Passengers traveling through Terminal E at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) during the months of August and September will notice a couple of new options at the security checkpoint.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has chosen Houston as the test site for two new types of imaging technology machines and the big unveiling was held on July 31.

"This afternoon the Transportation Security Administration will launch both the millimeter wave and the backscatter imaging technologies at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport," said TSA spokesperson Andrea McCauley. "Both of the technologies are used to image a passenger and send that image to a remote room where it's viewed and cleared in a matter of seconds."

For the passenger, the entire process is as simple as walking into a designated space and holding up your arms above your head. The images taken allow TSA staff to identify and determine potential threats, without employing the traditional security measures involving pat downs and wand searches.

"Both are being used in primary screening, so it's in lieu of the metal detector screening," McCauley said. "But it is 100 percent voluntary, so if passengers don't want to go through it they don't have to."

Early on, the primary concern voiced by some passengers involves the issue of privacy, since the machines do take "pictures" that capture an outline of the person's shape, but TSA officials stress that many of the privacy concerns have already been addressed through advanced technology.