TSA new self screening technology

Correspondent: Carter Evans

(CBS) - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) hopes new self-screening technology, now being tested, will make the process faster and safer, if they can work out the kinks.

It's being unveiled for travelers at one checkpoint in Las Vegas.

This could be the future of airport security.

At the TSA's innovation checkpoint at Las Vegas International Airport, travelers are testing the new self service technology for the first time.

TSA administrator, David Pekoske, wants to make checkpoints more do-it-yourself

"All the technology we put in place is much better for security, it's more efficient for passengers, and it's a better passenger experience," shared Pekoske.

"They're still performing the function that we've asked them to perform, but in a different location. Officers can read X-rays from any machine," continued Pekoske.

The idea is it's supposed to be like a regular TSA checkpoint except fewer TSA agents and hopefully streamlined, let's see how it goes.

On the day we were there, the machine was sensitive.

Typically, there are five to seven officers at each checkpoint, here there are only two and there's an automated coveyor that will move your bag to the front of the line if it needs to get rescreened.

"You don't have to have an officer physically pick up a suitcase and walk it, you know, 30 feet. It should make it easier for officers to focus on addressing risks and threats," said Dimitri Kusnezov, Under Secretary for Science and Technology DHS.

For people who might actually go through this technology in Vegas, they should know that it's still not ready for prime time.

"Yeah. They should know we're looking at different solutions and that they, they might see elements of this, uh, up here in checkpoints, um, in the next few years," explained Pekoske.