<p>A technology that will soon depart from airports in America -- body scanners that let security staff view almost "naked" images of passengers.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has confirmed that it was cancelling a contract for X-ray body scanners manufactured by the Rapiscan company because the firm was not able to meet a deadline set by the US Congress to provide less invasive Automated Target Recognition (ATR) software.<br /><br />The American Civil Liberties Union advises travellers on its website that TSA agents "will see an image of your body that could include a revealing look at your entire body, including breasts, genitals, buttocks and external medical devices".<br /><br />"By June 2013, travellers will only see machines which have ATR that allow for faster throughput," the TSA said in a statement.<br /><br />"This means faster lanes for the traveller and enhanced security," it added.<br /><br />The revealing body scanners were first tested in 2007, prompting public outcry and quickly becoming the butt of late-night talk show jokes.<br /><br />The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) argued in a letter to US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that "there are less intrusive and less costly techniques available to address the risk of concealed explosives on aircrafts".<br /><br />Nationwide, there are 174 scanners that project the images of "nude" passengers to TSA workers located in a separate room. Those units will be replaced by the end of May, according to the TSA.<br /><br />"It's not about passenger complaints. It's about requiring Rapiscan to deploy non-imaging software by the deadline, and we've determined they can't do that," a TSA spokesperson said.</p>
<p>A technology that will soon depart from airports in America -- body scanners that let security staff view almost "naked" images of passengers.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has confirmed that it was cancelling a contract for X-ray body scanners manufactured by the Rapiscan company because the firm was not able to meet a deadline set by the US Congress to provide less invasive Automated Target Recognition (ATR) software.<br /><br />The American Civil Liberties Union advises travellers on its website that TSA agents "will see an image of your body that could include a revealing look at your entire body, including breasts, genitals, buttocks and external medical devices".<br /><br />"By June 2013, travellers will only see machines which have ATR that allow for faster throughput," the TSA said in a statement.<br /><br />"This means faster lanes for the traveller and enhanced security," it added.<br /><br />The revealing body scanners were first tested in 2007, prompting public outcry and quickly becoming the butt of late-night talk show jokes.<br /><br />The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) argued in a letter to US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that "there are less intrusive and less costly techniques available to address the risk of concealed explosives on aircrafts".<br /><br />Nationwide, there are 174 scanners that project the images of "nude" passengers to TSA workers located in a separate room. Those units will be replaced by the end of May, according to the TSA.<br /><br />"It's not about passenger complaints. It's about requiring Rapiscan to deploy non-imaging software by the deadline, and we've determined they can't do that," a TSA spokesperson said.</p>