had a barium contrast xray recently and the press they can generate about how they're "protecting" everyone as a result! Press release after press release along the lines of, "See! It works so it must be protecting you!" (even though it means the line stops & someone is needlessly violated every ~30 minutes as a result of a false alarm).
Stress test
Chicago commuters got quite a shock last week when federal officials swarmed a train to investigate a possible nuclear threat - only to find that the radiation was coming from a passenger who had a stress test hours before.
Aug 2, 2014, 7:10 am
#6
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Hm... My curiosity is piqued. I'm really interested to get a look at these things and to know what they are.
If they're suspended directly above the queue, then they're most likely not cameras. But SeriouslyLost might be on the right track. They could be radiation monitors of some sort.
They could be microphones, recording the queue, adding sound to the video cameras that are already in place. I'm torn on that; I'd love for recorded incidents to have sound along with video, but I hate the idea of some TSA or local LEO in a perv booth somewhere listening in on private conversations.
They might also be some sort of crazy chemical sniffers, like the puffer portals.
Or they could be part of the regular building safety systems and not a security device at all; they might be some kind of thermal, smoke, CO/radon/CO2 detectors, or air quality monitors.
They might even be motion sensors tied to the lighting system, designed to turn off lights when an area is not occupied to save energy. It would be just like a government agency to install them in one of the most well-traveled, constantly-occupied areas of the terminal as a "test".
To which "they" are you referring, TSA, or the local LEOs?
Photography and videography are not prohibited at the c/p by the TSA. There may be local bans instituted by airport authorities or local governments (IMHO those are completely un-Constitutional but many have not been challenged in court so they are still in place). However, most local LEOs won't enforce the imaging bans unless you try to image them.
If they're suspended directly above the queue, then they're most likely not cameras. But SeriouslyLost might be on the right track. They could be radiation monitors of some sort.
They could be microphones, recording the queue, adding sound to the video cameras that are already in place. I'm torn on that; I'd love for recorded incidents to have sound along with video, but I hate the idea of some TSA or local LEO in a perv booth somewhere listening in on private conversations.
They might also be some sort of crazy chemical sniffers, like the puffer portals.
Or they could be part of the regular building safety systems and not a security device at all; they might be some kind of thermal, smoke, CO/radon/CO2 detectors, or air quality monitors.
They might even be motion sensors tied to the lighting system, designed to turn off lights when an area is not occupied to save energy. It would be just like a government agency to install them in one of the most well-traveled, constantly-occupied areas of the terminal as a "test".
Photography and videography are not prohibited at the c/p by the TSA. There may be local bans instituted by airport authorities or local governments (IMHO those are completely un-Constitutional but many have not been challenged in court so they are still in place). However, most local LEOs won't enforce the imaging bans unless you try to image them.
Aug 2, 2014, 8:50 am
#7
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They might even be motion sensors tied to the lighting system, designed to turn off lights when an area is not occupied to save energy. It would be just like a government agency to install them in one of the most well-traveled, constantly-occupied areas of the terminal as a "test".
*Obviously pulling numbers out my behind, but you get the point.
Aug 2, 2014, 10:41 pm
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Well, if no one else around here is going through HOU in the next few weeks, I'll be there around the middle of the month. If no one else pipes up I'll get some pics.
Aug 3, 2014, 6:57 am
#9
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Installing them in a checkpoint queue, however, doesn't seem optimal to me. It's a spot that has traffic all day long, and in a few airports, 24/7.
My gut tells me that the things redii saw in HOU are radiation detectors, though. Seriously. It would be just like TSA to spend money on a practically non-existent threat vector, as they already do with liquids and small knives and drug interdiction.
Aug 3, 2014, 7:20 pm
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Aug 3, 2014, 7:53 pm
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I haven't noticed anything like this before, but then I haven't been looking, either. Usually I want to get away from anything wearing a blue glove as quickly as possible. 
I'm heading out Tuesday. If no one posts photos by then I'll see if I can take a few.
I'm heading out Tuesday. If no one posts photos by then I'll see if I can take a few.
Aug 3, 2014, 8:22 pm
#12
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While I was originally joking about them being radiation monitors (surely TSA can't be that stupid....
) maybe they are something positive. Like, multiple high tech thermostats so that the high tech A/C can keep everyone a nice temperature as they wait (& wait) in line? Yeah. That. What are the odds?
Aug 3, 2014, 8:56 pm
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)All the same, assuming you can obtain a radioactive source, why drink it at all?
Just carry it in an 8 ounce drink bottle in your carry-on. It's just as likely (I assume) to set off a radiation detector as if ingested.
And for bonus points you can "voluntarily surrender" the bottle at the checkpoint. @:-) That'll teach 'em to throw all the dangerous non-dangerous dangerous liquids in the regular trash can.
Aug 4, 2014, 9:16 am
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I wasted my high school years on physics and maths, and mostly slept through chemistry, but I believe barium is used as a contrast agent (because it's dense and blocks x-ray energy) rather than a radioactive source in medical imaging. There are radioactive isotopes of barium but I don't think they're used in medicine. And there are radioactive isotopes (iodine, fluorodeoxyglucose) that are ingested for medical scans. (Yeah, I'm an expert after 15 minutes on the inter-tubes. )
All the same, assuming you can obtain a radioactive source, why drink it at all?
Just carry it in an 8 ounce drink bottle in your carry-on. It's just as likely (I assume) to set off a radiation detector as if ingested.
And for bonus points you can "voluntarily surrender" the bottle at the checkpoint. @:-) That'll teach 'em to throw all the dangerous non-dangerous dangerous liquids in the regular trash can.
)All the same, assuming you can obtain a radioactive source, why drink it at all?
Just carry it in an 8 ounce drink bottle in your carry-on. It's just as likely (I assume) to set off a radiation detector as if ingested.
And for bonus points you can "voluntarily surrender" the bottle at the checkpoint. @:-) That'll teach 'em to throw all the dangerous non-dangerous dangerous liquids in the regular trash can.
Aug 4, 2014, 1:00 pm
#15
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I wasted my high school years on physics and maths, and mostly slept through chemistry, but I believe barium is used as a contrast agent (because it's dense and blocks x-ray energy) rather than a radioactive source in medical imaging. There are radioactive isotopes of barium but I don't think they're used in medicine. And there are radioactive isotopes (iodine, fluorodeoxyglucose) that are ingested for medical scans. (Yeah, I'm an expert after 15 minutes on the inter-tubes. )
All the same, assuming you can obtain a radioactive source, why drink it at all?
Just carry it in an 8 ounce drink bottle in your carry-on. It's just as likely (I assume) to set off a radiation detector as if ingested.
And for bonus points you can "voluntarily surrender" the bottle at the checkpoint. @:-) That'll teach 'em to throw all the dangerous non-dangerous dangerous liquids in the regular trash can.
)All the same, assuming you can obtain a radioactive source, why drink it at all?
Just carry it in an 8 ounce drink bottle in your carry-on. It's just as likely (I assume) to set off a radiation detector as if ingested.
And for bonus points you can "voluntarily surrender" the bottle at the checkpoint. @:-) That'll teach 'em to throw all the dangerous non-dangerous dangerous liquids in the regular trash can.
Mike