The Transportation Security Administration announced that over the next few months, full-body scanners at airports nationwide will be upgraded with new software that eliminates “passenger-specific images” (read: X-rays of your junk).
With this technology, to be installed on scanners with
millimeter wave imaging technology (TSA will test similar software updates for backscatter machines in the fall), a simple “OK” will appear on the screen if travelers walk through the scanner and no suspicious items are detected. If something looks sketchy, TSA agents will see a generic body outline, along with a yellow mark indicating where the suspicious item is located. They will then perform additional screening.
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What TSA agents currently see:
What they'll see with the new software:
The technology addresses privacy concerns, though skeptics say it does not eliminate them. TSA agents may still investigate with those with “anomalies”–adult diapers, prosthetic breasts, leg braces. (We could Google this stuff for days.) And some predict that the software could even lead to more
Ah, the traveler's headache continues.
