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EST to test zNose technology in Iraq
After testing in a simulated Iraqi village, the explosives detection system is ready to be used for checkpoint inspections and for “interrogating buildings” for bomb materials; wartime appplication just one for this versatile technology
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Raytheon shipping microwave nonlethal weapon systems
Militaries and law enforcement units have been intrigued by non-lethal weapons — weapons occupying the territory between shoot and shout — for more than four decades, but with few exceptions (taser guns, stun grenades) these weapons have not been widely deployed; Raytheon hopes that its microwave-based Silent Guardian will prove to be the exception
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South Korea unveils armed guard robot for border, critical infrastructure sentry missions
Wait ‘til Representatives Steve King and Tom Tancredo hear about this: A South Korean consortium develops an armed robot for guard mission along border and around critical infrastructure facilities; the robot can identify moving targets from as far as a mile, and it has ‘ears” which understand passwords
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Lockheed Martin to develop stratospheric airship fabric
It’s not your father’s Hindenburg; dirigibles — in their traditional, lighter-than-air configuration or in hybrid form — are gaining popularity as intelligence observation posts high in the sky (Israel, for example, has one parked high above the Gaza Strip, and a couple in the north, keeping an eye on the goings on inside Lebanon); the Pentagon wants airships for intelligence, too, but it is also considering the craft for transporting troops and equipment; oil and gas companies want to use them to ferry supplies and equipment to remote locations, and other commercial entities show interest as well
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SecureRF shows new, more efficient security algorithm for RFIDs
RFID technology is gaining adherents in more and more sectors, so it is good to see a technology which promises to enhance to security and economy of the tags receiving the recognitions it deserves
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DHS installs first RFID e-passport readers; will meet Congress’s 26 October deadline
he first RFID readers have been installed at SFI for the purpose of reading biometric information off passports from U.S. and visa waiver program countries; DHS will roll out readers to all major U.S. ports of entry
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Computers to tell fact from opinion in newspaper articles
Inquiring minds want to know whether what people say about the U.S. is based on fact or is mere opinion; DHS has allocated $2.4 million to a consortium of three universities to develop machine-learning algorithms which computers will use to engage more effectively and accurately in information extraction
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IBM, University of Georgia to study the secret of business success
IBM gives the University of Georgia money to study the secrets behind IBM’s success, and draw broader lessons from these successes so that technology companies would more effectively implement business strategies which enhance the chances of success in bringing innovative technology to market
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Maryland agencies team up for homeland security business plan competition
First-in-the-nation Chesapeake Innovation Center teams up with state Department of Business and Economic Development to offer $50,000 homeland security prize; companies have until 15 November to submit appliications
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DHS to encourage development of liquid explosives detection technology
New DHS technology chief says developing technologies to detect liquid explosives is the department’s priority, and that companies offering devices that do that will be accelerated through the process of granting their products liability protection
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EOIR receives $7.8 in additional Army contracts
Work for the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate to focus on new sensor technology; company will develop countermine and EO/IR components and ATR-signal processing schemes
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Icuiti to provide goggle-mounted displays to the Pentagon
Made in the USA: Bucking the outsourcing trend, an upstate New York technology company proudly proclaims that it will rely on local vendors to manufacture the various components of its sophisticated high-resolution goggle-mounted SVGA display
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SecureRF announces new breakthrough in RFID cryptography
Algebraic Eraser algorithms rely on a large quantity of small numbers to stop digital pick-pocketing; technique increases processing speed without compromising security
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Cray XT3 supercomputer reaches 54 teraflops
Overhaul at Oak Ridge National Laboratory makes XT3 among fastest computers in the world
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Saab in development talks for new UAV
Company looking to build on pre-existing airframe designs; currently in talks with manufacturers; low observable technologies to be excluded
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The long view
Bolstering the body’s defenses against public health, national security threats
Military service members, first responders, and civilian populations face severe threats from pathogens with pandemic potential, toxic chemicals, and radioactive materials, which can all quickly and powerfully overwhelm the body’s innate defenses. And though significant public and private investment has been focused on the development of traditional medical countermeasures such as drugs, vaccines, and biologics to guard against the worst effects of these health threats, current countermeasures are often limited in their effectiveness and availability during emergencies. PREPARE aims to develop new class of generalizable medical countermeasures that safely and temporarily tune activity of protective genes.
We can get 100 percent of our energy from renewable sources: Scientists
Is there enough space for all the wind turbines and solar panels to provide all our energy needs? What happens when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow? Won’t renewables destabilize the grid and cause blackouts? Scientists say that there are no roadblocks on the way to a 100 percent renewable future.
Alien apocalypse: Can any civilization survive climate change?
In the face of climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss, creating a sustainable version of civilization is one of humanity’s most urgent tasks. But when confronting this immense challenge, we rarely ask what may be the most pressing question of all: How do we know if sustainability is even possible? Astronomers have inventoried a sizable share of the universe’s stars, galaxies, comets, and black holes. But are planets with sustainable civilizations also something the universe contains? Or does every civilization that may have arisen in the cosmos last only a few centuries before it falls to the climate change it triggers?
Economic models significantly underestimate climate change risks: Experts
Policymakers are being misinformed by the results of economic models that underestimate the future risks of climate change impacts, according to a new study. The researchers say that “mounting evidence” that the “integrated assessment models” used by economists “largely ignore the potential for ‘tipping points’ beyond which impacts accelerate, become unstoppable, or become irreversible.” As a result “they inadequately account for the potential damages from climate change, especially at moderate to high levels of warming,” due to rises in global mean temperature of more than 2 Celsius degrees.
Future hurricanes: Stronger, slower, wetter
Scientists have developed a detailed analysis of how twenty-two recent hurricanes would be different if they formed under the conditions predicted for the late twenty-first century. While each storm’s transformation would be unique, on balance, the hurricanes would become a little stronger, a little slower-moving, and a lot wetter.
Water security key to unlocking African prosperity
There is mounting evidence of the risks posed by water scarcity to business and economic growth. A 2012 projection by the International Food Policy Research Institute says 45 percent of total GDP — $63 trillion — will be at risk due to water stress by 2050. With coordinated action, better water provision in Africa will strengthen economic growth and unlock the path to prosperity for millions, according to SABMiller’s Chief Executive Alan Clark.