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New high-precision chemical detector to be commercialized
A start-up launched by the University of Delaware is preparing to commercialize a high-precision detector — a planar-array infrared spectrograph — that can identify biological and chemical agents in solids, liquids, and gases present at low levels in less than a second
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DARPA announces a $40,000 red-balloon Network Challenge
To celebrate the Internet’s 40th anniversary, DARPA will moor ten 8-foot red weather balloons across the continental United States during the daylight hours of 5 December; the first individual — or group — to identify the location of the balloon will receive $40,000
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Questions raised about Obama's smart grid funding
For the smart grid project to succeed, the business case for it needs to be widely accepted by the stakeholders involved (skeptics would say that if efficiency-mindedness was at the top of the agenda in utility boardrooms and state regulatory agencies, then no federal stimulus money would be needed to install these kinds of technologies); also: the Obama plan envisions a joint public-private smart grid expenditure of $8.1 billion — the government’s $3.4 billion is being matched by $4.7 billion in private investment; a recent analysis of what it would take to build a unified national smart grid put the tab for such a grid at $400 billion
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Louisiana levee to use stabilizing fabric
The 1,600-foot earthen levee, which runs south from the Old Estelle Pump Station, has failed twice, once in the early 1990s and again in 2007 when two sections totaling 600 feet long slumped badly; Army Corps of Engineers will use geotextile fabric to stabilize known trouble spots before raising the levee from 10 feet to 14.5 feet
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Vulnerability identified in Amazon's cloud computing
Researchers show that it is possible to find would-be victims within cloud hardware; cloud technologies use virtual machines — remote versions of traditional onsite computer systems; the number of these virtual machines can be expanded or contracted on the fly to meet demand, creating tremendous efficiencies — but the actual computing is performed within one or more physical data centers, creating troubling vulnerabilities
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Despite concerns, development still heads to the coast
Many scientists predict that by 2100, sea levels would rise more than one meter; still, Florida has opened more vulnerable areas along the Atlantic coast to construction — and has done so more than any other state
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Aussies worry about rising sea levels
About 80 percent of Australians live in coastal areas, and a new parliamentary report recommends new laws banning further development in coastal regions
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Robotic platform helps soldiers carry heavy gear
Israel Aerospace Industries unveils robotic platform designed for ground forces; the platform, carrying up to 200kg of gear, follows the lead soldier from a distance; the soldiers control the platform by using simple commands, including “stop,” “fetch,” and “heel”
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Kent State to train lab workers for biocontainment
The increasing number of high-containment laboratories and the constant threat from emerging diseases and bioterrorism require more extensive biosafety training of the highest caliber, and more facilities in which to offer this training
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New material makes buildings more fire resistant
New material, called “liquid granite,” is fire resistant to temperatures in excess of 1,100oC; it reduces the fire risk in buildings because, unlike concrete, it does not explode at high temperatures
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New device to "smell" human fear
City University London’s researchers launch a project aims to develop two sensor systems that can detect the unique chemical signature of the fear pheromone, assessing the stress of an individual and interpreting it in security-critical contexts
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Humanoid robots to help people in hazardous environments
Current calculations required for robots’ handling objects and avoiding collisions are based on movements in the XYZ coordinates, and are sensitive to any minor deformations in the environment, such as a flexible object that would cause the calculations to be invalid; researchers offer a new way to govern robots’ movement
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Fingerprint technology beats world’s toughest tests
Among the fingerprints most difficult to identify are those of brick-layers, but a new technique developed by University of Warwick researchers did so successfully; the secret: the University of Warwick researchers consider the entire detailed pattern of each print and transform the topological pattern into a standard co-ordinate system
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Israeli company shows unmanned smart-missile pack
A large box contains several vertically launched missiles and its own communications and power; it is generally light enough to be driven about by a Humvee or similar, parachuted down from a transport plane, dropped off by helicopter, tied down on the deck of a ship or barge; the missiles are launched by remote control
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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.