Hyderabad, March 18 (IANS): Scared of invasive X-ray scanners at airports?

Well, in the coming years, they would of course be a thing of the past as technology develops. But, meanwhile, there is something quite near to that.

The ThruVision TS5 Standoff Object Detection system displayed at the just-concluded India Aviation air show uses passive millimetre waves which every one emits naturally to find out any anomalies in the body profile.

The system is being used at some airports like Heathrow in London and US airports to uncover hidden bombs even behind burqas.

The system is being offered to India by Britain's Digital Barriers and India's OIS (Offsets India Solutions), OIS Director Bimal Sareen told India Strategic defence magazine. he said it is simple, light and can be mounted outdoors for military, security and corporate applications.

It is a rather recent development, initially deployed about seven years ago in London to find possible suicide bombers. A person simply has to stand before it and if there is anything concealed, dark shades appear on a computer screen relative to the size and mass of the hidden object.

Suicide bombing has become a very serious threat in some countries, and the ThruVision is a simple system to find out, without any body search or X Ray scan, if someone has a concealed weapon or a likely such object.

Technically, the system uses TeraHertz and visible band imaging. It can detect metals, plastics, ceramics, liquids, gels and powders. Live demonstrations of the system were given to interested authorities at the air show.