![[The Israeli-developed system combines questions and biometric measurements to determine if a passenger should undergo screening by security officials.]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MK-AG851_COGITO_20060813184556.jpg)
Posted on 08/14/2006 6:45:55 PM PDT by raygun
At airport security checkpoints in Knoxville, Tenn. this summer, scores of departing passengers were chosen to step behind a curtain, sit in a metallic oval booth and don headphones.
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| The Israeli-developed system combines questions and biometric measurements to determine if a passenger should undergo screening by security officials. |
With one hand inserted into a sensor that monitors physical responses, the travelers used the other hand to answer questions on a touch screen about their plans. A machine measured biometric responses -- blood pressure, pulse and sweat levels -- that then were analyzed by software. The idea was to ferret out U.S. officials who were carrying out carefully constructed but make-believe terrorist missions.
[snip]
The method isn't intended to catch specific lies, says Shabtai Shoval, chief executive of Suspect Detection Systems, the start-up business behind the technology dubbed Cogito. "What we are looking for are patterns of behavior that indicate something all terrorists have: the fear of being caught," he says.
[snip]
...A passenger enters the booth, swipes his passport and responds in his choice of language to 15 to 20 questions generated by factors such as the location, and personal attributes like nationality, gender and age. The process takes as much as five minutes, after which the passenger is either cleared or interviewed further by a security officer.
...heart of the system is proprietary software that draws on Israel's extensive field experience with suicide bombers and security-related interrogations. The system aims to test the responses to words, in many languages, that trigger psycho-physiological responses among people with terrorist intent.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The technology isn't geared toward detecting general nervousness...terrorists often are trained to be cool and to conceal stress. Unlike a standard lie detector, the technology analyzes a person's answers not only in relation to his other responses but also those of a broader peer group determined by a range of security considerations. "We can recognize patterns for people with hostile agendas based on research with Palestinians, Israelis, Americans and other nationalities in Israel," Mr. Shoval says. "We haven't tried it with Chinese or Iraqis yet." In theory, the Cogito machine could be customized for specific cultures, and questions could be tailored to intelligence about a specific threat.
Quite interesting read. If I was the designer, I'd design/configure the machine to Tazer suspected terrorists on the spot. Or at the very least the occupant should become imprisoned somehow within the capsule, and a message displaying on the screen informing them that the authorities are interested in having a "chat" with the individual (they'll be present shortly).
I think a cattle prod built into the seat that activates when a pattern is detected would suffice....then, lock 'em up.
That's the difference between El Al and the TSA. The Israelis are looking for terrorists, where Americans look for weapons. We're too PC to survive.
Who was muuhamhead? (Pigs be inseminating him)
Those who respond with loving adoration or holy status, should be prohibited from mingling with civilized society from that point forward!
"Here is another answer to the question as to why pork is forbidden, and the breeding and selling of pig for that matter.The following are not my words but the words of an islamic scholar. "Allah discribes the prophet Muhammad in the Qur'an as one who "makes lawful for them(i.e his followers) all things that are good and forbids them all that is evil." Therefore,anything which is clearly forbidden in islam must be evil. "
El-Al in a box
Kind of like a lie dectector test? Socio paths and crimals can pass them. It's usually the innocent that get all nervous.
They won't say what questions were asked of travelers, though the system is generally designed to measure physical responses to hot-button questions like "Are you planning to immigrate illegally?" or "Are you smuggling drugs."
Wonder what kind of response would've been garnered by posing this to those Egyptians that went missing: "Can you be expected to show up on time at school in Montana?"
You're a wuss.
The first thing that went through my mind was "Where are the spikes that are supposed to be on the inside?" [like on the medieval Iron Maidens from which the band derived its name]
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