Full-Body Scanners Coming Soon to Chinese Airports

By Yannick Faillard

Major airports in China are about to implement the latest technology in full-body scanning at security checks, China Daily reports. 

The technology itself, a form of electromagnetic radiation known as 'millimeter wave imaging,' has been utilized and proven successful at airports in the US, UK, Netherlands, Australia and Japan. According to the Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC), the new devices are expected to speed up airport security checks. 

The machines can detect objects hidden underneath clothing — including nonmetallic items — and determine their size, shape and position. But the CAAC notes that the devices won't pose a health hazard to people being scanned, since the emissions are as low as one thousandth of the radiation of a mobile phone. 

Historically, full-body scanners have stirred controversy in countries where they were deployed, as some see it as an invasion of privacy.

So far, the appliances have been tested in Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. No word yet on when the scanners will officially go into operation.

[Top image via China Daily]

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