WASHINGTON - New software for screening travelers at US airports will do away with naked images, addressing a major public concern, the US Transportation Security Administration said on Wednesday.
After complaints from travelers the TSA earlier this year began testing at four airports software for the full-body scanners that instead uses a generic body outline and highlights the area where any anomaly is detected, eliminating the actual image of the passenger.TSA has increasingly relied on the full-body scanners after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a transatlantic flight in December 2009. The bomb failed to fully explode but set off a rush to upgrade security to detect explosives underneath clothing.
Software upgrades to the 241-mm wave body-scanning machines made by L-3 Communications, will be deployed over the next several months in the 40 airports where they are used, the TSA said.
