-
3D research drawing interest from doctors, security experts, rock stars
New 3D technology will help doctors diagnose health problems or security officials identify suspects through facial recognition; the technology can capture fine details and do so much more quickly than current technologies
-
-
FAA brings flying car's day closer
There is an inherent problem in designing a flying car: how to build a safe enough car that can still be light enough to compete with the other aircraft in its class; the FAA has given permission to Terrafugia, a flying car pioneer, to add an extra 110 pounds to the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) limit of 1,320 pounds maximum takeoff weight; the added weight will allow the company to add some automotive safety features such as airbags, crumple zones, and a safety cage, and still qualify as an LSA; the airplane will cruise at a speed of 115 miles per hour and a range of more than 450 miles; on the road, the two place, front wheel drive vehicle achieves a respectable 30 miles per gallon
-
-
Marines to use autonomous vehicles built by Virginia Tech students
Virginia Tech engineering students designed an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) which the U.S. Marines Corps will test in a war game in Hawaii; the unmanned vehicles are designed to resupply troops, to reduce the actual loads manually carried by Marines, and to provide an immediate means for the evacuation of any casualties in combat
-
-
Cap temporarily removed from gushing well
The lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap was taken off the failed Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer (BOP) earlier today after a vent on the cap accidentally got closed; it appears that a remotely operated vehicle accidentally bumped into the LMRP cap and closed a vent; the cap was taken off the well because with the vent closed, dangerous pressure was beginning to build up inside the well, raising the specter of another explosion, similar to the one on 20 April which destroyed the well
-
-
Industry concerned about DHS standards on cybersecurity
Private cybersecurity companies worry that too-stringent cybersecurity laws and regulations could have a detrimental impact on private sector innovation; “The government needs to be very careful about imposing too much of a top-down standards process,” said McAfee vice president of government relations Tom Gann; “We need to bring products to market very quickly. They need to make sure we can get latest technology”
-
-
Flying-boat tilt-rotor catamaran design wins NASA rescue vehicle competition
Engineering students from Virginia Tech won first prize in NASA’s competition aiming to promote the design of more effective rescue crafts; the winning design, dubbed the Rescue Amphibious Firefighting Tiltrotor (RAFT), is a combination airplane/helicopter/catamaran featuring two flying-boat style hulls joined by a central wing to form a catamaran for landings on water even in rough seas
-
-
Bacteria will help keep CO2 safely sequestered
With the world still heavily reliant on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, carbon sequestration technologies could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions; one of the big challenges to making this a reality is ensuring that the CO2 stays locked away underground; the humble Bacillus subtilis bacteria will help
-
-
BP's first relief well has now reached 4,200 meters, with 1,300 meters to go
BP has been drilling two relief wells in the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to stem the flow of oil from the stricken Deepwater Horizon; a relief well aims to bisect the original well casing, enabling engineers to pump in mud and concrete to seal up the well; drilling into an 18-centimeter-wide cylinder 5,500 meters below the sea floor is not easy
-
-
Balls of steel: A scientists proposes dropping steel balls into well to stop leak
Willard Wattenburg made a name for himself by directing the capping of the more than 500 hundred burning oil wells in Kuwait after the Gulf War in 1991; he now proposes dropping steel balls of different sizes into the gushing well; if the steel balls are big enough in diameter, their weight will pull them downward even through the upward-rushing torrent of oil and gas; they will settle into the well at some deep level and begin to clog it
-
-
Panel urges extradition, compensation in Bhopal disaster case
The 1984 Bhopal chemical plant disaster caused the death of 15,000; hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled; and thousands of children were born with birth defects; an Indian government panel has decided to seek the extradition of former Union Carbide Corp. chief Warren Anderson to sand trial in India for; the panel also recommended that the Indian government demand that Dow Chemical Co. — which acquired Union Carbide in 1999 — pay $325 million in compensation for the families of the dead and disabled
-
-
Landmine detector made from off-the-shelf components
Researchers in the United States have developed a low-cost technology to detect landmines using a novel acoustic/microwave system; the system, made from off-the-shelf components, costs about $10,000. This compares to laser-based Doppler remote detection systems that sells for upwards of $1 million
-
-
Flipper bridge could sort out Hong Kong-China traffic switch
In Hong Kong, people drive on the left; in mainland China, they drive on the right; a Dutch architectural firm has proposed a solution for traffic between the two places: a flipper bridge
-
-
Forecasting the misuse, and abuse, of evolving technologies
New project aims to identify and assesses future threats posed by the abuse of evolving science and technology knowledge; examples could include the development of new infectious bacteria or viruses resistant to known medical treatments, or the invention of materials with camouflaging properties for covert activity
-
-
How safe are the Gulf oil dispersants?
As of 14 June, more than 3.34 million liters of dispersant had been sprayed onto oil on the sea surface; at least a further 1.52 million liters had been pumped into the oil gushing from the stricken well some 1,500 meters below sea level; the use of such large volumes at depth is unprecedented, and marine biologists are concerned about possible toxicity to organisms, including shrimp and fish larvae
-
-
Researchers show that light can be bent around corners
Israeli researchers show that small beams of light — called Airy beams — can be bent in a laboratory setting; Airy beams promise remarkable advances for engineering, and they could form the technology behind space-age “light bullets” — as effective and precise defense technologies for police and the military, but also as a new communications interface between transponders
-
More headlines
The long view
Autonomous Vehicle Technology Vulnerable to Road Object Spoofing and Vanishing Attacks
Researchers have demonstrated the potentially hazardous vulnerabilities associated with the technology called LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, many autonomous vehicles use to navigate streets, roads and highways. The researchers have shown how to use lasers to fool LiDAR into “seeing” objects that are not present and missing those that are – deficiencies that can cause unwarranted and unsafe braking or collisions.
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.
Prototype Self-Service Screening System Unveiled
TSA and DHS S&T unveiled a prototype checkpoint technology, the self-service screening system, at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, NV. The aim is to provide a near self-sufficient passenger screening process while enabling passengers to directly receive on-person alarm information and allow for the passenger self-resolution of those alarms.
Falling Space Debris: How High Is the Risk I'll Get Hit?
An International Space Station battery fell back to Earth and, luckily, splashed down harmlessly in the Atlantic. Should we have worried? Space debris reenters our atmosphere every week.
Testing Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology
Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.
Strengthening the Grid’s ‘Backbone’ with Hydropower
Argonne-led studies investigate how hydropower could help add more clean energy to the grid, how it generates value as grids add more renewable energy, and how liner technology can improve hydropower efficiency.