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Laser-based security system can 'smell' you from 50 meters away


If you are uncomfortable with government frisking you or manually inspecting your luggage at airports, would you be less so if they just scanned you –from as far as 50 meters away?
 
The US Department of Homeland Security may soon be able to scan you with a laser-based molecular scanner, and know if you are carrying drugs, ammo or other chemicals.
 
A report on tech site Gizmodo said In-Q-Tel, a "bridge" of sorts between the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and new technology companies, had subcontracted the inventors as early as November 2011 to work on the system with the US Department of Homeland Security.
 
"Their plan is to install this molecular-level scanning in airports and border crossings all across the United States. The official, stated goal of this arrangement is to be able to quickly identify explosives, dangerous chemicals, or bioweapons at a distance," Gizmodo added.
 
Potentially, the machine is 10 million times faster and one million times more sensitive than any currently available system.
 
In theory, it can be used systematically on everyone passing through airport security, not just on suspected or randomly sampled people.
 
Genia Photonics, which invented the machine, said its laser scanner technology can "penetrate clothing and many other organic materials and offers spectroscopic information, especially for materials that impact safety such as explosives and pharmacological substances."
 
The company was founded in Montreal in 2009 by PhDs with specialties in lasers and fiber optics.
 
It has 30 patents on this technology, including biomedical and industrial applications that can identify cancer cells or trace amounts of harmful chemicals.
 
In two years?
 
Gizmodo quoted the undersecretary for science and technology of the Department of Homeland Security as saying the technology will be ready within one to two years - or as early as 2013.
 
"In other words, these portable, incredibly precise molecular-level scanning devices will be cascading lasers across your body as you walk from the bathroom to the soda machine at the airport and instantly reporting and storing a detailed breakdown of your person, in search of certain 'molecular tags,'" it said.
 
Portable
 
Gizmodo quoted In-Q-Tel as saying another benefit of the new system is that the system can be easily transported for use in many environments.
 
This means it can be used as well in venues like a subway and sports events, it said.
 
Mobile rack-mountable system
 
The system is mobile and rack-mountable, and can fire a laser to provide molecular-level feedback at distances of up to 50 meters.
 
It is connected to a computer running software that will show information in real time, such as trace amounts of cocaine or gunpowder residue.
 
Yet, Gizmodo said the technology is not new - just millions times faster and more convenient.
 
A similar laser spectrometer had been invited in 2008 by a team at George Washington University.
 
That system could sense drug metabolites in urine in less than a second, trace amounts of explosive residue on a dollar bill, and even certain chemical changes happening in a plant leaf.
 
Even Russians also have a similar technology announced last April, where a "laser sensor can pick up on a single molecule in a million from up to 50 meters away."
 
"So if Genia Photonics' claims pan out, this will be an incredible leap forward in terms of speed, portability, and convenience. One with staggering implications," Gizmodo said.
 
Privacy issues
 
So far, Gizmodo said there has been no discussion about issues of personal rights and privacy.
 
Yet, it said questions still abound on whether the technology would extend beyond the airport or border crossings.
 
"There are a lot of questions with no answer yet, but it's obvious that the potential level of personal invasion of this technology goes far beyond that of body scans, wiretaps, and GPS tracking," it said.
 
"Going well beyond eavesdropping, it seems quite possible that U.S. government plans on recording molecular data on travelers without their consent, or even knowledge that it's possible—a scary thought," it added.
 
It added that while the medical applications could be a revolution for doctors diagnosing illnesses, "there's a potential dark side to this implementation, and we need to shine some light on it before it's implemented." — TJD, GMA News
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