GE's Checkpoint of the Future irons out the kinks
Despite recent problems with puffer machines, GE remains on the cusp of a comprehensive, thirty-second airline screening solution
Last week we — and others, too — gave General Electric (NYSE: GE) a hard time because the Transportation Safety Administration announced it was suspending the roll-out of the company’s EntryScan3 puffer machines. Dirty air was the main culprit — a not unsurpising fact considering the technology uses bursts of air to dislodge explosive particles for analysis. It is worth recalling, however, that any dynamic company worth its salt will experience glitches, delays, and even complete failures. At GE’s Checkpoint of the Future, located at an unused terminal at San Francisco International Airport, the company is testing a security screening process intended to move passengers through in thirty seconds or less. We hope the venture succeeds, but even if it does not there is little doubt that lessons learned will serve GE well in the future.
The Checkpoint of the Future involves five distinct steps:
[MICHAEL: BULLET POINTS BELOW]
-Scanning the passenger’s finger for explosive and drug particles
-An automated CT scan examining object densities for explosive signatures
-A virtual, and possibly overintrusive, pat down in a glass pod utilizing “millimeter wave” technology
-Screening the passenger’s shoes using GE’s ShoeScanner technology. Because the system uses radio-frequency magnetic fields to detect trace explosives, there is no need for the passenger to remove his shoes
-If neccesary, analyzing the contents of suspicious bottles with StreetLab laser technology
-read more at GE’s Web site
