A Transportation Security Administration officer test scans a fellow TSA employee during a demonstration of an Advanced Imaging Technology screening booth at Yeager Airport.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A new screening device capable of detecting weapons or explosives, without displaying detailed images of passengers' bodies, was demonstrated at Charleston's Yeager Airport on Wednesday.
The new Advanced Imaging Technology screener is the federal Transportation Security Administration's latest security advancement, according to TSA spokesman Kawika Riley. "It's one of several ways for the TSA to stay ahead of evolving threats," he said.
The AIT screening booth now operational at Yeager bounces harmless electromagnetic waves off passengers to detect items, both metallic and non-metallic, that they may be concealing or inadvertently carrying.
Software used by the monitor enhances privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images. Instead of displaying images of anomalies along with clothing-less images of passengers, "the AIT monitor displays a generic icon of a human, which shows the area where the anomaly is located," Riley said.
Passengers entering the AIT booth place their feet on yellow pads, raise their arms and stare at a wall image to align themselves with screening hardware. If no anomalies are detected, a green "OK" flashes on a TSA attendant's monitor, and the passenger is waved through. If an anomaly does turn up, its location is shown on the Gumby-like image of the generic human.
The ability of AIT technology to detect non-metallic threats helps TSA screeners intercept weapons and explosives in which metal components have been replaced with ceramics and other materials. Riley said two weeks ago, TSA personnel at Lynchburg Regional Airport in Virginia detected a ceramic dagger concealed in a hairbrush in a passenger's carry-on bag.
Since it takes just a few seconds to be processed through an AIT booth, "what we've seen is that in addition to enhancing security, the machines increase efficiency," Riley said.
Riley said about 130 of the nation's 450 commercial airports have had AIT screening booths installed.
Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson said that by operating both the new AIT booth and the existing TSA metal detection gear, screeners can nearly double the number of passengers processed in a given period of time.
"We've been operating with a system capable of screening 1810 passengers an hour," said Atkinson. With the addition of the AIT gear, "we should be able to handle more than 300 people an hour," he said. "We're getting both better security and faster passenger processing."
Atkinson said the added screening capacity will help reduce lines when the larger aircraft used by low-cost carriers are preparing to depart Yeager, and when large groups of Boy Scouts begin arriving to participate in activities at the new Bechtel Summit Reserve in Fayette County.
Plans are being made to create a second entryway to the TSA screening area from the check-in portion of Yeager's passenger terminal to further streamline the security clearance process, Atkinson said.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A new screening device capable of detecting weapons or explosives, without displaying detailed images of passengers' bodies, was demonstrated at Charleston's Yeager Airport on Wednesday.
The new Advanced Imaging Technology screener is the federal Transportation Security Administration's latest security advancement, according to TSA spokesman Kawika Riley. "It's one of several ways for the TSA to stay ahead of evolving threats," he said.
The AIT screening booth now operational at Yeager bounces harmless electromagnetic waves off passengers to detect items, both metallic and non-metallic, that they may be concealing or inadvertently carrying.
Software used by the monitor enhances privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images. Instead of displaying images of anomalies along with clothing-less images of passengers, "the AIT monitor displays a generic icon of a human, which shows the area where the anomaly is located," Riley said.
Passengers entering the AIT booth place their feet on yellow pads, raise their arms and stare at a wall image to align themselves with screening hardware. If no anomalies are detected, a green "OK" flashes on a TSA attendant's monitor, and the passenger is waved through. If an anomaly does turn up, its location is shown on the Gumby-like image of the generic human.
The ability of AIT technology to detect non-metallic threats helps TSA screeners intercept weapons and explosives in which metal components have been replaced with ceramics and other materials. Riley said two weeks ago, TSA personnel at Lynchburg Regional Airport in Virginia detected a ceramic dagger concealed in a hairbrush in a passenger's carry-on bag.
Since it takes just a few seconds to be processed through an AIT booth, "what we've seen is that in addition to enhancing security, the machines increase efficiency," Riley said.
Riley said about 130 of the nation's 450 commercial airports have had AIT screening booths installed.
Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson said that by operating both the new AIT booth and the existing TSA metal detection gear, screeners can nearly double the number of passengers processed in a given period of time.
"We've been operating with a system capable of screening 1810 passengers an hour," said Atkinson. With the addition of the AIT gear, "we should be able to handle more than 300 people an hour," he said. "We're getting both better security and faster passenger processing."
Atkinson said the added screening capacity will help reduce lines when the larger aircraft used by low-cost carriers are preparing to depart Yeager, and when large groups of Boy Scouts begin arriving to participate in activities at the new Bechtel Summit Reserve in Fayette County.
Plans are being made to create a second entryway to the TSA screening area from the check-in portion of Yeager's passenger terminal to further streamline the security clearance process, Atkinson said.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.
