Will Fear of Flying Get You on a No Fly List?
Technology has now taken us to the next generation of TSA screening. The U.S. government is now testing equipment that can sense changes in pulse rate and breathing. These subtle changes, invisible to the naked eye can even sense tiny changes in skin temperature and set TSA crews into action to further interview and assess a possible terrorist. Or, could they be interrogating an innocent passenger that’s simply afraid to fly?
The US Department of Homeland Security has high hopes that screening biometrics, can weed out the bad guys, before they strike. Critics doubt such a system can work. The idea they say, subjects innocent travelers to the intrusion of a medical exam.
The futuristic equipment works on the same theory as a polygraph, looking for sharp swings in body temperature, pulse and breathing that signal, the kind of anxiety exuded by a would-be terrorist or criminal. Unlike a lie-detector test that hard wires subjects to sensors as they answer questions, the new technology scans people as they walk by a set of cameras.
The TSA now has trained over 2000 of its technicians to use these devices, and interview those who are deemed as “risky.” The new devices are designed to measure people during normal activity, and then flag suspicious ones. Those flagged with be further interviewed directly in front of the cameras that can detect the tiniest facial movements to determine if they are trying to hide something.