With an increasing concern for airplane passenger safety, the Transportation Security Administration is considering a variety of new security technology, including:

Millimeter Wave Scanner

Price: $100,000-$120,000

How it works: beams millimeter wave radio frequency energy over the body’s surface at high speed from two rotating antennas to produce a 3-D image with the face blurred, viewed by security in another room for privacy

Pros: has already been thoroughly tested for effectiveness; offers an alternative to the traditional pat-down

Cons: not as clear of a picture as the backscatter, but more still such a clear picture that some consider it an invasion of privacy

Current usage: 40 in use at 19 airports

Future usage: 900 in use by 2014

Backscatter X-Ray

Price: $100,000+

How it works: bounces low-radiation X-rays off a person’s skin and constructs photo-like 2-D images of metal, plastic and organic materials hidden under clothes

Pros: can detect explosives that would not normally set off a metal detector; offers a less-invasive alternative to the strip search

Cons: gives a low dose of radiation; some consider it to be an invasion of privacy

Current Usage: used by Customs at 12 airports on passengers thought to be carrying drugs

Future Usage: voluntary use by passengers

Lie Detector

Price: to be determined

How it works: analyzes voice waves of passengers to detect levels of emotional stress from the speed and pitch of responses and sends results to color-coded lights inside a pair of sunglasses worn by security

Pros: can quickly identify whether an answer is made up or true; specifies how badly a person does not want to talk about a subject

Cons: in two studies, it achieved an average accuracy rating of 85%

Current Usage: being tested in Israel and Russia

Future Usage: numerous sets around the world

WeCU

Price: to be determined

How it works: measures the heart rates and body temperatures of passengers to detect any unusual signs that would appear when they see a trigger picture such as a symbol known to a certain terrorist group

Pros: most people would not recognize the symbols, so there is little margin for error

Cons: takes over a minute to profile a single person

Current Usage: being researched

Future Usage: in larger airports to random passengers

Sources: American Civil Liberties Union, Transportation Security Administration, American Science and Engineering, Environmental Protection Agency

The Underwear Bomber: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

On December 25, 2009, Abdulmutallab was on the second leg of his flight from Nigeria to Michigan. During his connection to the flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, he only had to pass through a metal detector to enter the plane. Abdulmutallab had sewn a plastic explosive into his underwear, and, about 20 minutes before the plane landed, he injected it with a liquid acid he had brought in a syringe, causing a chemical reaction. He then lit the substance on fire, but the bomb failed to detonate and only burned. Passengers and workers on the plane put the fire out with extinguishers and blankets. Abdulmutallab’s father had warned national security agencies to be aware that his son could be planning an attack, but the watch list he was on did not promote any special security measures in Amsterdam.

Source: Department of Homeland Security