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Beyond fingerprinting: Alternative biometric technologies advance
As more organizations turn to biometric technology to help them perform their missions, they show interest in a variety of technologies — vein architecture, retinal scan, facial recognition, and more; these are good times for innovative biometric companies
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Invention turns trash into ethanol
Two University of Maryland researchers develop a process which turns trash into ethanol; the researchers found that a Chesapeake Bay marsh grass bacterium has an enzyme that could quickly break down plant materials into sugar, which can then be converted to biofuel
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ThruVision shows T5000 T-ray security imaging system
T-rays operate in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum; T-ray-based detection system can see through clothing of still or moving individuals at a distance of up to twenty-five meters to reveal hidden objects
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Fuel cell joint venture formed
In an effort to accelerate the development of fuel cells, two companies form a JV to target the light industrial, commercial, and residential markets in the United Kingdom and Ireland
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New camera vastly improves surveillance
Revolutionary camera design could have far-reaching implications for the military, crime prevention, and enforcement as well as traffic analysis and emergency response support; design is based on an array of light sensitive chips placed at the focal plane of a large multiple-lens system
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Aussie-Chinese collaboration on clean coal
Australia, China in collaborative clean coal effort; the goal is to hone the post combustion capture (PCC) process, which uses a liquid to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from power station flue gases
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European consortium to improve ground-probing radar
Effort aims to allow ground-based radars to penetrate deeper; scientists hope to create a new radar-based sensor that can be attached to drill heads to give operators real-time information about obstacles in the drill path
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Measuring the size of waves
Surfers — and wave energy converters — benefit from a having more accurate sense of the size and intensity of waves; Scottish researchers developed a technique to make the exploitation of wave energy more efficient with a device that measures the size of each wave approaching the converter
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Invisibility cloak for nanoparticles designed
Researchers design invisibility cloak for nanoparticles; the new particle invisibility cloak will help create a vast array of new material technologies that combine unknown property combinations such as strength and durability with optical transparency
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Sea cucumber inspires new plastic for body armor, brain implants
Sea cucumbers’ skin is usually supple, allowing them to slide through narrow spaces between rocks and corals; when touched, however, a defensive reaction makes their skin go rigid in seconds, thanks to enzymes that bind protein fibers together; researchers apply this process to clothing, creating garments which switch stiffness in response to a pulse of electricity
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Researchers show principles of mind-reading machine
Researchers have developed a more sophisticated way to extract visual stimuli from brain signals; they developed a computational model that uses functional MRI (fMRI) data to decode information from an individual’s visual cortex; system may help in decoding dreams, and may offer a more humane interrogation technique
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Growing interest in multi-view X-ray technology
Multi-view X-ray machines offer several different views of objects within each piece of luggage, and they also automatically detect the presence of improvised explosive devices; TranSec World Expo in June will showcase the technology
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GE Security, Schiphol to collaborate on security technology
Leading security developer and major European airport will work to develop advanced technology aviation security; collaboration will lead to a real-world evaluation of existing and emerging security products and technologies “from the European perspective”
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Taming food poisoning and bioterrorism toxins
Rutgers researchers offer new insights into how plant toxin ricin kills cells; insights could help scientists develop drugs to counteract poisonings, reducing the threat of ricin as a bioterror weapon
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New consortium to develop safety critical software
High Integrity and Safety Critical Software (HI&SCS) is “the critical enabling technology” (U.K. Ministry of Defense’s words) for modern defense platforms, network enabled capability, and complex infrastructure; York University to lead a industry-academia consortium to develop such software; consortium will emulate the U.S. Software Engineering Institute
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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.