Last night I flew home from Open Source Think Tank in Napa valley, CA via SFO. I have just had the “privilege” of being one the the first the experience the Millimeter Wave passenger screening system in the SFO International terminal. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is implemented nearly 2 dozen  of these machines as test cases around the nation in 2008. They are starting to do additional trials in 2009 and last night in the International Terminal of SFO the machine was turned on for the first time.

The stated purpose of the Millimeter Wave system by the SFO DHS officer is to the reduce the number of pat-downs by personal, which is clearly bullshit. The true reason for deploying this system is to catch nonmetallic weapons which traditional scanning systems fail to catch, such as, carbon fiber gun and ceramic knives.  As quoted below from the DHS website.

Detection

• Metallic or non-metallic devices and objects are displayed, including weapons, explosives and other items that a passenger is carrying on his/her person

The system works by bouncing radio frequency (RF) energy in the millimeter wave spectrum which can pass through your clothes but not the skin.  This provides a “nude” view of the person in the machine on a computer screen. Needless to say this is very controversial in the US where most people are body conscience and uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger seeing us without clothes. To be fair, this is not the X-ray glasses I was promised in the back of Mad Magazine but, the body shape is necessarily well defined making many people uncomfortable.

It was a slow time in the international terminal Tuesday night which enabled the DHS to close all other traditional screening lanes and funnel all passengers through the new Millimeter Wave system. We were given a non-choice alternative to the system of a  full manual search and pat down. Most likely a 10+ min process from start to on my way to the gate. Not a real option for me as I was already running late. So I chose the scanner.

The DHS staff made is very clear that ALL items must be removed from pockets now. Not even a business card is allowed to stay in there. The removal of shoes, belts, hats, and jackets is still required making me wonder how this is supposed to make MY life better. After stripping down and pushing my personal items  into the bag x-ray machine I stepped into the system. I was required to stand with my legs spread and my hands in the air above my head just  you can see in image. I felt very vulnerable and exposed like I had been busted by the cops and was pressed up against a wall to be frisked.  The process lasted for a few seconds then I stepped out to wait for the results of my scan.

Upon exiting the system I stood in front of a DHS officer with an headset in which he communicated the the remote image viewer. In this installation the video output is in a remote location so there no way for the images to be seen be unqualified personal. While this is nice from a body image point of view it further enhances the experience to add the feeling of being directed by some 1984 like “Big Brother”. Once the DHS officer received the all clear in his headset I was allowed to grab my bags, shoes, belt, hat, … and head to the gate.

I did take a moment to provide some feedback to the official in charge before I headed off. I told him what would make a dramatic positive difference for me.Standing with my arms in a down position away from my sides which has very little association — positive or negative — in our culture. This would create a new experience instead of tapping into a real or perceived experiences, like I did. This will only become more important as passive scanning systems start to track our emotional state in airports.

Will travel in America ever be the same nice easy experience again? Does anybody have hope that the world will become a better place in the coming years? I believe each element of privacy we give up will never be reclaimed again. How do we balance our good security with good privacy and experience?