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New scanners could improve airport security without hurting efficiency, privacy

In the 12 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 toppled the Twin Towers in New York City, airport security has become a top priority in the United States. While the need to prevent another catastrophic incident is understood by all, there has been much debate and disagreement over how that security should be realized.

The Transportation Security Administration has been publicly decried by countless American citizens for invading their privacy and making air travel an arduous and unpleasant task without dramatically improving overall security. New manufacturing technologies, however, may have led to a way that will allow TSA officials to safeguard passengers while proving less invasive.

According to tech and business blog Mashable, the TSA has invested $490 million in new compact body scanners. These devices are meant to increase efficiency and reduce the amount of time individuals spend waiting in security check lines.

These next-generation body scanners can detect both metal and non-metal materials, and "hide a passenger’s nude body from TSA officers by displaying generic representations of appendages with suspect items flagged," the article says.

While there is likely to remain some level of friction between individuals clamoring for heightened safety and security and those unhappy with perceived invasions of privacy, perhaps innovative manufacturing techniques will help to bridge that gap.

Through methods of bonding dissimilar metals and constructing state-of-the-art sensors, companies can now create more compact and efficient machines to detect combustible materials without adding frustrating hours to one's travel plans.

Security, convenience and privacy are three sides of a triangle that have historically had much difficulty coming together. Manufacturing ingenuity, however, is finding effective ways to bond these dissimilar notions.

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