Canadian Airports Switching From ‘Naked’ Scanners to Stick Figure Images

Canadian airports no longer want to see you naked.

According to an announcement earlier today from the Minister of Transport, soon airports in all Canadian provinces will substitute their age-old naked body scanners to less invasive equipment that only captures stick figure type images.

The Harper government hopes that by implementing the new Automatic Target Recognition software that passengers will start to feel as if their privacy is being held in higher regard – a luxury that has not been appreciated for the past three years.

The decision to switch scanners comes after U.S. Congress announced earlier this year that all x-ray equipment must either produce generic images, or be removed from airports completely by June. Incidentally, the United States is also preparing to modify their current system to the ATR scanners.

The new scanners work by producing a stick figure image on the screen and highlighting areas where a person may have objects concealed under clothing. This equipment does not collect personal information on passengers and meets international standards, according to the Minister of Transport.

Passengers that fail the initial scan will have their choice of either a full body scanner or a physical search as a secondary method of search. In total, 51 body scanners will be replaced in 18 airports across Canada.