What is "full body scanner"

n. A device used in some airports and train stations that creates an image of a person's naked body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes or making physical contact.

A full-body scanner is a device that detects objects on a person's body for security screening purposes, without physically removing clothes or making physical contact. Depending on the specific technology, the operator may see an alternate-wavelength image of the person's naked body, or merely a cartoon-like representation of the person with an indicator showing where any suspicious items were detected. For privacy and security reasons, the display is generally not visible to other passengers, and in some cases is located in a separate room where the operator cannot see the face of the person being screened. Unlike metal detectors, full-body scanners can detect non-metal objects, which became an increasing concern after various airliner bombing attempts in the 2000s.

Two distinct technologies are in general use:

• Millimeter wave scanners use non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation similar to that used by wireless data transmitters, in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) radio band (which is a lower frequency than visible light). The most widely deployed scanner is the L-3 ProVision with over 1.300 international deployments. The health risks posed by these machines are still being studied, and the evidence is mixed. While the force generated by the EHF waves is small, they can tear apart double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the DNA that could interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication. Passive scanners that solely rely on ambient radiation are not in general use at airports.
• Backscatter X-ray machines use low dose penetrating radiation for detecting suspicious metallic and non-metallic objects hidden under clothing or in shoes and in the cavities of the human body. X-ray machines are used in some Russian airports (e.g. Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport, Irkutsk International Airport ) for random inspection of passengers.

Starting in 2007, full-body scanners started replacing metal detectors at airports and train stations in many countries. Two advantages of full-body scanners over a physical strip search are that it is quicker (takes only 15 seconds) and that people do not have to physically remove their clothes. In some cases, a clothes-on pat-down is offered as an alternative to a full-body scan. A pat-down is also often used as a follow-up when a suspicious object has been detected by a scan.

Some passengers and issue advocates have objected to having pictures of their naked bodies displayed to screening agents or recorded by the government. Some critics have called the imaging virtual strip searches without probable cause, and some have claimed they are illegal and violate basic human rights. In 2007, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled in a lawsuit brought by the Electronic Privacy Information Center that even the naked-picture version of the technology was a reasonable and constitutional search.

In the United States, pursuant to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, all full-body scanners operated in airports by the Transportation Security Administration must use "Automated Target Recognition" software, which replaces the picture of a nude body with the cartoon-like representation. As a result of this rule, all backscatter X-ray machines formerly in use by the Transportation Security Administration were removed from airports, since the agency said the vendor (Rapiscan) did not meet their contractual deadline to implement the software.