A next-generation screening system for carry-ons at Boston Logan International Airport is being piloted to see if it can speed up the baggage check process for Transportation Security Administration officers and travelers alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Science and Technology Directorate<\/a> partnered with Integrated Defense Security Solutions and Halo X-ray Technologies to test a system that combines existing technology to better screen travelers\u2019 bags and upgrade the threat-detection algorithm. With the power of advanced x-rays, the hybrid system is designed to give a TSA officer a 3D view of a traveler\u2019s bag that can help quickly identify what\u2019s inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the system improves and a fully developed algorithm is added, this should reduce the physical burden on [Transportation Security Officers] so they can depend on the algorithm to correctly identify threats and resolve false alarms without having to conduct as many bag inspections,\u201d said John Fortune, the office\u2019s Screening at Speed<\/a> program manager, in a statement to Federal Times. \u201cThis should minimize stress and allow them to complete their work more efficiently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n TSA is testing the technology through May, and the main goal is to collect enough data from roughly 10,000 bag scans to inform the algorithm before it is scaled to aviation security and perhaps even other uses, like screening at border checkpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project also has implications for TSO safety, which is high priority for the agency, Bob Allison, TSA\u2019s federal security director for Massachusetts, told Federal Times in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile the fully developed technology should help make their jobs more efficient, the greatest impact to their safety will be the reduction in stress from resolving bag scan alarms, or dealing with uncooperative passengers who don\u2019t want their bags searched,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how it works: the two systems in this solution are Computed Tomography x-ray,<\/a> similar to that used in CAT-scans at a hospital, and the newer x-ray diffraction. Diffraction can offer a TSO more granular information about what types of materials might be in a traveler\u2019s suitcase and even what they are made of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n