It looks as if one major manufacturer of millimeter-wave body scanners is beginning to respond to the outcry over their potential for causing privacy violations due to rather detailed images of subjects’ bodies.
In its promo literature for the new ProVision ATD (pictured, below), L-3 Communications notes that the equipment “addresses privacy concerns by eliminating the generation and review of images.” Instead, scan data from the unit (the ATD stands for Automatic Target Detection) “is processed by software without human intervention to determine if any threats are present. Potential threat areas are then presented to the operator using a generic mannequin that resembles a human outline.”
The latest product upgrade seems to be going over well: the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) bought 300 of them today. Perhaps Germany will consider procuring a few as well.
Now, if the scanner manufacturers can only find a way to put people’s minds at ease about the potential health risks in a future upgrade.
––––––––––––––––
Digital Sandbox is the leader in public safety risk management, providing analytic tools and information products to government agencies and large enterprises for optimizing risk-based strategic, policy and budgetary decisions.
Join The Conversation »
