Some of you may now have experienced what are popularly called “puffer scanners” — new airport security devices that shoot air onto travelers to check for the presence of explosives, among other things. These GE-made devices are being tested in a number of airports, from Miami to Indianapolis.

More and more new devices are beginning to roll out in airports across the country. In fact, whether you’re a frequent flier or just an occasional traveler, you’ll probably be seeing many of them in the coming years.

Exactly what are these new devices, and how do they work? And while they may ultimately make us safer, many of them are raising new issues regarding privacy.

REGISTERED TRAVELER KIOSK

One of the most important sources of new airport technology is the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT), a non-profit organization that helps small start-up companies to get initial funding to catalyze growth — such as Quantum Magnetics, which was later acquired by GE for a tidy sum in 2005.

One example of the technology being developed by Quantum Magnetics (with grants from CCAT) is the new Registered Traveler Kiosk, which is being deployed in conjunction with the Clear registered traveler program.

The device combines a shoe scanner, explosives test, and a biometric scanner. Registered travelers will step onto the shoe scanner, insert their registered traveler card, and place their hand on an explosives detector. Then, after an iris scan — and assuming the machine detects nothing out of the ordinary — the traveler can go on his or her way.

All in all, the process takes about 2-3 seconds in a laboratory setting, and perhaps a second or two longer in real-life conditions. This system is currently undergoing FAA tests at the airports that have the Clear program: Orlando, Indianapolis, San Jose, and NYC’s JFK.

While accuracy is still being tested, the Registered Traveler Kiosk does offer a level of security that is more comprehensive than the current system of photo ID checks and metal detectors. The iris scan establishes identity in a way that is theoretically far more difficult to fake than a passport or driver’s license.

And most users will likely enjoy being able to keep their shoes on, while at the same time feeling reassured that shoes are being checked for explosive materials.

PEOPLE PORTAL

Step inside this futuristic device, and you’re enveloped in low-level microwaves that generate a wire-frame image of your person. The People Portal automatically detects threats, and doesn’t require an operator to look at the scan. From a security standpoint, this device is light-years ahead of the current metal detector technology.

People Portal scans can detect materials that aren’t picked up by more traditional scans, such as non-metal guns, explosives, and illegal drugs. Each of these items would likely not be detected with traditional methods. Basically, the People Portal detects anything that isn’t clothing, flesh, or bone — whether it’s Chapstick or plastic explosives.

Being both funded and tested by the FAA, the People Portal attempts to sidestep privacy concerns since it doesn’t generate pictures when it generates the scan.

HAND-HELD DETECTION SYSTEMS

Future investments in security aren’t limited to large, person-sized devices, though. In 2005, CCAT awarded a grant to Daylight Solutions to advance its “Tiny Tunable” device. A subsequent investment of $7.5 million in private venture capital is helping ensure that the company will bring its main products to market.

Officially a mid-infrared laser lens detector, the Tiny Tunable is roughly the size of a loaf of bread. Smaller devices like this one are not bound to a particular area and are meant to be used in a variety of situations.

According to CCAT, the technology employs Quantum Cascade Lasers that can be tuned across a large number of wavelengths to detect the tiny molecules of explosives, poisonous gases, or illegal drugs that might be on the person scanned. Not only that, but a Tiny Tunable could also theoretically be used to detect various molecules associated with diseases, potentially being very useful in preventing a pandemic. A suspected infected person, for example, could have their breath scanned for molecules associated with a disease to find out if they are contagious.

This device is projected to be completed and put into handheld form by the end of the year. It may be a bit longer before it hits the commercial marketplace, but most of the necessary technology has already been developed. However, once it is eventually deployed, the potential uses for such a device are countless — from standard airline security purposes, to testing for diseases at quarantine stations.

LASER AND PASSIVE SCANNING

One of the most Big Brother-like new innovations, still being tested in the lab, uses lasers to scan travelers. This laser-mixing technology, being developed by Dr. William Tong at San Diego State University, analyzes the pattern created by the intersection of two laser beams during a scan to detect various particles and molecules.

The technology could theoretically detect even trace amounts of explosives or other illicit substances from a distance. That would make it nearly impossible for a terrorist to conceal a weapon or a dangerous substance. A grid of laser waves at the entrances to an airport, for example, could detect anyone bringing in explosives. The lasers would be practically invisible and the person being scanned might not even be aware of that fact.

But for many privacy advocates, the scenario of being completely scanned for nearly any imaginable substance without noticing or giving consent — is nightmarish. Fortunately, with the technology still a few years away from being perfected, there is time to assuage the concerns of privacy advocates and civil libertarians.

Ultimately, while the battle over privacy rights at the airport and beyond may be far from decided, one thing is certain: advancing technology will almost certainly continue to produce such security and privacy conundrums.

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