"I have people waiting."

A few people just smiled, waved their hands and zipped to the exits.

It was a little different from some earlier fight arrivals, when travelers were lining up voluntarily to test the machine.

Those who passed through the device Tuesday afternoon said it was a big improvement over having to take off their shoes.

Joan Wilde, resident of Brielle, Monmouth County, said shoe removal is not only an inconvenience, but also makes people a little uncomfortable. Forgoing that security measure "would be great," she said.

Terry Booth, of Egg Harbor Township, said finding a way to check shoes without having to remove them would be "convenient for the traveler."

"The less you have to take off, the better," she said.

The voluntary tests began this week under an agreement between the federal government and the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the airport and the Atlantic City Expressway. The agreement turns the airport and expressway into working laboratories for in-development transportation and security devices.

The Homeland Security officials said the agreement is the only one of its kind in the country. Safety and security measures perfected at the airport and on the expressway could eventually be put to use across the country, they said.

Josh Tabony, who works for Massachusetts-based L-3 Communications, which is developing the shoe-screening device tested at the airport, said the federal government wants about 3,000 people to test the machine before it's removed from the terminal.

A little more than 400 walked through it by Tuesday afternoon.

Travelers testing the machine can voluntarily make comments, said Tabony, adding he'll make observations on how the machine can be made more efficient.

It currently takes about seven seconds for each person to pass through the machine.

Federal officials didn't have any information on which was faster - passing through the shoe-screening machine or taking off one's shoes.

E-mail Thomas Barlas:

TBarlas@pressofac.com

How the device works

Here's how the experimental shoe-screening device currently being tested at Atlantic City International Airport works:

n The process starts when a person grabs hold of, and then pushes, a hand bar. That opens a gate and allows the person to walk through.

n Sensors built into the machine monitor the person as he or she walks through the device.

n Holes on the hand bar help detect any residue, such as that from explosives, on the person's hands.

n A puff of air blows across the person's shoe. Residue collected by the puff of air is sucked into a hole on the other side of the machine.

n The machine then analyzes the materials from the person's hands and shoes.

n Results of the tests are then displayed on a monitor board.

n The procedure takes about seven seconds per person.