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The most annoying thing about airports is going through security. But a startup called Evolv Technology is getting set to begin public tests of a new AI-powered body scanner, which it claims will allow people to saunter through checkpoints without breaking stride or emptying their pockets.

Evolv has built its scanner using the same millimeter-wave imaging frequencies as existing (and often controversial) full-body scanners. But instead of having someone stand still in a circular booth, the company scans its radar beams up and down people as they walk, measuring how the waves scatter off them.

The data isn’t used to create an image like those normally shown to security staff. Instead, it’s processed by a machine-learning algorithm that’s been trained to spot dangerous items like explosives and weapons. If the system thinks it’s spotted something, a member of security staff is alerted to perform a more detailed check.

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Originally Posted by TWA884 (Post 27575931)

MIT Technology Review:

Originally Posted by guflyer (Post 27578203)

This worries me. Currently, at many airports (such as EWR on Monday morning), they let everyone go through the WTMD when the body scanner would have been way to slow. I am concerned that this new device could end this practice. Also, it could be used in other areas or even stealthily.

Originally Posted by guflyer (Post 27578203)

Additionally, it concerns me that the article says that this is going to be tested first at train stations in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. Does this mean that body scanners are going to be part of the plan for train stations now?

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According to documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Boston-based Evolv Technology is planning to test its system at Union Station in Washington DC, in Los Angeles’s Union Station metro and at Denver international airport.

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“Transportation is a very soft and attractive target,” said Alex Wiggins, the executive in charge of security for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “Given the recent large-scale attacks at transit facilities in Europe, we need to see if there is technology that can screen large number of peoples and focus in on weapons and explosives.”

The three locations named in Evolv’s FCC application process upwards of 300,000 people every day, although Denver airport said its pilot project with Evolv had yet to be finalised. The test in LA is due to run in November for three or four days, and will involve thousands of members of the public. “We want to see how finely these [scanners] can be tuned, and what size of weapons and explosives they can detect,” says Wiggins.

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Originally Posted by guflyer (Post 27578203)

This worries me. Currently, at many airports (such as EWR on Monday morning), they let everyone go through the WTMD when the body scanner would have been way to slow. I am concerned that this new device could end this practice. Also, it could be used in other areas or even stealthily.

Additionally, it concerns me that the article says that this is going to be tested first at train stations in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. Does this mean that body scanners are going to be part of the plan for train stations now?

Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much (Post 27580309)

http://evolvtechnology.com/about-us/

There's a couple of other former TSA and DHS dweebs as well.

Originally Posted by guflyer (Post 27580975)

Is there any concern regarding the radiation from these scanners?

Originally Posted by guflyer (Post 27580975)

Is there any concern regarding the radiation from these scanners?