Atlanta air travelers soon won’t have to worry about feeling so naked if they go through full-body imaging machines at the security checkpoint.
New software in the machines will produce only a “generic outline” of the traveler’s body, rather than a specific image, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA says it is updating the imaging machines at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 39 other airports in coming months, following successful tests earlier this year.
The $2.7 million software upgrade comes in the wake of outcry over the machines’ technology, and concerns that the images go beyond the level of detail needed to determine if the person is carrying concealed weapons or explosives -- in essence providing a nude image.
Hartsfield-Jackson has had the imaging machines since 2008 and uses 14 of them, although many travelers still only go through conventional metal detectors. When the new software is installed in the imaging machines, both passenger and screener will be able to view the screen with the generic outline and any anomalies will be highlighted with boxes.
If there are no issues, the monitor will display “OK.” If there are anomalies, passengers would still go through additional screening such as a pat-down.
Travelers directed toward an imaging machine can opt for a pat-down instead.
The TSA expects the new software, called Automated Target Recognition, to increase the rate of processing through the imaging machines, though the agency said screening carry-on bags still takes the most time. Tests were done in Atlanta and at two other airports.
At least one critic questioned the effectiveness of the new software. Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance, said he thinks there are more false positives with the new software, leading to more of the pat-downs that some consider invasive.
“We’re gaining more privacy in terms of the scanner itself not showing the full bodies. However, we’re then giving up the privacy” through more pat-downs, Leocha said.
The TSA has two types of imaging machines. The “millimeter-wave” machines used in Atlanta and elsewhere are getting new software, while “backscatter” machines used at some other airports will be tested for similar software upgrades this fall. Some also have concerns about radiation from the backscatter imaging machines, though the TSA contends tests show they are safe.
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