TSA tests new passenger screening technology

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently joined the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority in testing new passenger screening technology designed to detect suicide vests and other metallic and non-metallic concealed weapons.

Officials said the effort involves analyzing waves naturally emitted by the human body, noting when an object is hidden in a person’s clothing or strapped to the body, the waves are blocked.

TSA officials said the technology generates a generic avatar of the person that looks like a green ghost, with a black spot in the area of the body where the item is concealed. No radiation of any kind is emitted by the unit, officials said, and no anatomical details are displayed.

“TSA is pleased to partner with L.A. Metro to evaluate the capabilities of this security technology,” Keith Jeffries, the TSA’s federal security director in Los Angeles, said. “We will continue to pursue innovative solutions to keep the traveling public safe from explosives and other threats, regardless of the mode of transportation.”

The TSA said the technology would help safeguard transit agencies and other transportation venues from terrorist threats. For the demonstration, the system is operated by employees of the transit agency, not by the TSA.

The equipment is mobile, which gives agencies the flexibility to operate in a variety of locations as needed while operated via a laptop computer tested in a variety of locations on the east and west coasts.