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Backscatter X-Rays Coming to Airports

TSMABob writes "Wired News reports that a recent, but expensive, technology of backscatter may grace airport security in the future. Nice Bombs Ya Got There is an article that explains how this technology is far superior to the metal detectors of today, pointing out that 'Richard Reid, convicted of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with explosives in his shoes, walked through metal detectors at Orly Airport in Paris several times before boarding the plane.' Read More about backscatter x-rays and their ability to pick up non-metallic objects."

28 of 493 comments (clear)

  1. You know what you're thinking... by IpsissimusMarr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah yeah, I know its going to be repeated at least 300 times in this story... but I just can't help myself.

    X-RAY VISION IS FINALLY A REALITY!!!

    That is all, you may now go back to your regularly scheduled /.'ing.

    --
    "Engineers do the work of man, Physicists do the work of God"
    1. Re:You know what you're thinking... by JackMonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Seriously, though...this thing brings up some major social and privacy issues.
      • Would you want your wife and kids walking through one of these things knowing that a complete stranger will be looking at them naked?
      • What if some pedophile gets a job working these things just to get his jollies from watching children go through?
      • What about people that are so self-concious about their weight that they will hold up the line indefinitely rather than go through security?
      • Are these scanned images akin to public pornography?
    2. Re:You know what you're thinking... by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What if they were used to stop people from blowing up planes and killing people?

      A single person not being killed because one of these machines caught someone before they had the chance to get on a plane makes it all worthwhile in my books.

      Besides, I seriously doubt there would be any way to record/save the images created on the machines so it's not like a screener would be grabbing them and posting them on the net or anything.

      A screener could be looking at thousands, or tens of thousands of people a day - I think the "oh! nudies!" aspect of the job would grow old real fast. I mean, how much do people pay any attention to pr0nmail that shows up in the email box? You just automatically hit delete and move on.

      N.

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
    3. Re:You know what you're thinking... by Obfuscant · · Score: 5, Insightful
      What if they were used to stop people from blowing up planes and killing people?

      Yeah, it's like so many people are blowing up planes today. Four groups in what, ten years?

      A single person not being killed because one of these machines caught someone before they had the chance to get on a plane makes it all worthwhile in my books.

      I'm sorry, but this is lunacy. By this argument, we'd immediately ban the automobile. Think of how many people die because of them today. If we'd save just ONE life by banning them... and hot dogs (people do choke to death on them, you know. If we save just one life...

      Besides, I seriously doubt there would be any way to record/save the images created on the machines so it's not like a screener would be grabbing them and posting them on the net or anything.

      Huh? That's right, computers never have any means of saving images. Just how do you think they are going to train the people to run these, keep a stock of different kinds of bombs on hand, or keep a stock set of saved pictures of people carrying said bombs?

      And how will they review a suspicious image -- make the person stand in the picture booth until they decide? Nice, clue him in that he's being scrutinized so he sets the bomb off in the middle of the line.

      A screener could be looking at thousands, or tens of thousands of people a day -

      Oh, of course, invasion of privacy is ok as long as it happens to lots of people.

      Here's what you should be thinking about. That fellow mentioned in the summary, the ShoeBomber? He wasn't just passing through security at Orly, he was actually IN POLICE CUSTODY WEARING HIS SHOE BOMBS the day before he got on the plane. They let him go. Fancy hardware simply cannot replace common sense, but then, we're talking about people who idolize Jerry Lewis.

  2. Another version of the same story. by Peter+Cooper · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There's another new article on this in the 'Globe and Mail'. It's a bit more indepth, and features a really, er, 'nice' picture of a seemingly shaven lady testing out the machine.

    1. Re:Another version of the same story. by msheppard · · Score: 4, Informative

      heres a picture of the woman in the picture without the xrays.

      M@

      --
      Krispy Cream is people
    2. Re:Another version of the same story. by grunherz · · Score: 5, Funny

      The first Airport Screener with a digital camera is gonna make a fortune the first time Britney Spears walks through this thing.

      Creepy image though ...

      --
      Four weeks, Twenty papers, that's two dollars ... plus tip.
    3. Re:Another version of the same story. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      heres a picture of the woman in the picture without the xrays.


      AHHHH! Turn the machine back on! Please!!!
    4. Re:Another version of the same story. by dissy · · Score: 4, Informative

      > ...of a seemingly shaven lady...

      Just to point it out, these xrays bounce off the skin only.
      So, she could possibly be as retro as the 70's downstairs, but you still couldnt tell.

      Look at the top of her head, she does have a full head of hair there atleast, so you can see what I mean.

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Obligatory considerations by serial+frame · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know, maybe this will get me through the airport a little quicker. But then again, maybe it'll just add up on the delays. How so, you wonder? Consider the current climate in airport security. Not only will the person itself be under much scrutiny in the event of, say, a PDA left in a breast pocket (could be hard to discern from a block of C-4), but I'm sure the person will be delayed even further by background checks and such.

    This technology doesn't seem it will replace traditional X-ray, as I'm sure people will still (as gross as it sounds) be smuggling drugs and evil nanotech warriors in plastic baggies in their...rectums? (que AC goatse man reply)

    I certainly hope I don't end up getting skin cancer or something, but then again, I'm paranoid, right?

    --

    -
    And the Angel said unto me, "These are the cries of the carrots! The cries of the carrots!"
  5. Any good technical descriptions? by sleepingsquirrel · · Score: 4, Informative
    Since I'd never heard of X-Ray backscatter before I'd thought I'd do a google search, but I couldn't find much in the way of technical details of the how and why xray backscatter works. There didn't seem to be much for academic/research papers available. Is this a relatively new thing? The article mentions that the xrays are bounced off of you, but I wonder what dosage you would be exposed to. Are they using an xray source, or is it background radiation? These were my findings so far...

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

    1. Re:Any good technical descriptions? by SpeedRacer · · Score: 4, Informative

      X-ray backscattering has been studied on an experimental level pretty extensively for quite a while. Perform a Google search on bremsstrahlung. Bremsstrahlung means "braking radiation." Electron bremsstrahlung is the most common. When an electron is deflected by the electron cloud of an atom, that acceleration produces an X-ray at an angle that is oblique to the original direction of the electron's path.

      My Bachelor's degree is in Physics, and my junior/senior research back in 1987-1989 was on bremsstrahlung. You can find more on the subject at:

      http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Bremsstrah lung.html

  6. No shoes? by sharlskdy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except Richard Reid had the explosives in his shoes .

    Are these scatter rays going to show shoes as well? The photo they have shown misses the feet!

    This seems very, very close to the security system they had in Total Recall!

  7. Finally! by donutz · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've been waiting for the day to come when I can just walk around naked in public...this machine, with it's ability to render the covering of clothing worthless, is a step in the right direction!

  8. Sample Pictures by Alric · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  9. This scares the hell out of me. by jaylen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How long before the police decide to use the mobile version of this technology to start looking inside people's homes and cars?

    Already where I come from (Wales, UK) the local police use helecopters with an infrared camera to fly over houses, searching for high heat output, the reason being it 'aids and assists in catching people growing cannabis in lofts and attics'.

    What is the next step with this technology? It offends me that a government official can soon be able to drive up outside my house, and literally look inside it, to see how many people are in my house, what kinds of material possesions I have, etc etc.

    Saying that, however, I do not think this is going to catch on in airports, especially in the USA :)

    Face it, more than 70% of American middle aged women are going to walk though, just to have the official ask her 'Please could you lift up your sagging stomach fat, so we can see if you have a huge bomb hidden under the rolls of fat'.

    I just wish I was there to see the reactions :)

    ______
    Jaylen

  10. Coming soon, the hooter-shooter by lushmore · · Score: 5, Funny

    Truly an amazing technology. How long before contraband starts getting tucked in various bodily folds and crevices, and overweight travelers have to get pulled aside for special inspection?

    When fat people are naked in the airport, the terrorists will have won.

  11. Yet another option by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Another option would be to restrict the screener to a booth so no passing peepers can see the image, said Randal Null, the agency's chief technology officer.

    Yet another option would be to make the screeners sit naked while at work, thus making embarrassment mutual.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  12. Girls gone wild by bathmatt · · Score: 5, Funny
    Great, now will be seeing ad's on latenight TV for

    Girls Gone Wild - Airport style.

  13. I'll tell you who I feel sorry for.... by Nemus · · Score: 5, Funny
    I feel bad for the poor bastard who has to look at everyone of these images as people walk through the terminal. Yeah, you get the occasional hot chick, but more often than not its gonna be Uncle Butch and Aunt Myrtle from East Jesus, AL back from their yearly tropical vacation, where they managed to devour close to two tons of fresh seafood between them...Ugh. Ugh-Ugh......

    --
    Mod Points: Helping you keep your opinion to yourself.
  14. 3 microREMs by sleepingsquirrel · · Score: 5, Informative
    According to the FAQfor one of these machines...
    Q: How much radiant energy is a person exposed to?

    A: Each full body scan of the SECURE 1000 produces approximately 3 microREMs of emission. This is equivalent to the exposure every person receives each five minutes from naturally occurring background environmental radioactivity.

    Q: Is background radiation exposure really a good comparison?
    A: Yes, because SECURE 1000 scanning and background radiation both expose a large portion of the body to a very low level of x-rays. The only difference is that background radiation has slightly higher x-ray energy resulting in deeper penetration.

    Q: What about exposure levels for individuals who are frequent flyers or for employees in companies or high security facilities who have to be screened each day?
    A: Under current international guidelines (such as the ANSI 43.17 Standard) up to 5000 scans per year can be conducted safely.

    Q: Will SECURE 1000 detect objects in the body?
    A: No, the x-rays penetrate only about 1/10 (0.1) inch of the skin. Any object that would be deeper than that level would not be detected. Under current regulations generally body cavity inspections must be performed by high dose medical x-ray systems in the presence of a medical professional or body cavity searches must be performed manually by trained enforcement personnel.

  15. something I found amusing by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    From Scientific American:

    "A close second [in the stupid-security contest] was submitted by a guy whose story starts as he is about to board a plane in San Francisco. "The polite inspector informed me that he had to check my shoes for explosives. I dutifully removed them and handed them to him. He picked them up one by one and slammed them down on the floor with full force. Apparently, as they hadn't exploded, they were not dangerous, and he handed them back to me." Perhaps it's best to look on the bright side and simply applaud any public display of the scientific method."

  16. They've finally managed to kill air travel by WinDoze · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Last weekend I took a trip to see my new neice. I brought along a few presents. At the last minute, the airline cancelled the flight and put me on a different flight, on a different airline. Fine.

    Only problem is, since I changed flights at the last minute, even though it wasn't my decision, I got the extra-special anal-probe screening, which included, of course, opening all the presents that had JUST PASSED THROUGH AN X-RAY MACHINE. I swore there and then that I was done. If I can't drive there in my car in 8 hours, I don't need to go there. This just cements the deal. This is YOUR GOVERNMENT performing unreasonable random searches on you and interfering with free travel now, friends.

  17. you asked for it... by tomstdenis · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only x posts and slashdotted! Must be running their site on product "A".

    Imagine a beowolf cluster of item "B", on a "C".

    Just wait till the RIAA hears about this! and/or Just wait till the MPAA sees this! and/or Just wait till the **AA hears and/or sees this!

    Something SCO would do....Or Sue! Sue! call SCO

    BSD is dying, only a few million users left!

    Oh and MS knows security like they know open competition.

    I used Mozilla once!

    1. Action "D"
    2. ???
    3. Result "E"

    MS sucks. or MSFT sucks. or Microsoft sucks. or Micro$oft sucks or Micro$loth sucks.

    Linux has a far superior kitch factor.

    I'm going to patent patenting. I'm going to patent the wheel, air, fire, water, item "F". Quick hide it from bezos.

    I'm going to sue for violating my first post (patent|copyright).

    Check my l33t signature!

    Accomplishing goal L: Cost "G". Accomplishing goal M: Cost "H", for everything else there is item "I".

    Something, something, something, private part [giggle like the school child you are], something, something, something.

    something, other, something, Natalie Portman, something

    Boochicka wowwow, something, hot grits and person "J", who may or not be Natalie Portman

    Some guys widespread anus [goatse.cx]

    In Soviet Russia, Item "J" does "K" to YOU!

    Apple R0xx0rs!

    Apple Sucks!

    Kde!

    Gnome!

    Amigas aren't dead!

    Polling:
    [options a-g] ...
    h. [unable to participate] you insensitive clod!
    i. [cowboy neal poll option]

    all your "L" are belong to "M"

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  18. Re:Bonner at work. by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hmmm. Maybe there is a market for boner detectors. If we have to undergo scrutiny, then so do the guards.

    "(beep beep) Well, it looks like ol' Bob is going to be suspended again. I bet his wife tossed his porn again so that he can't empty out before work. Sad."

  19. The only secure airline by earthforce_1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is where all baggage is checked, and passengers, flight attendants, and pilots must fly entirely in the buff. Call it "bare skin" airlines. The only remaining problem would be that of beligerent naked kung-fu masters on board.

    --
    My rights don't need management.
  20. Only in America by Hektor_Troy · · Score: 4, Funny
    do you see stuff like this:
    about 1/10 (0.1) inch
    Only in America ...
    --
    We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.