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We might not be finished with X-ray body scanners. TSA and DHS have a fairly-recent $245 million contract with another supplier for a similar X-ray scanner.

We might not be finished with X-ray body scanners. TSA and DHS have a fairly-recent $245 million contract with another supplier for a similar X-ray scanner.

The DHS looked at surveillance from vans with long-distance X-ray capability
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2011/03/02/docs-reveal-tsa-plan-to-body-scan-pedestrians-train-passengers/
e.g. "drive-by" mode and covert screening from vans http://www.as-e.com/zbv/
http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanners/Body_Scan_FOIA_Docs_Feb_2011.pdf
They build up a 3d like view of metal vehicles. You would think every person in the area would get into shielded rooms (control and guarded waiting room) as the vehicle in question was scanned.
I guess radiation is now 100% safe in the USA.

Too bad that this technology already exists, and is likely out driving past pregnant mothers right now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iABPKd0vFxQ

That's not new. That's a standard AS&E Z-backscatter scanner. The first one was installed in the US at Sky Harbor Airport, Pheonix, AZ in 2007. As of 2010, there are about 68 US airport installations.

They're very expensive, bulky machines. AS&E just got a phase II R&D contract from Homeland Security to develop a smaller, more portable unit. That's hard, though. The technology requires that the detector be 90 degrees from the emitter, with respect to the target, so it sees the backscatter. That geometry is why the machines are so large.

Choocle (a fictitious Chinese Google)

FYI, the Chinese Google is Baidu.

could drive machines around that could see through the walls of our homes.

You mean like those backscatter X-ray scan vans cruising around in the US and UK? Here's one: http://www.as-e.com/zbv/

That might be perfectly acceptable in their culture and 'legal' here

It is not legal for them to do. Search engine companies are not police looking for pot-smoking terrists.

Umm I think you missed the news announcement. They are already testing this at bus stations and train stations. So there is no need to wait, it is already here.

Here is the TSA patting people down at a bus station.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hT8hfrak9I

Looks like the TSA are already at train terminals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORdBoG8qv9w

So it would seem that they are only left with us traveling by car. Although I hear that they have vans with the scanners in them and are going to use them at the borders to scan cars without people getting out them. Here is the company that is selling them.
http://www.as-e.com/

So it only a matter of time before the TSA is everywhere scanning everyone at the rate they are going.

Watched the video. Fox didn't get any pictures of actual scans taken while they were there. The pictures shown are from AS&E's usual set of demo pictures.

They should have had scans of the reporters. But the mobile system isn't certified for personnel scans.

It's not a significant radiation hazard beyond the recommended 9 foot approach limit. But there are reasonable questions about someone close to the scanning vehicle. The Hickam AFB study did not measure the exposure directly in line with the scanning fan closer than 7' from the vehicle. At that distance, the exposure is 35mRem/hour. Driving by a parked car equipped with standard dosimeters returned a zero dose reading.

Watched the video. Fox didn't get any pictures of actual scans taken while they were there. The pictures shown are from AS&E's usual set of demo pictures.

They should have had scans of the reporters. But the mobile system isn't certified for personnel scans.

It's not a significant radiation hazard beyond the recommended 9 foot approach limit. But there are reasonable questions about someone close to the scanning vehicle. The Hickam AFB study did not measure the exposure directly in line with the scanning fan closer than 7' from the vehicle. At that distance, the exposure is 35mRem/hour. Driving by a parked car equipped with standard dosimeters returned a zero dose reading.

Anything that "peers in" will be just as illegal.

Then tell that to the US government that is buying Z-backscatter vans by the hundreds.

American Science and Engineering was also mentioned.

Z-backscatter technology can definitely do this, but that's a low-dose X-ray system. It's actually doing an elemental analysis, so you can look for suspicious chemicals. But it's slow, there's a modest X-ray risk, and the AS&E equipment is huge.

Rapidscan has been able to downsize backscatter equipment a bit, but it's still a slow scan.

"In a recent study, 19 out of 20 people preferred a Secure 1000 scan to an invasive pat-down physical search."

AS&E also has a "drive-by scanner" in a van, for covert scanning. This is a higher powered device than the BodySearch. "Although radiation exposure levels are below those specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the ZBV is not certified as a personnel scanner. Customers planning to operate the system in stationary mode must obtain an exception from government regulations."

Slightly more practical is the RapiScan Secure 1000. It's less bulky than the BodySearch; it's only 80 inches high, so it can be installed with less trouble, although it weighs half a ton. And it only takes 8 seconds per scan. Like the BodySearch, it's a true backscatter X-ray machine, and produces good images through clothing.

Two more generations and these things will be in nightclubs. Here's a paper (in German) with picture of a cute girl seen with a BodySearch machine. So now you know what it shows.

AS&E also has a "drive-by scanner" in a van, for covert scanning. This is a higher powered device than the BodySearch. "Although radiation exposure levels are below those specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the ZBV is not certified as a personnel scanner. Customers planning to operate the system in stationary mode must obtain an exception from government regulations."

Slightly more practical is the RapiScan Secure 1000. It's less bulky than the BodySearch; it's only 80 inches high, so it can be installed with less trouble, although it weighs half a ton. And it only takes 8 seconds per scan. Like the BodySearch, it's a true backscatter X-ray machine, and produces good images through clothing.

Two more generations and these things will be in nightclubs. Here's a paper (in German) with picture of a cute girl seen with a BodySearch machine. So now you know what it shows.

IR camera? Where have u been they have backscatter x-ray cameras now that can see through wallks as if they were trasnparent.

Check it out!

http://www.as-e.com/technology/image_1.html

Check out the picture of the guy they zapped.

You can see his shinbones are well defined and the xrays are penetrating the skin on his face.

On the other hand, it's also possible to do that when you're just being checked out with metal detectors.

You can pretty clearly see the guy's tibia in this picture. The skin there is thin, but I think this penetrates more than "1/10 (0.1) inch". Granted that estimate came from PR bumpf from another company flogging a similar product.

It's not about what reflects of course, it's the component that was absorbed that might be of concern. But here a portion of radiation went through the skin of his shin and was absorbed by the bone, never to be seen again.

Check out the pictures, notice how there are quite a few of container ships... this technology can be "ported" to any location, not just airports

The AS&E BodySearch unit is huge. It's about 12 feet high, and costs about $1 million. The technology needs a redesign for production. Another generation or two, and it might be widely used. The X-ray exposure is surprisingly low, although well above background, of course.

In a few years, we might see them in nightclubs.

Here's a link to a company, AS-E, who manufactures some of the most respected Backscatter equipment.

For a sample of some slightly frightening pictures check out these images:

http://www.as-e.com/technology/image_1.html
If somebody has time, it might be good to provide a mirror for these images.

Here's a link to a company, AS-E, who manufactures some of the most respected Backscatter equipment.

For a sample of some slightly frightening pictures check out these images:

http://www.as-e.com/technology/image_1.html
If somebody has time, it might be good to provide a mirror for these images.

More pictures.
More detail as to how the machine works.

They're very impressive systems. Check out the pictures. Detects both weapons and drugs. Price is about $120K, and the machine is rather bulky (12' high), but that will come down when the new model comes out.

It's still an invasion of privacy, but it only takes three seconds.

This device has spectroscopic properties. It sees atomic number. It can distinguish tobacco, drugs, and explosives from clothing and human bodies, not just detect metals.

A big complaint about that unit is that it's too good. Look at the images on that site. It generates a good nude image of the person scanned. A technical paper, which includes bigger images, gives an idea of just how good it is. Civil liberties groups have complained. The manufacturer is looking into suppressing the body outline in the video processing.

Surprisingly, this device doesn't generate much of an X-ray exposure.

A competitive unit, the CONPASS Total Recall Body Scanner not only detects weapons, but diagnoses breast and lung cancer. It's a human-sized version of the line scanners used for luggage.

Until recently, these elaborate scanning units were considered too expensive for widespread deployment. But now, we'll probably see many more of them.

Maybe we'll even see one on the Internet. Some nightclub that uses weapon detection might do that.

Having a relative that works with this company, and does the installations, I can tell you that their equipment is used primarily to search vehicles for drugs and weapons, not people. Some of their major installations are on the US/mexico border, and South Africa.
The vast majority of their sales are of their vehicle scanning units. They have very few of the BodySearch scanners in use. Most of those are also at "border patrol" facilities, and are intended more as "cavity search" methods than as a general search.
Furthermore, you are almost always given the choice whether or not to be scanned. Take your pick: black and white scan that shows little to no detail? Or rubber glove full body cavity search? I think it's an obvious choice.

Well according to AS&E, you would need to be scanned 80,000 times to receive the same radiation from a single dental X-ray. They do seem to have a vested interest though:)
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