Photos: Screening for explosives at SFO

With the holiday travel season in full swing, General Electric is making a pitch to the U.S. government with a new airport screening system. GE's security division showed off the system, which it is calling the "checkpoint of the future," through a trial run at San Francisco International Airport a few days before Christmas. Shown here is a prototype of a shoe scanner.

A side view of the shoe scanner, which is designed to detect explosives without requiring passengers to remove their footwear. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, GE's goal is to fine-tune the security gear at SFO, with an eye to getting it approved by the Transportation Security Administration.

The biometrics system also includes an explosives-detecting finger scanner. The GE gear, which is set up side-by-side with current check-in equipment, isn't yet being used to screen passengers.

GE's prototype airport security system scans a laptop computer bag.