![]() This issue... 11 Physics Questions for the New Century Astrophysicists Explore Supernovae Long-Life Rechargeable Batteries
This issue...
11 Physics Questions for the New Century
Astrophysicists Explore Supernovae
Long-Life Rechargeable Batteries
This issue...
11 Physics Questions for the New Century
Astrophysicists Explore Supernovae
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3-D Holographic Body Scanner for Better Airport Securityby Staci Maloof Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new technology that provides 3-D holographic imaging that can rapidly identify hidden weaponseven non-metallic weaponsthrough the clothing of airline passengers.
The September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., using hi-jacked commercial airliners has sparked stringent security measures at airports across the nation. Passengers and their luggage are being physically searched before boarding every flight. The new wideband millimeter-wave holographic imaging system developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the Federal Aviation Administration to screen airline passengers for weapons has the potential to augment security processes and also preserve efficiency as well as a measure of personal privacy.
Concealed weapons made of plastic, ceramics, and metal can be detected with the holographic imaging system called the Personal Security Scanner. The holographic imaging system offers distinct advantages over surveillance systems that rely on metal detectors or X-ray imaging. Metal detectors cannot screen for plastic or ceramic weapons. The holographic imaging system can identify metallic and nonmetallic guns concealed under clothing, and also has the potential for detecting plastic explosives. The goal at PNNL was to develop a harmless, visual scanning device that could identify weapons within about 10 seconds. Although X-ray imaging systems could possibly do the job, airline passengers would need to be subjected over and over to potentially harmful ionizing radiation. The holographic imaging system's millimeter-wave scanning technique is harmless. The Personal Security Scanner uses nonharmful, ultrahigh-frequency radio waves with relatively large wavelengths in the same range as radar and satellite signalsabout one centimeter. These low-power waves can penetrate clothing and other nonmetallic objects. "To put it simply, the system rapidly scans objects and sends reflected signals into a high-speed image processing computer," said Douglas McMakin, a PNNL engineer who helped develop the technology. "The computer produces a high-resolution 3-D image from the data." With the system's success came questions about its potential to display the unclothed physical features of a person being scanned to the operator running the machine. Since 1997, PNNL scientists have been addressing this potential privacy issue by reprogramming the system to give the operator a view of only concealed items, and not the person's image.
"I think this is ready to movewithout further addressing the privacy issuesif the FAA so desired." McMakin said the device could be made ready to install in airports in 4 to 12 months, and might cost somewhere in the range of $100,000 per unit. Media contact: Staci Maloof, (509) 372-6313, Staci.Maloof@pnl.gov
Related Web Links"3-D Scanners readied for airports, Energy Department says," by Tom Paulson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 13, 2001. "PNNL working out bugs in security device," by Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald, September 12, 2001. "One Technology, Countless Applications," Breakthroughs, Spring/Summer 2001, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. "3-D Body Holo Scanner,"National Security Division, Technology Commercialization Office website, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. "Personal Security Scanner,""National Security Division, Technology Commercialization Office website, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. Funding: The majority of this research was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with some participation by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. |
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