Question of the Day - 25 July 2021

We didn't, but we looked into it and found out that in mid-June, the Transportation Security Administration reopened what it calls the "Innovation Checkpoint."

It's the only airport-security checkpoint in the country to use advanced aviation-security technology that the TSA is currently testing. McCarran Airport's high traffic is the perfect laboratory, as the TSA sees it, for its experiments with the output of numerous vendors in a single location. They launched the Innovation Checkpoint in late summer 2019, then shut it down during the worst of the pandemic. It's now open again -- and with even more advanced tech that coincides with the resurgence of air travel and convention volume.

The Innovation Checkpoint is managed by TSA’s Innovation Task Force, which collects and analyzes data with an eye toward future investment in technologies that "enhance TSA’s security effectiveness, streamline checkpoint operations, and ultimately improve the passenger screening experience at airports nationwide."

For example, the Innovation Checkpoint employs a state-of-the-art body scanner. As you noticed, the scanner screens travelers with their arms at their side, rather than the usual lifting them over their heads. It also has increased detection accuracy, using millimeter wave technology rather than X-rays. 

Other enhancements include CT (computed Tomography) scanners for screening carry-on luggage and sensors designed to alleviate the backup of bins; some bins use radio-frequency identification with unique codes that automatically divert bags for follow-up screening. A UV-C light sanitization system that disinfects the bins as they're returned for further use is also being tested. 

If you looked closely, you might've noticed what the TSA refers to as "dynamic digital signage totems" with vivid displays transmitting information on screening procedures. New photo ID scanners are also part of the Innovation Checkpoint, for touchless screening, plus instant verification of tickets via flight databases. 

So there you have it. Just the facts, ma'am. We leave it -- and look forward -- to the pundits and wits, expositors and commentators, to put their fine minds on explaining what it all means for life as we know it.