DHS S&T Screening at Speed steps toward improved TSA passenger experience

“You are now entering a safety zone,” says a voice over the loudspeaker, as Arnold Schwarzenegger strides toward an X-ray body scanner deployed at a border checkpoint on Mars. “No unauthorized weapons allowed beyond this point.” When Arnold and his compatriots walk through the corridor, their scanned bone biometrics show up as green skeletons behind a black screen.

The scene is from the 1990 science fiction film Total Recall. While the airports of 2025 are not yet equipped with breeze-through visual scanners like this, new developments in biometric scanning technology are getting us close. In 2024, for the first time, the TSA screened more than three million people in a single day, as travelers made their way home after Thanksgiving.

That crunch led to delays, cancellations and suspensions – underlining the need for more efficient passenger processing to accommodate passenger numbers that continue to climb.

Leidos extends ongoing contract with TSA for IT, logistics

An article published on the website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security explores how the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are collaborating on tech to “reimagine imaging at the airport.”

Key to the plan is the TSA’s relationship with Leidos. The Virginia-based biometrics firm traces its incumbency as a main provider of IT and logistics services to the TSA in support of airport screening equipment back to 2013.

According to Washington Technology, it has now won a potential seven-year, $2.6 billion contract to continue its role in the Integrated Logistics Support program, which oversees passenger and baggage screening equipment at 448 domestic airports in the U.S.

Leidos won the prior recompete bid in 2019 at a $926.5 million ceiling, now increased to $1 billion.

Tech for S&T Screening at Speed Program uses non-harmful radio waves

For S&T, the objective is captured in its Screening at Speed Program, which uses high definition imaging to expedite the screening process.

“The Screening at Speed Program is working with the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop improved detection capabilities and a more user-friendly passenger experience,” says the piece. “High Definition-Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT) is the backbone of this development.”

The proffered description of HD-AIT locates it not far from Arnold’s sci-fi tunnel. The tech “uses non-harmful radio waves known as millimeter waves that pass through natural and synthetic materials to generate high-resolution data,” the article says.

“Millimeter waves can penetrate through fabrics to screen for concealed objects, including non-metallic objects that traditional metal detectors aren’t designed to detect. However, the millimeter waves are completely safe as they are 10,000 times less powerful than cell phone signals and don’t penetrate the skin.”

The data is “processed by an algorithm that protects passenger privacy and provides results on a generic representative human figure for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) to review.” Human officers will conduct secondary screening as needed.

Through the screening glass: Real-Time AIT

For now, the stated benefits of HD-AIT deployments – available in standalone or retrofit prototype versions – are improved detection and better passenger experience, in that passengers could be allowed to keep on light jackets, sweaters and shoes during screening. Augmentations like a dedicated shoe scanner (rumored to be on display at CES in Las Vegas) show the potential for further improvement.

While a trip to Mars is still out of scope, “Real-Time Advanced Imaging Technology builds upon the HD-AIT technology, increases its capability, and places it inside modular panel sensors to collect images at video rates as passengers walk-by or move in front of the panels.”

The more forward leaning Real-Time AIT “may eventually allow standard passengers to be screened at walking speeds, similar to a metal detector.”

In other words, a Total Recall total recall.

West Virginia mobile driver’s licenses now on TSA

In more pedestrian news on digital ID for travel, TSA checkpoints with digital ID readers nationwide are now accepting mobile driver licenses (mDLs) issued by West Virginia.

A release says travelers who have downloaded the West Virginia Mobile ID app to their phone can use it for identity verification during the screening process. The app is free for all state residents, and is provided by Idemia Public Security North America.

West Virginia is the fourteenth state to offer digital IDs compatible with TSA’s credential authentication technology. Other states offering TSA-approved mDLs are Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Utah.

The TSA website has a map of airports that accept digital ID credentials.

Article Topics

airports  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  DHS  |  DHS S&T  |  IDEMIA  |  Leidos  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  passenger processing  |  Sceening at Speed  |  TSA