Manning a checkpoint? Put a CounterBomber on your Xmas list

(Credit: MIT Technology Review)

Best watch your step. New strides in radar and gait-analysis software could soon alert authorities to someone packing a bomb from up to 50 yards away, Virginia-based SET told MIT Technology Review.

SET's CounterBomber system detects suicide bombers from a safe (OK, safer) distance by directing a low-power radar beam at the approaching subject. Ideally, the device would be augmented "with video-analysis software that spots bombers by discerning subtle differences in gait that occur when people carry heavy objects."

And the bashful need not worry: This new radar-image technology is supposedly able to reveal concealed objects without "creating an under-the-clothes image that would violate the person's privacy."

Customers might include airports and military bases and maybe ballparks seeking to interdict the illicit six-pack. Look for a CounterBomber in your neighborhood this fall.