• Listening to the sound of bullets

    ShotSpotter systems relies on a system of acoustic sensors to identify the location from which a shot has been fired; the alerts are immediately conveyed to police dispatchers, 911 operators, and sometimes to officers in the field via laptops in patrol cars; the system includes a computer program which displays a comprehensive bird’s-eye view of the area, marking the location of the incident with a red dot and indicating the time and number of rounds fired

  • Disasters take toll on PartnerRe’s profits

    On Monday PartnerRe Ltd., the international reinsurer, announced that its second quarter earnings fell 35 percent as a result of the devastating natural disasters that struck around the world

  • USDA declares twenty disaster zones in California

    On Monday the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated twenty counties across California as natural disaster areas, qualifying residents for federal assistance; severe weather in these areas resulted in large losses to this season’s sweet cherry and wine grape crops

  • Blast gauge gives medics, doctors critical information

    Researchers are working to enhance the safety of soldiers in the field through the development of a device that monitors the physical impacts of exposure to an explosive blast; 188,270 service members have suffered a traumatic brain injury in the last decade; the extent of injury is often difficult to discern, making diagnosis and selection of appropriate medical treatment challenging

  • Google acquires facial biometric company

    Following Facebook’s decision to implement biometric facial recognition software, Google has acquired a company to boost its facial recognition capabilities; the search giant recently purchasd Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition (PittPatt), which develops technology that can search images and videos for a specific face

  • Filipino man guilty of selling UAV on eBay

    Last week a Filipino man pleaded guilty to violating arms export and smuggling laws by selling parts from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on eBay; in February, DHS officials arrested Henson Chua of Manila, Philippines after he shipped undercover agents a three-foot long, hand-launched, computer-controlled RQ-11A/B Raven surveillance drone

  • Blue ribbon commission calls for interim off site waste storage

    After deciding to stop the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project, President Obama appointed a blue Ribbon commission to examine alternatives; the first report from the commission calls for interim storage of nuclear waste not on the site of nuclear power plants, and for the creation of a new corporation to develop one or more deep geological repositories “as expeditiously as possible”

  • Averting bridge disasters: new sensors could save hundreds of lives

    One of every four U.S. highway bridges has known structural problems or exceeded its intended life-span. Most only get inspected once every one or two years; University of Maryland researcher has developed a new sensor that measures indicators of a bridge’s structural health, such as strain, vibration, flexibility, and development of metal cracks; the sensors are expected to last more than a decade, with each costing about $20

  • Bio detection firm raises $14 million in stock deal

    Last week PositiveID Corp.,a developer of biological threat detection technology and medical diagnostics, announced that it had signed a deal to raise almost $14 million in additional funding through the sale of its stock

  • Safran completes L-1 acquisition, becomes world’s biometric leader

    In the latest series of purchases by traditional defense firms seeking to diversify their portfolios, French defense company Safran recently completed its $1 billion acquisition of biometric solution provider L-1 Identity Solutions making it the world’s market leader in biometrics

  • Turning sport vehicle into military machine

    U.K. companies to transform a proven sports vehicle into a high performance, off road vehicle for special forces, border patrol, reconnaissance, rapid intervention or strike roles; the Wildcat 500 DKR boasts high speed performance in harsh environments

  • U.S. businesses want fewer restrictions on skilled foreign workers

    On Tuesday representatives from two major U.S. companies, Microsoft and Nasdaq, headed to the Hill to testify before a Senate subcommittee on immigration policies and its effects on highly skilled foreign workers; speaking before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general Counsel, urged lawmakers to ease restrictions and immigration laws for skilled overseas workers

  • Expanding Yuma flight testing schedule for Argus UAV

    The World Surveillance Group (WSGI) revealed its plans of extending the flight testing schedule for its strange-looking Argus One UAV at the Yuma facilities at the U.S Army grounds in Arizona

  • Portable biometric system for police officers

    Police now have a new low-cost, portable biometric tool in their arsenal to quickly and accurately identify a suspect: an Apple iPhone; using MORIS (Mobile Offender Recognition and Information System), an app developed by BI2 Technologies, police officers can now use an Apple iPhone to scan a suspect’s fingerprint or snap a photo of their face to scan their iris

  • Taser death leads to $10 million payout

    The manufacturer of police Tasers recently awarded $10 million to a North Carolina family after a teenager was killed when he was shocked with a stun gun; Darryl Turner, a seventeen year old boy, died in a supermarket after a police officer shot him in the chest with a Taser Model X26 electronic control device in 2008