We read with interest the new plans to secure airports and related areas. The pilot will include Boston, JFK, Denver, Orlando and Salt Lake City Airports. What will the pilot program include? Video surveillance, RFID cards, iris scan readers, and hand geometry readers.

To prevent those who would try to invade Logan's airport, TSA will be working with clam diggers, who will be given GPS equipped cell phones. We suppose that while they're digging clams on the water boundary, they'll also be looking out for terrorists.

In Orlando, authorized personnel will be allowed in after an iris scan.

The hand geometry reader will be used at Salt Lake City. What is that?

The Recognition Systems hand geometry reader looks at the three-dimensional size and shape of the hand. The result of ninety hand measurements, including lengths, widths, thickness and surface areas are converted into a nine-byte mathematical representation of the hand. To verify a person takes one second.

The hand geometry readers are also used for INPASS (an automated passport system)

Arriving at a Port-of-Entry, the traveler proceeds to an INSPASS inspection line. There, the person inserts a card issued to them at enrollment to an INSPASS kiosk, similar to an automated bank teller machine. Automated inspection kiosks are not staffed, and INSPASS is only available at airports. Responding to messages on the kiosk's touch-screen display, the traveler is prompted to enter their flight number (certain persons only) and to place their hand in a hand geometry reader. Screen prompts are used to achieve correct alignment of the hand with the hand reader. The kiosk software automatically compares the live scan of the traveler's hand geometry biometric to the image captured at enrollment.