TSA new pat-down from Millimeter Wave
Oct 10, 2007, 11:38 pm
#1
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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.
If you still anything more questionable from TSA. Thanks 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.
If you still anything more questionable from TSA. Thanks all!
Oct 11, 2007, 12:29 am
#2
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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.
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.
Oct 11, 2007, 11:39 am
#3
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Here's an article on the new machine from today's Las Vegas Review-Journal: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 11, 2007, 11:54 am
#4
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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.
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.
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.
Oct 11, 2007, 11:56 am
#5
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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.
Oct 11, 2007, 11:58 am
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Oct 11, 2007, 12:11 pm
#7
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The x-rays were billed as completely harmless.
It was only many years lateer that a "Whoops, we were wrong
. The machines could have exposed kids to a dangerous dose of radiation" caveat was released.
Last edited by Cholula; Oct 11, 2007 at 4:21 pm Reason: typo
Oct 11, 2007, 1:28 pm
#8
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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.
I find the assertion in that last paragraph about pax preference rather surprising.
Oct 11, 2007, 1:57 pm
#9
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OMG! That's creepin' me out!
Oct 11, 2007, 2:09 pm
#10
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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.
Oct 11, 2007, 4:25 pm
#11
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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.
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.
Oct 11, 2007, 4:47 pm
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Oct 11, 2007, 5:19 pm
#13
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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.
Oct 11, 2007, 5:38 pm
#14
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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."
Oct 11, 2007, 5:52 pm
#15
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