The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) begins testing a millimeter-wave body scanning technology this week at Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) that takes seconds to create images of people’s bodies to find weapons.
The machine is similar to backscatter, an X-ray scanner that was tabled because of privacy concerns surrounding the imagery.
The new machine, resembling a phone booth, uses radio waves on passengers as they stand inside for several seconds waiting for the machine to create a black-and-white image on a computer.
The process takes about a minute. It will be used on passengers pulled aside for extra screening. The machine was made by L-3 Communications, a government contractor.
