During a routine act, such as check-in at an airport kiosk, travelers will be subjected to a near-invisible stimulus that will trigger physiological responses. Sensors hidden in the kiosk will pick up the cues and alert security officers about people with anxiety and "suspicious thoughts". The system notifies security personnel via flashing lights: Green means go, red is a signal that you failed the stimulus tests, and orange indicates an ambiguous reading.

WeCU's system, which has been undergoing testing in Israel will be ready for full deployment this year. Such steps are chilling to anyone who still believes in the sanctitude and right to privacy.

Psychic computer shows your thoughts on screen

Scientists have discovered how to “read” minds by scanning brain activity and reproducing images of what people are seeing — or even remembering. Researchers have been able to convert into crude video footage the brain activity stimulated by what a person is watching or recalling. However, it could also herald a new Big Brother era, similar to that envisaged in the Hollywood movie Minority Report.

Jack Gallant and Shinji Nishimoto, two neurologists from the University of California, Berkeley, last year managed to correlate activity in the brain’s visual cortex with static images seen by the person. Scientists at University College London have conducted separate tests that detect, with an accuracy of about 50%, memories recalled by patients. The discoveries come amid a flurry of developments in the field of brain science. Researchers have also used scanning technology to even predict the decision a person is about to make before they are conscious of making it.

Such developments are having controversial ramifications. In Britain, fMRI scanning technology has been sold to multinational companies, such as Unilever and McDonald’s, enabling them to see how we subconsciously react to brands.

In America, security agencies are researching the use of brain scanners for interrogating prisoners, and Lockheed Martin, the US defence contractor, is reported to have studied the possibility of scanning brains at a distance.This would allow an individual’s thoughts and anxieties to be examined without their knowledge in airports and other locations.

Russell Foster, a neuroscientist at Oxford University, said rapid advances in the field were throwing up ethical dilemmas.“It’s absolutely critical for scientists to inform the public about what we are doing so they can engage in the debate about how this knowledge should be used,” he said. “It’s the age-old problem: knowledge is power and it can be used for both good and evil.”