http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/01/tech/innovation/mci-alfa3-scanner/index.html?hpt=wo_t3 "New airport scanner could make going through security a breeze" by Jacopo Prisco and Nick Glass
There is a new body scanner on the market that will cut down the lines for security at the airport and perhaps eliminate those lines for good. It is called "Alfa3", that uses "millimeter wave imaging", which is standard in every body scanner around the world. The main difference in "Alfa3" is that it uses "thermal imaging", so it eliminates the need for individual scans, and it can process and detect items as you walk by. The thermal imaging allows the senor to detect items that are not part of the body, and can revel their location without revealing any anatomical details. Those who are still worried can opt out and have a pat down instead. The company promises accuracy and automatic detection of threats, which the body scanners in use today cannot provide because of the high statistic of almost 50 percent false positive readings. The last two advantages of the scanner is it has a high throughput of, 400 people per hour, and it can be used in a convert manner.
This new scanner could be very beneficial to not only airport security, but also in military operations and in high security buildings. It will allow the convert scan of possible threats without evading a persons anatomical privacy, which some body scanners in use today exhibit. The best advantage of using this scanner would be the elimination of lines at airport security while maintaining the same or better level of protection. This will cause less stress for passengers and an easier flight experience. Overall I think this would be a good investment for companies and airports to pursue because it will eliminate threats while improving how threats are detected. However there is an extremely high price tag of almost $250,000 per scanner, so they should wait to purchase the scanners with the hope that "Alfa3" will become more affordable.
Cathy girl this is a great article! I think that this concept has a lot of pros and cons though, the security seems like it could be easily compromised and just seems sketchy for the amount of money.
ReplyDeleteI think that even if these scanners are very expensive, they will be worth it if they can save the lives of many and prevent millions of dollars in damages from possible terrorist attacks. The main priority in airpost security should be to keep people safe no matter the cost, and if we can reduce the time needed to do this at the same time that is great.
ReplyDeleteI think these scanners would be well worth their price tag. Airport security lines are annoying and take a long time, but more importantly these thermal scanners with allow those with weapons and other contraband to be more easily detected.
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