Adelaide Airport has begun a month-long trial of a high-speed full body scanner that it hopes will help passengers pass through security screening faster.
The Rohde & Schwarz Quick Personnel Security Scanner scans in seconds, automatically detecting potentially dangerous items. It will operate in addition to the four screening lanes already at the airport.
Mark Young, Adelaide Airport’s managing director, commented, “The open plan design means passengers simply stand in front of the scanner with their arms held slightly away from the body.
“This will make for a more pleasant experience, particularly for customers with medical conditions or those with medical implants who might otherwise activate an alarm at the current ‘walk-through’ metal detectors.
“Objects are recognized by an evaluation of the reflected microwave signal. The system is considered very safe as the microwaves are of very low intensity, and several orders of magnitude below the signal level of mobile phones.
“If the scanner reports an alarm, the location of the object is marked on a generic graphic of the human body – with no identifying features – preserving the privacy of passengers.”
The trial started on April 19 and is due to complete on May 19, 2017.