TSA to test SmartCheck screening system at LAX
“We are pleased to begin another phase of testing with TSA and to assist in their mission to safeguard air travel,” AS&E President and CEO Anthony Fabiano said. “SmartCheck provides TSA with a comprehensive, safe, nonintrusive, easy and highly effective way to detect plastic and liquid explosives, weapons and other contraband while ensuring travelers’ privacy.”
TSA began piloting the SmartCheck system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in February 2007 for secondary screening, on a voluntary basis, and as an alternative to traditional pat-down searches. To date, approximately 90 percent of passengers have opted for screening using SmartCheck rather than undergoing a pat-down, according to AS&E.
The company describes SmartCheck as a safe, nonintrusive personnel screening system that allows operators to detect threats hidden on a person. The system displays both organic and inorganic materials, revealing objects such as guns and knives, explosives, composite weapons and other hidden threats. Its Z Backscatter technology gives the operator easy-to-interpret information about where threats are hidden, thus eliminating the need for intrusive and time-consuming pat-down searches, according to the company.
The SmartCheck system creates an image that looks like a chalk outline of the passenger with threats and contraband outlined, but it does not reveal facial features. Additionally, the SmartCheck systems installed in LAX and Phoenix cannot store, export, print or transmit images, according to AS&E.
For more information on Backscatter technology, click here.