AIRPORT SECURITY SCREENING WITHOUT PRIVACY VIOLATIONS
By Chris Jadick, Thermal Matrix, USA
Phone (813) 222-3204
Chris.Jadick@ThermalMatrixUSA.net
Tampa FL, June 1, 2009: Airline security experts struggling to balance privacy concerns with the increasing need to keep airports safe now have a new, powerful alternative to controversial whole body imagers (WBI). A thermal imagery threat detection system from Thermal Matrix provides state-of-the-art screening without the risk of privacy invasion.
WBIs have been criticized as “virtual strip searches,” because the machines display the anatomical features of the passengers being screened. This has led to protest on multiple fronts. Privacy advocates are urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to suspend the technology. In addition, one U.S. Congressman is calling for WBIs to be banned.
“Nobody needs to see my wife and kids naked to secure an airplane,” said Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R). While the Transportation Safety Administration has considered WBIs as mandatory for all airline passengers, Chaffetz is working to stop the practice.
“Passengers expect privacy underneath their clothing and should not be required to display highly personal details of their bodies as a pre-requisite to boarding an airplane,” Cheffetz said.
But a new device produced by Thermal Matrix of Tampa, Florida can meet airports’ increasing security demands without invading privacy. ACT (Access Counter IED Technology) is a thermal imagery system that detects what a metal detector cannot, including powder, plastic and liquid explosives. The system gets the same results as WBI’s, but because the technology is different there is no display of anatomical features.
“The key is that ACT uses thermal imaging, while typical WBI’s rely on active millimeter wave imaging,” says Michael Reinpoldt, Executive Director of Thermal Matrix. “Thermal imaging combined with our proprietary computer analysis is proving to be a superior system for airport screening because of the system’s ability to detect threats while preserving privacy.”
Like metal detectors, thermal, millimeter wave, terahertz and x-ray concealed object detection are non-contact methods designed to detect objects hidden under clothing. Metal detectors excel at detecting ferrous metals, typically with an 85% or better effectiveness. However, most metal detectors cannot detect non-ferrous metals such as stainless steel and all metal detectors are powerless to detect plastics, glass, liquids, gels, composites, powders or most explosives, posing a serious security gap.
To fill this void, the Department of Homeland Security (DHA) and Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) are evaluating other technologies in airports. One of the largest studies centers on active millimeter wave (MMW) imaging such as the L-3 ProVision scanning booth. Active MMW systems produce high resolution images by radiating the subject with low doses of MMW energy. But these are the same systems now being blamed for privacy invasion. Critics are not only concerned the images are being viewed, they also worry they will be saved, printed and distributed.
“The millimeter waves have a long wavelength that can penetrate most clothing, generating the explicit images that lead to privacy objections,” said Reinpoldt. “Advocates have tried to mitigate this concern by blurring out faces, or employing a second operator to view the image in a separate room. But that doesn’t stop anatomical features from being depicted, and critics won’t be satisfied with such a system.”
Another competing technology is passive millimeter wave imaging. Passive systems image the naturally occurring energy from the human body, and no energy is generated or transmitted. While these systems typically produce much lower resolution images that reduce privacy concerns, they also have limited threat detection ability.
“Some passive MMW systems use as few as 500 pixels to image the entire body,” Reinpoldt said. “At that resolution, you lose much of your ability to detect anything dangerous.”
Thermal imaging addresses both concerns, providing the high performance necessary for concealed threat detection, while eliminating privacy problems. With thermal imaging, the body’s natural heat signature is imaged in short wave, mid wave or long wavelengths, or some combination. Concealed objects hidden underneath clothing block the body’s natural heat signature and are readily discerned, while anatomical details are not.
“Thermal imaging has additional advantages,” Reinpoldt said. “There is no booth required, you can view images from multiple passengers at the same time, the images in real-time, at distances up to 100 meters, and it requires only a single operator. The need for a secluded operator in an isolated viewing area is eliminated.”
In addition, thermal imaging systems are a proven technology, highlighted by their use in night-time police helicopter chase video and by the U.S. military. Thermal Matrix is designing airport security systems based on experience gained in developing concealed object detection systems for the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense. Domestic safety concerns have now brought thermal imaging technology to the general public, including airports where security demands are growing.
Meanwhile, a national campaign to suspend the use of current WBIs continues. The Privacy Coalition, a Washington, DC based non-partisan group of consumer, civil liberties, family and other organizations is gathering signatures on a letter to be sent to Secretary Janet Napolitano at the Department of Homeland Security.
“Whole Body Imaging systems, such as backscatter x-ray and millimeter wave, capture a detailed image of the subject stripped naked,” the letter states. “In this particular application, your agency will be capturing the naked photographs of millions of American air travelers suspected of no wrongdoing.”
“The time to use thermal imaging technology in airports is here,” Reinpoldt said. “This is technology that can protect lives now. We can’t afford to waste additional time and money on controversy.”
Thermal Matrix USA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the best solutions for concealed object detection in the war on terror. The organization has worked with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization on a number of projects dealing with concealed weapons detection. Thermal Matrix International was founded in 2007 to help bring counter-terrorism technology to law enforcement and the private sector. More information can be found at the organizations’ website, www.thermalmatrixusa.net.
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