The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is poised to roll out new scanning machines at airports around the country in the coming months. The technology is already being tested at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.”
The new machines use Advanced Image Technology or AIT. It allows TSA officers to scan travelers and their luggage without having to remove items. The machines provide a less specific but more targeted image than the cylindrical scanners used today. AIT creates an avatar of a passenger or piece of luggage and then flags potential problems, including components that could become weapons.
Dan Wyllie, deputy federal security director for Homeland Security said tests indicate TSA officers are moving passengers through lines faster. And the process is less invasive.
“So, there's no pictures, there's no data being kept or analyzed. It is quickly right there at the checkpoint for the passenger to see, ‘Hey, there's an anomaly on your leg, we just need to check that.’"
The TSA’s Deputy Assistant Federal Security Director Andrew Craig said the TSA is already planning a next step called “Image on Alert Only.” This is when an AIT machine alerts officers to manually inspect a passenger or a bag.
“Soon our officers aren't going to have to look at every single image that comes through because the technology has gotten so advanced…” said Craig.
The new AIT body image scanners will be tested at Harry Reid International Airport through the spring of this year before being introduced at other airports across the country.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Nevada Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
