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TSA new pat-down from Millimeter Wave
Hi all,
After that I have heard about TSA is testing newest Millimeter Wave machines after if you are pat-down after you hear the beep. You need to get secondary screening before you headed to the concourse. So here the article was came in today: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/mwave.shtm I'm curious where does TSA getting bring new Millimeter Wave machines at checkpoint. I need to know which concourse will be there either terminal 3 or 4. :confused: If you still anything more questionable from TSA. Thanks all! :) |
Since I've been barking loudly about this for a long time, I will step up and offer some support for their bringing out new technologies for testing - and an alternative to the dangerous backscatter xray. I'm still troubled by their lack of commitment to testing the more benign ultrasonic waves.
One caveat - millimeter waves are not benign. In fact, the technology has been used to develop weapons which can cause injury or more serious effects. So - my support is not an endorsement of this technology, but some grudging recognition that they're looking at different solutions - although they need to focus on benign technologies. This device is also obviously first-generation - the person being scanned must stand still and hold a pose for the image to be taken. In the future, I want to see scanning systems which take a multitude of photos as someone is walking, and then layer/compare those photos to develop the comprehensive image. |
Here's an article on the new machine from today's Las Vegas Review-Journal: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT
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From yesterday's USA Today (with photo): Phoenix airport to test body-scan machines
Travelers at the city's Sky Harbor International Airport will receive body scans from a machine the Transportation Security Administration is testing to see if it can be used throughout the USA. The millimeter-wave machine uses similar technology to a controversial X-ray scanner, called backscatter, that the TSA delayed for several years because of privacy concerns. The new machine, which resembles a large phone booth, bounces harmless radio waves off travelers as they stand inside for several seconds with their arms raised. It produces black-and-white computer images that clearly show the outlines of people's undergarments. Like its backscatter predecessor, the new machine raises privacy concerns. American Civil Liberties Union privacy expert Barry Steinhardt said the test could pave the way for the machines to be used in arenas and schools. "It's conditioning Americans to the use of these invasive technologies," he said. [...] The TSA test will determine how well the ProVision machine, made by government contractor L-3 Communications, finds weapons and whether it can operate quickly enough to replace metal detectors at checkpoints. Similar machines are used at courthouse entrances in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, and at airports in Amsterdam, Madrid and Moscow. [...] A backscatter machine that was modified to produce cartoonish images of passengers has been tested in Phoenix since February. Passengers have overwhelmingly chosen to be scanned by the low-radiation X-ray machine instead of being patted down. |
Originally Posted by kaukau
(Post 8545315)
Here's an article on the new machine from today's Las Vegas Review-Journal: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT
The scans take 1.8 seconds, and it takes about a minute for the image to appear on a computer screen in a separate location. This sounds like a minimum of a 2-3 minute process to get someone in the thing, instruct them on what to do, and then wait for the results to be analyzed and sent back to the checkpoint. :td: |
Originally Posted by essxjay
(Post 8545428)
I find the assertion in that last paragraph about pax preference rather surprising. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the TSA does not fully inform passengers about the ramifications of using the machines and instead likely insists that it will "save them time." |
Originally Posted by bocastephen
(Post 8543079)
One caveat - millimeter waves are not benign. In fact, the technology has been used to develop weapons which can cause injury or more serious effects.
The x-rays were billed as completely harmless. It was only many years lateer that a "Whoops, we were wrong :o. The machines could have exposed kids to a dangerous dose of radiation" caveat was released. :rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by essxjay
(Post 8545428)
From yesterday's USA Today (with photo): Phoenix airport to test body-scan machines
I find the assertion in that last paragraph about pax preference rather surprising. |
Originally Posted by mgilmer
(Post 8546091)
Well I would rather be scanned than patted down by a TSA agent with gloves he just used to fondle his privates with in the bathroom (other thread on this).
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Originally Posted by mgilmer
(Post 8546091)
Well I would rather be scanned than patted down by a TSA agent with gloves he just used to fondle his privates with in the bathroom (other thread on this).
I found a pretty good layperson's version of the electromagnetic spectrum: http://www.rhsc.ca/spectrum.html If you scroll down, you'll see the catagory of "microwaves". This device is in the same frequency/wavelength regime as your microwave oven and various radars and are characterized as "millimeter waves." It shouldn't surprise any of us that the TSA safety explanation is misleading: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/mwave.shtm First of all, they are comparing this device to cell phones. Wavelengths of cellphone transmissions are approximately 100x the size of these waves. The FM radio's wavelengths are 1000x the size of this scanner. Their little diagram also compares amplitude of various transmissions, which is the least important factor. But, it makes for a convincing picture. This body scanner's electromagnetic characteristics are a heck of a lot closer to a microwave oven than a cell phone or boom box. Depending upon your body composition and the clothing you happen to be wearing at the moment, you could be slowly cooking yourself over time. |
TSL picks the worst products to evaluate.
There are MMW systems available that do not require a "portal". Other systems pan and scan through a crowd then lock on persons of interest. Big waste of money but TSA will catch people with drugs. |
Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
(Post 8546368)
Depending upon your body composition and the clothing you happen to be wearing at the moment, you could be slowly cooking yourself over time.
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Originally Posted by essxjay
(Post 8545428)
I find the assertion in that last paragraph about pax preference rather surprising.
Somehow methinks that if pax are overwhelmingly choosing the backscatter, the TSA would be shouting it from the mountain tops and would not be introducing a new, allegedly less invasive, scanner. |
Originally Posted by mgilmer
(Post 8546091)
Well I would rather be scanned than patted down by a TSA agent with gloves he just used to fondle his privates with in the bathroom (other thread on this).
The TSA is an even bigger disgrace than usual when it comes to reporting statistics. Where's the truth? "The overwhelming preference was for neither being groped nor being bombarded with additional radiation, but for complete overhaul of airport security, beginning with the termination of the TSA." |
Originally Posted by rebadc
(Post 8547042)
TSL picks the worst products to evaluate.
There are MMW systems available that do not require a "portal". Other systems pan and scan through a crowd then lock on persons of interest. Big waste of money but TSA will catch people with drugs. |
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