Sky Harbor has new body scanners

Here's the official news article off the AP wires on the new Body Scanner for airport security. My first reaction was, Arnold Schwergeneggar in Total Recall.

Phoenix airport tests body-scanning machine

Phoenix process likened to strip search; officials say device not invasive

08:58 AM CDT on Friday, October 12, 2007

Associated Press

PHOENIX – Sky Harbor International Airport on Thursday became the first in the nation to test a new body-scanning machine that could replace the metal detectors that passengers walk through at airports.

Security officials started sending passengers to the full-body scan machine in the airport's Terminal 4 on Thursday afternoon on a test basis.

The machine uses radio waves to detect foreign objects and creates an image based on energy reflected from the body. The image is viewed by an operator in a private screening room, but faces of those being screened are blurred so they can't be recognized.

Whitney Weller, a spokesman for L-3 Communications, the defense contractor that developed the machine, said the images are not explicit in any way.

While privacy advocates have compared the body scanning to strip searching, Mr. Weller said it is a safe and effective method that most people prefer.

"More than 70 percent of people – they'll choose an electronic method. People don't like being groped," he said.

The resulting three-dimensional image resembles a photo negative with a passenger's body colored in silver tones against a black background. In a media demonstration, using a female model, the image showed the outline of clothing including a brassiere and underwear. But there were no visible details beyond the body's contours.

www.dallasnews.com...

[edit on 12-10-2007 by Skydancer]


Mod Edit: No Quote/Plagiarism – Please Review This Link.

Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.

Mod Edit: Big Quote – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 12-10-2007 by Jbird]