• Seismographs accurately detected North Korea's nuclear test

    In 1998 the U.S. Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) partly owing to fears that countries could cheat by claiming that small covert weapons tests were earthquakes; the quick and accurate detection of the North Korean test shows that the currently deployed system of sensors works

  • Dounreay nuclear dismantling team to use giant robot

    The U.K.’s experimental fusion nuclear reactor was ordered shut down and dismantled; dismantling team unveils a design for a 75-ton robot which will cut up radioactive equipment

  • Florida orders Raytheon's radiation detection system

    Florida orders Raytheon’s Mobile Nuclear Radiation Detection System; the state will use the SUV-mounted system to watch out for nuclear threats on highways, bridges, overpasses, tunnels, ports of entry, and public venues such as major sporting events and other large events

  • Debate over alternatives to Yucca Mountain project

    The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project is being deliberately starved for funds by the Obama administration; some argue the United States should use UREX reprocessing technology to reprocess waste (this was the Bush administration’s preference); MIT and Harvard scientists say it is perfectly safe to store nuclear waste above ground for 60 or 70 years, while working on a better alternative to UREX

  • Improving land mine detection equipment

    While simple versions of electromagnetic induction sensors are capable of detecting most land mines, advanced sensors are required to tell the difference between a land mine and harmless buried metal objects

  • Funding continues for Yucca Mountain project

    Both Senator Harry Reid and President Barack Obama — and also Secretary of Energy Steven Chu — want the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project — 25 years and $13.5 billion in the making — ended, but funding continues

  • Drinking water monitored by CSIRO-developed sensor network

    Lake Wivenhoe, which spans an area about the size of the city of Brisbane, supplies water to 1.5 million residents in south-east Queensland; CSIRO deploys its FLECK smart wireless sensor network technology to monitor water quality

  • Initial $50 million of stimulus package for airport security awarded

    DHS announced the award of the first $50 million out of a total of $1 billion made available by the stimulus package for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); money will fund explosive detection systems and advanced technology X-ray units that will streamline baggage screening at U.S. airports

  • DHS 2010 budget increases by 6 percent

    Proposed $43 billion 2010 DHS budget emphasizes border and transportation security, de-emphasizes a national network of sensors to detect dirty bombs

  • Mechanical stress leads to self-sensing in solid polymers

    Fighting Illini researchers develop force-sensitive polymers; when pushed or pulled with a certain force, specific chemical reactions are triggered in the mechanophores; such polymers may be used in aircraft components or bridges to report damage and warn of potential component failure, slow the spread of damage to extend a material’s lifetime, or even repair damage in early stages to avoid catastrophic failure

  • More orders for AS&E's cargo screening vans bring in $4.7 million

    Massachusetts-based AS&E’s popular Z Backscatter Vans are becoming more popular; company receives $4.7 million order for the “drive-by” scanning system, following several other orders in the past month

  • Republican oppose Safran's FBI contract

    Republicans legislators express opposition to the FBI awarding a large biometric contract to French company Safran; the company is partly owned by the French government

  • New sensor system protects ports, bridges, and distribution centers

    Sensor networks are an efficient, cost-effective way to monitor critical infrastructure facilities, distributions centers, and more; trouble is, to work effectively you need a very large number of them, and they all have to work collaboratively; a Dutch university researcher offers a better way of achieving this

  • GE sells its Homeland Protection business to Safran for $580 million

    Following 9/11, GE acquired Ion Track (2002) for an undisclosed sum and InVision Technologies for $900 million (2004); the Homeland Protection unit had revenue of $260 million last year, which GE saw as disappointing; CEO of French company Safran: We want to become “a pivotal player in the security market”

  • New detection devices from Smiths Detection

    Smiths Detection shows three new devices for quicker and more reliable detection of biological and chemical agents; soldiers and first responders will also appreciate the light weight and the ability to operate the gear with only one hand