As Mae West might say ""Is that a pistol.........."
It may sound like a gadget from a futuristic Arnold Schwarzenegger film. But full-body scanners - which see straight through people’s clothing - are coming soon to airports in the UK.
| Ummm... That'll be a mixed blessing... |
A high-tech security screening system, designed to detect guns and other offensive weapons concealed on the body, will this month be unveiled by the defence technology firm, Qinetiq, which is part-owned by the Government. The scanners, expected to be deployed within a year as part of Britain’s armoury against terror, capture the naked image of a traveller even if he or she is wearing several layers of clothing. But to protect people’s modesty they come replete with "fig leaf technology" that detects which parts of the body need screening out.
| Now you know where to hide your rosco, don't you? |
The system, which uses a special light frequency to see through clothing, was successfully trialled at Gatwick airport and will go on display at this year’s Farnborough air show. The technology was originally developed for the Ministry of Defence to use in military helicopters to enable them to see through fog. But it has now been adapted by Qinetiq, which used to be part of the top secret defence research establishment at Porton Down, for civilian use. The airport scanners are designed to detect concealed metallic objects including knives, guns, hand-grenades and shoe bombs on a fully-clad human being. However, the millimetre wave sensors will also highlight metallic items of clothing including bra clasps, trouser flies and buttons. People with pacemakers, metal pins in bones and reconstructed jaws may also find their secrets revealed.
| Also people with nippy rings, various types of pubic hardware, and butt bars... |
Airport operators will be thoroughly screened to ensure their motives are not prurient or voyeuristic, Qinetiq said.
| Likely sometimes they will be, sometimes they won't be... |
British Government sources say it could help tighten security at airports while ensuring that passengers are not subjected to delays. Duncan Valentine, managing director of the transport sector at Qinetiq, said that he believed the scanners would soon be in common use. "This launch is a significant development in the fight against terrorism and we foresee millimetre wave technology becoming to people screening what X-ray is now to baggage screening."
| It's not gonna make us radioactive or something, is it? |
Experts say that the millimetre wave scanner, unlike X-rays, poses no health risks to human beings because it uses part of the light spectrum, to which people are exposed every day, to see through clothing.
| That's a comfort. What part of the light spectrum would that be, again? |
They believe it will cut down waits for security screening at airports significantly and dispense with the "pat down" by security guards.
| I never did quite grasp the diffo between "patting down" and "feeling up." |
Only people who are shown to be carrying suspicious looking metallic options in clothing or shoes will have to be checked by security personnel. "It has the ability to penetrate natural materials," said one expert. "What you would aim to do is to project any threats that are found onto a screen. It would look as if someone is wearing a body stocking." The technology has already been successfully piloted at British ports where scanners have seen through lorry walls to detect hundreds of illegal immigrants being smuggled into Britain.
| Egad! I can imagine some of the thing found under the getup of the average illegal Pakistani... |
The body scanners are expected to be available within a year for other premises with high security, including government buildings and VIP conferences. The airports are also looking at employing other cutting edge technology to secure airport perimeters. Radar is being trialled as a way of preventing terrorists and intruders reaching secure areas. The radar can detect people after they cross an invisible line, while ensuring that dogs and wild animals that stray do not prompt security alerts or set off alarms. British ports are also looking at deploying James-Bond style "diver detection" sonar to stop terrorists planting mines from the sea. The sonar would give advance warning if divers are approaching a secure area. |
