• FCC's new public safety proposal receives mixed response

    FCC relaunches the 700 MHz public/private safety initiative; original 2008 auction for Block D failed to reach its reserve price; new FCC plan puts up to $16 billion and more spectrum behind the proposals; public safety organizations disappointed, carrier community remains undecided

  • Animetrics receives patents for face recognition

    The company receives three patents for generation of 3D models from arbitrary numbers of uncalibrated photographs; generating databases from 3D models for use in biometric systems for training or for recognition; and face recognition systems based on normalization using 3D models

  • 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

  • PharmAthene says its anthrax vaccine is superior to first-generation vaccine

    PharmAthene’s anthrax vaccine, called SparVax, will require three doses over a 60-day period — the first-generation vaccine requires five doses over 18 months; a course of treatment with the currently available vaccine costs about $125; SparVax would cost just $45 a treatment

  • Private industry sees opportunities in cybersecurity

    Nadia Short, director of Strategic Planning and Business Development Information Assurance Division at General Dynamics: “The release of the [DHS] budgets earlier this month indicate a growth in cyberspending across all the services…. With that, as well as continuing the natural evolution of what cyber will mean for dot-gov and dot-mil, it will mean nothing but opportunity for private industry”

  • $150 million anthrax vaccine contract goes to firm with close Democratic Party ties

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on the evening of 29 December that it was awarding PharmAthene $150 million to develop and produce an anthrax vaccine; FOXNews notes the strong ties to the Democratic Party of senior company executives

  • Hughes shows digital signage iPhone application for instant emergency response

    Hughes’s mobile application enables single-touch, instant delivery of emergency notifications for Hughes MediaSignage networks; application allows network administrators instantly to disseminate critical information and emergency notifications from their iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad devices

  • 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

  • HTS unveils vehicle identity recognition system

    HTS offers a vehicle identity recognition system which recognizes the vehicle’s manufacturer logo (car model), vehicle body and plate color, special icons on the plate itself (such as handicap), and country or state name; the system will help police to detect vehicles with false license plates, such as stolen cars, and detect any discrepancies between the vehicle type and its license plate number

  • Nigeria ordering Rapiscan backscatter imaging systems for the country's international airports

    The government of Nigeria is deploying Rapiscan’s Secure 1000 Single Pose backscatter whole-body scanners at the country’s four international airports; the systems will be used to screen passengers traveling to the United States as well other countries

  • Dynasil's RMD receives $2.5 million from DHS to continue work on nuclear detection

    RMD specializes in developing scintillator crystals, which convert radiation to visible light; DHS gives the company $2.5 million — in addition to an earlier award of $5.6 million — to continue work on the crystals, which will enable more accurate detection of radioactive materials

  • DHS awards L-3 Communication $164.7 million for millimeter wave scanners

    The drive toward deploying whole-body scanners at U.S. airports accelerates; L-3 receives a $164.7 million order from TSA for the company’s ProVision millimeter wave (MMW) advanced imaging technology; more than 200 ProVision systems are deployed worldwide at airports and other facilities

  • Bill would prohibit use of private security contractors in war zones

    Two U.S. lawmakers introduce a bill which would prohibit the use of private security contractors in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan; one-fifth of the U.S. armed forces in Iraq consists of private contractors, while in Afghanistan that number reached one-third

  • 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

  • UAVs set to give U.K. defense a lift

    The U.K. government is funding new research aimed at getting permission to fly drones anywhere in Britain, in a move which could benefit defense companies BAE Systems, EADS, and Thales but upset civil liberty concerns.