No more full-body scanners? Airports may soon roll out new 'passive terahertz' screening that can detect suspicious items from 30 feet away

  • Technology was developed by British company called Thruvision
  • Unlike current scanners, it can screen more than 2,000 passengers per hour
  • Passive terahertz method aimed at alleviating long lines at airport security
  • Los Angeles deployed scanners at its metro stations earlier this year 

By Ariel Zilber For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 22:27 EST, 3 November 2018 | Updated: 01:39 EST, 4 November 2018

Federal security officials at American airports will soon be testing a new device that lets screeners scan multiple passengers at the same time from a distance of up to 25 feet away.

The new technology, known as ‘passive terahertz’ screening, was given the go-ahead by the Transportation Security Administration.

Officials hope that the new screening method will speed up lines at security checkpoints and better accommodate the growing number of travelers who go through the nation’s airports, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The machines scan for metallic and non-metallic objects on a person's body, can detect suspicious items from 30 feet away and have the capability of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour. 

‘Passive terahertz’ screening was given the go-ahead by the TSA. The machines scan for metallic and non-metallic objects on a person's body, can detect suspicious items from 30 feet away and have the capability of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour

‘Passive terahertz’ screening was given the go-ahead by the TSA. The machines scan for metallic and non-metallic objects on a person's body, can detect suspicious items from 30 feet away and have the capability of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour

The portable scanners project waves to do full-body screenings of passengers walking through a station without slowing them down. 

Currently, departing passengers at airports must go through full-body scanners that use millimeter waves to spot objects hidden under their clothes.

The new passive terahertz method reads energy emitted by a person using a technology that is similar to what is found in night-vision goggles.

The screening device was purchased from a British company, Thruvision. It will be tested in a TSA facility near Arlington, Virginia.

'It’s 100% passive,' said Kevin Gramer, vice president of Thruvision Americas. 

'There is no radiation coming out of our device. 

'You don’t have to stand directly in front of the device.'

If the device passes its initial test, a pilot program will be rolled out in several U.S. airports on a trial basis, according to Thruvision.

Initially, the plan is to use the new system in tandem with the full-body scanners. If all goes according to plan, the full-body machines will be gradually phased out.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles became the first American city to install the Thruvision body scanners in its mass transit system.

Initially, the plan is to use the new system in tandem with the full-body scanners (like the one seen above at Los Angeles International Airport last week). If all goes according to plan, the full-body machines will be gradually phased out

Initially, the plan is to use the new system in tandem with the full-body scanners (like the one seen above at Los Angeles International Airport last week). If all goes according to plan, the full-body machines will be gradually phased out

The TSA tested body scanners in New York's Penn Station in February and has also conducted tests at Union Station in Washington, DC, and at a New Jersey Transit station during the 2014 Super Bowl.

Last December, a Bangladeshi immigrant injured himself by setting off a crude pipe bomb strapped to his chest in a subway passageway near Times Square in New York City, which has prompted the urgency for more security.    

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Airports may soon roll out new 'passive terahertz' screening that detect items from 30 feet away 

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