These Lockers Could Someday Replace TSA Conveyor Belts

Airport safety is obviously important, but no one enjoys the process—not even the people hired to do the screenings. In an attempt to make things run more smoothly and efficiently, the Transportation Security Administration has been researching technology that could replace the ubiquitous conveyor belt with something less archaic and more transparent. As FastCoDesign reports, the Qylatron Entry Experience Solution locker system designed by Silicon Valley-based tech company Qylur is one alternative that the TSA is exploring.

The automated locker systems have already been tested at places like New York's Lincoln Center, Disneyland Paris, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and during the 2014 World Cup. Described by the Wall Street Journal as the "self-service future of security," the lockers are operated by the visitors themselves. FastCoDesign notes that only four TSA workers are needed to operate a cluster of lockers, "which is enough [to] move 600 people through the line per hour." 

Bags are placed into the lockers on one side, scanned, and removed on the other, glowing red or green to notify owners when it is safe to reclaim their personal belongings. As a result, users have reported feeling more in control and say that they appreciate the privacy.

The Department of Homeland Security announced last month that it will be launching an 18-month collaboration with Qylur to test the lockers at Transportation Security Laboratory facilities at Atlantic International Airport in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As for when you will be seeing these in your neck of the woods, there is no timeline for when they could appear in airports nationwide.

[h/t: FastCoDesign]