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German fails to prove atom-smasher will end world
A German woman sued to prevent the Large Hadron Collider from being started because, she argued, the Earth would be sucked into oblivion in a black hole; a German Constitutional Court threw out her appeal, ruling plaintiff was “unable to give a coherent account of how her fears would come about”
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ISC West: Premier security event, showcase for the latest security technology
ISC West is the premier showcase for security technology and solutions; more than 20,000 attendees, and nearly 1,000 exhibitors will meet in Las Vegas to exhibit — and to examine — the best and the latest in security technology
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Nanomaterial in shoes, cloths converts movement into power
New nanomaterials achieve 80 percent efficiency at converting mechanical energy (as that being generated from walking) into electricity; a single PZT crystal, implanted into a shoe, could theoretically generate 10 milliwatts of power: enough to operate 10 iPods; the goal is to embed the crystals in shoes and cloths of both soldiers and civilians so that the wearer’s movements would power whatever electronic gear he or she carries
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High school students offer engineering solutions to everyday challenges
Milwaukee high school participates in Project Lead the Way program, a national curriculum that offers mathematics, science, engineering, and technology education courses to middle and high schools students; students in the program solve everyday problems using engineering technology; they are also mentored by industry insiders, and are encouraged to patent their inventions
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DHS: New bioterror detector will provide near real-time results
The BioWatch program now monitors more than 30 U.S. urban areas - 20 more will be added in the near future - for the presence biological pathogens, including anthrax, smallpox, plague, and tularemia; the process of collecting the sensors’ filters and analyzing them takes about 36 hours; DHS says Generation 3 technology will provide near real-time analysis; some experts are skeptical
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One in four Germans willing to have microchip under skin
A poll shows one in four Germans would be happy to have a microchip implanted in their body if they derived concrete benefits from it; 5 percent of people said they would be prepared to have an implant to make their shopping go more smoothly
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U.S. Army looking for robots to extract wounded soldiers from battlefield
Rescuing wounded soldiers under fire is itself a major cause of military death and injury; the U.S. Army asks inventors to come with idea for a Robotic Combat Casualty Extraction device; the robot should not only be strong and dexterous, but should also be capable of planning an approach and escape route without prior knowledge of the local terrain and geography
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Robot evaluates safety inside structures
Researchers develop new method to inspect to interior of dangerous structures — dangerous because of structural damage or because terrorists or criminals are hiding there; a remote-controlled robot that is equipped with an infrared camera and LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology, which sends out multiple laser points that bounce off objects and provide feedback
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Smart CCTV detects brush-fire in early stage
Researchers develop a CCTV that can detect the first flames of a brush fire; a specially developed software for the CCTV analyzes video images for the characteristic flicker and color of a flame; the software looks for pixels which change from one frame to the next, and which also have a fire-like color
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VTOL, ducted-fan UAV for security monitoring of the London Olympics
A U.K. company developing a ducted-fan, VTOL UAV says the ability of the vehicle to take off vertically and maneuver around the tops of buildings would make it ideal for security monitoring at the London Olympics and other urban law-enforcement mission; the U.K. start-up says that compared to other UAVs, the Flying Wing can work more aptly against wind gusts, making it suitable for helping troops in mountainous Afghanistan
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Israel unveils world's largest UAV
The Eitan is 79 feet long, has a wingspan of 86 feet — about the size of a Boeing 737 airliner — and can stay aloft for 20 hours at high altitude; powered by a 1,200-horsepower turbojet engine, it has a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet and can carry hundreds of pounds of equipment, such as high-resolution cameras and electronic systems and presumably weapons; Israel says the UAV has the capability of reaching the Gulf
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Intellectual Ventures: A genuine path breaker or a patent troll?
Intellectual Ventured has amassed 30,000 patents, spent more than $1 million on lobbying last year, and its executives have contributed more than $1 million to Democratic and Republican candidates and committees; the company says it wants to build a robust, efficient market for “invention capital”; critics charge that some of its practices are closer to that of a patent troll
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Killing malaria bugs dead with laser
Mosquito-killing laser demonstrated; if bed nets are the low-tech solution to combat the deadly malaria — caused by a parasite transmitted when certain mosquitoes bite people — the laser is a high-tech one; the laser detection is so precise, it can specify the species, and even the gender, of the mosquito being targeted
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New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
UC Berkeley researchers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles; these nano-sized generators have “piezoelectric” properties that allow them to convert into electricity the energy created through mechanical stress, stretches, and twists
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New technologies unveiled to protect U.K. 75 million mobile phone users from crime
U.K. e-commerce, or contatcless, mobile transactions, will account for £151 billion by 2013. the U.K. government’s Design Council unveils three solutions aiming to make mobile phones – and, hence, e-commerce – safer
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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.
The Tech Apocalypse Panic is Driven by AI Boosters, Military Tacticians, and Movies
From popular films like a War Games or The Terminator to a U.S. State Department-commissioned report on the security risk of weaponized AI, there has been a tremendous amount of hand wringing and nervousness about how so-called artificial intelligence might end up destroying the world. There is one easy way to avoid a lot of this and prevent a self-inflicted doomsday: don’t give computers the capability to launch devastating weapons.
The Tech Apocalypse Panic is Driven by AI Boosters, Military Tacticians, and Movies
From popular films like a War Games or The Terminator to a U.S. State Department-commissioned report on the security risk of weaponized AI, there has been a tremendous amount of hand wringing and nervousness about how so-called artificial intelligence might end up destroying the world. There is one easy way to avoid a lot of this and prevent a self-inflicted doomsday: don’t give computers the capability to launch devastating weapons.