.Ann Arbor firm works on new type of body scan
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
Ann Arbor -- While the battle between security and privacy puts the use of airport body scanners in question, a small company in Ann Arbor is working on a new technology that could satisfy both sides.
In a pair of buildings just off Interstate 94 in the southern end of the city, Advanced Photonix Inc. researchers are working with next-generation technology to take privacy concerns out of the scanning equation.
For 15 years, engineers at the company have been manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum for high-end customers like NASA and the pharmaceutical industry.
The company's specialty -- terahertz waves -- may also provide a key breakthrough in the scanning debate.
They don't get the name recognition of X-rays and millimeter waves, which are the cornerstones of current scanning technologies. But terahertz waves can do something those others can't.
A terahertz scan can identify the makeup of a material, whether it's the metal of a gun, or the chemical signature of PETN, the chemical explosive that authorities say terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used in his Christmas Day bombing attempt.
Current scanners produce a high-definition image of travelers, which some see as an invasion of privacy. That ability of terahertz waves to identify material without the use of detailed images could provide the necessary compromise.
"With terahertz technology, we can take a more general outline of the subject and just look for metal or explosives in the chemical signatures," said Richard Kurtz, API's chairman and chief executive officer. "A lot of the research is out of the way, so the next phase will be development and engineering."
In a way, current scanning technologies see too much.
Experts believe Abdulmutallab's attempt to smuggle PETN on to the airplane last month would have been foiled had he been forced to pass through either an X-ray backscatter or millimeter wave screener before boarding.
Looking for right things
"I'd say the chances are very high, 95 percent or so, they would have seen what he had on him," said Douglas Laird, an airline security consultant who has previously worked with the U.S. Secret Service and Northwest Airlines.
But the ability to see so clearly -- to see not just the guns or bombs, but the flab, implants or imperfections of the human body -- are too much for some to stomach. And the idea that those images could somehow be made public may be enough to keep those scanners on the sidelines.
John Federici is a physics professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology who has worked with companies like API that are developing terahertz technology.
"For many years, terahertz waves were an area of research in search of an application," he said.
"It was considered cool science. But applications took a long time to emerge."
When struck by a terahertz wave, substances bounce back a return wave with a unique signature.
Waves have unique mark
Each substance, from metal to chemicals, has a signature that can be stored in a monitoring database. A traveler carrying a PETN device, when scanned by terahertz waves, would return a PETN signature that would be matched in the database -- alerting security officials.
API's terahertz scanning technology has been applied in a variety of areas, including:
• Scanning space shuttle tiles for NASA to check for integrity.
• Performing quality control scanning on time-release capsules for the pharmaceutical industry.
This week, Picometrix, an API company in Ann Arbor, landed a contract to scan the U.S. Air Force's F-35 Lightning II fighter jets for structural integrity.
Timing is key
But it remains to be seen if the sense of urgency created by the plane bombing attempt will bring terahertz technology into the foreground of airport security.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security are preparing to roll out a new batch of scanners at U.S. airports this year.
There are 40 advanced imaging units in use at 19 U.S. airports.
Two of those -- millimeter wave screening devices -- were brought online in July 2008 at Detroit Metro. In September, the Transportation Security Administration announced plans to purchase 150 backscatter units that could soon be deployed and funds have been earmarked to purchase an additional 300 units.
Danger denied
"As imaging technology continues to evolve, TSA will re-evaluate its procurement and deployment strategy," said Jim Fotenos, a spokesman for the TSA. A few critics have circulated claims on the Internet that terahertz waves are damaging to human DNA -- a charge that Federici vehemently denies.
Fotenos contends that terahertz waves are safer than others used for scanning because of their low level of radiation.
On the electromagnetic scale, terahertz waves sit between infrared and microwaves.
"In order for DNA to mutate, it needs ultraviolet light and high enough energy to cause a change," he said. "Terahertz waves just don't have it."
1 comment:
If Terahertz is the right technology to be developed then it just needs more people to know that fact so that it becomes important for the politicians to serve the public as they see is the best approach.
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