The Transportation Security Administration is planning to use electronic "Randomizers" to help it funnel fliers into airport security lines.

In addition to providing a bias-free way to route travelers into different queues, it also would make it more difficult for potential security evaders to game which security queue they get sent to.

The TSA issued a Request for Information (RFI) late last month in which it has asked interested vendors "to share ideas and suggestions for procuring Randomizer systems ... ." The systems, if adopted, would be deployed at most medium and large commercial U.S. airports, according to the RFI.

HAT TIP: TSA will use electronic 'Randomizers' to randomly route passengers to screening lines (Government Security News)

"The Randomizers would be used to route passengers randomly to different checkpoint lines," the TSA says in the RFI.

When asked about the motivation of the Randomizers, the TSA said in a statement to Today in the Sky that it "employs a multilayer approach to security, utilizing measures that are both seen and unseen, and will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures."

That's consistent with what the agency has said in recent years about its efforts to keep potential security evaders off balance.

Presumably, a randomizer would make it more difficult for a would-be terrorist to angle for a queue with a specific explosive detection device or screening procedure.

Additionally, such a device also would give the TSA an automated way to manage security lines with fewer worries about bias or profiling.

Among the requirements spelled out in the TSA's RFI is the ability to "randomize" passengers to queues without using labels — or even colors — that could indicate any bias for or against any traveler.

For example, the TSA's RFI reads that a successful Randomizer would "display the binary result to the Passenger and Transportation Security Officer using symbols that do not have negative connotations (No usage of 'Yes/No,' 'O/X', usage of the color combination of Green and Red. An example of an acceptable signal is an arrow using the same color scheme)."

TWITTER: You can follow me at