Aviation and Airport

Raytheon announces new self-authenticating PASS Card
Interesting approach to WHTI program relies on a card with a self-contained fingerprint scanner; travelers press their thumb to the card, which then sends authentication data via RFID to security officials
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Banning lighters from flights costs company $5 million a year
The Pennsylvania maker of Zippo cigarette lighters says that the TSA decision to ban lighters from flight cost it $5 million a year
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TGR Helicorp announces unmanned alpine rescue helicopter
Alpine Wasp can fly as high as 30,000 feet using rotor blades designed for thin air; company will donate vehicles to the Everest Rescue Trust; UAV manufacturers see a market in long range, high altutude machines
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Brown researchers say bats, not bees, provide best MAV inspiration
Flexible wing structure seems to be the key, but researchers differ on which animal provides the best model; difference between bat’s upstroke and downstroke provides a valuable clue; Air Force Office of Scientific Research lends a hand
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NICE Systems selected for D.C. airport surveillance overhaul
Israeli company recently won contracts to protect Beijing Olympics, Eiffel Tower, and New York City public transit; Reagan National Airport gets a makeover; video surveillance market marches on
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Northrop and EADS received $559 German UAV contract
EuroHawk GmbH strikes a major deal in the European UAV market after years of effort; German Ministry of Defence impressed with EADS signals intelligence capability; delivery scheduled for 2010
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Bell Helicopters takes a look at an Israeli flying rescue vehicle
Helicopter-like machine relies on fans rather than rotor blades, allowing for greater maneuverability in the urban environment; Urban Aeronautics sees a market for first responders and military; craft can sidle up to a building and evacuate residents out of a window
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U.K. researchers aid MAV development by solving "bumble-bee paradox"
Due to their small size, micro air vehicles struggle to attain sufficient lift; Bath University scientists discover a seventy-year old secret as to how bees manage to get off the ground; flexible insect-like wings might help MAVs realize full potential
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Optosecurity nets $14 million in new funding
Known for its optical threat detection systems, the Canadian company finds new friends in the VC market; Innovatech Quebec continues to have faith in this homegrown company; company prepares for a big 2008
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DoD looks to balloons and UAVs to solve satellite weaknesses
Navy plans a 2009 roll-out for the $7 billion Mobile User Objective System satellite brigade, but DoD lacks funding for the receivers; Global Hawk and Combat Skycat seem promising, but short-term, alternatives
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Bioscrypt selected for Canadian airport I.D.authentication system
Company follows up purchase of A4Vision with a foray northwards; primary contractor Labcal will incorporate Bioscrypt’s fingerprint algorithims into its handheld I.D. readers; twenty-nine airports effected
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USMC looks to manage UAV airspace
Corps solicits a miniature radar-based collision avoidance sensor suite; system to be carried by a Silver Fox-class UAV; bidding begins on 20 February
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Japanese scientists use radio waves to detect TNT
Airport luggage screening to benefit from this breakthrough approach; nitrogen nuclear quadrupole resonance solves the problem of low nitrogen resonance levels; distinghuishing between cocaine and explosives the key challenge
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Northrop teams up with RADA in Israeli missile defense bid
Israel will choose a winning plan within a month, and so Northrop positions itself tactically by teaming up with a major Israeli defense company; Skyguard system uses a deuterium fluoride laser to shoot down rockets; RADA Electronics moves beyond avionics
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Congress looks to expands America's K-9 ranks
Canine Detection Improvement Act of 2007 sets out standards for an increased push at explosives detection; airports and other critical infrastructure suffer from a lack of trained dogs; “breed American” is the new watchword, as congressmen try to take the German out of German shepherd
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