• Track 2 of the Remote Identity Validation Tech Demo Challenge

    DHS S&T announces the launch of Track 2 of the Remote Identity Validation Technology Demonstration (RIVTD). RIVTD is a series of technology challenges to evaluate the ability of systems to authenticate identity documents, assess the “liveness” of selfie photos, and evaluate identity verification using images taken with smartphones and similar devices.

  • Solar-Powered Airships Could Make Air Travel Climate-Friendly

    Flying is the most damaging mode of transportation for our climate. At least, up until now. Researchers are investigating technical alternatives to conventional aircraft, and one such alternative is the old-fashioned airship, equipped with solar panels.  

  • Paving the Way for Electric Vehicle Adoption

    For many car owners, their next purchase will be an EV. But as many current EV owners know, the environmental benefits of battery-powered cars come with a tradeoff and that tradeoff is the driving distance existing battery technology can support. The problem is the battery, specifically how much energy they can store, their longevity, and how long they take to charge.

  • Global Flash Droughts Expected to Increase in a Warming Climate

    The rapid development of unexpected drought, called flash drought, can severely impact agricultural and ecological systems with ripple effects that extend even further. Researchers are assessing how our warming climate will affect the frequency of flash droughts and the risk to croplands globally.

  • U.S. Reliance on Chinese Drones: A Sector for the Next CHIPS Act?

    More and more lawmakers from both parties are beginning to pay attention to the issue of drones and national security. Different bills seek to regulate federal agency procurement and use of certain foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), or drones. Annie I. Antón and Olivia C. Mauger write that “Building on the bipartisan consensus to enact the 2022 Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science (CHIPS) Act, there is a compelling case that UASs should be a next sector for similar action.”

  • Modeling Catastrophic Impacts, Risk Assessment of Climate Change

    The insurance and reinsurance sector are at the forefront of translating weather and climate information into financial and societal risks, but the industry’s focus has been on use of catastrophe models rather than incorporating climate change data and projections that can help characterize future conditions.

  • Why Scientists Have a Hard Time Getting Money to Study the Root Causes of Outbreaks

    Government and nonprofit groups that award grants to scientists favor research that’s high tech and treatment oriented rather than studies that seek to understand why contagions leap from animals to people in the first place.

  • Will the Charging Networks Arrive in Time?

    MIT Mobility Forum considers whether startups can provide the infrastructure for electric vehicles, or if more automakers must step in.

  • Bolstering Cybersecurity in Navigation Systems

    Interference such as jamming and spoofing that targets critical infrastructure has the potential to cause widespread delays and cascading failures across multiple modes of transportation including ships, trains, trucks, and cars—and the problem is only getting worse. New project aims to enhance resilience of transportation infrastructure against cyber threats, developing advanced countermeasures for GPS spoofing and jamming.

  • Northwest Region-Wide Effort for the Next Generation Electrical Grid

    Smart grids offer an important defense against climate change: smart devices improve energy efficiency and data and automation help keep grids stable, even if the share of renewable energy increases. They thus address the problem of short-term disruptions to solar and wind power, such as when clouds obscure the sun or winds die down.

  • Self-Repairing Oyster Reefs to Protect Florida’s Coastlines

    Engineers and scientists are developing oyster-based shoreline protection for U.S. coastlines. The researchers seek to create self-repairing, biological and human-engineered reef-mimicking structures. The reef structures will be used to mitigate coastal flooding, erosion, and storm damage that threaten civilian and DOD infrastructure and personnel.

  • In Years After El Niño, Global Economy Loses Trillions

    In the years it strikes, the band of warm ocean water known as El Niño that spans from South America to Asia triggers far-reaching weather changes resulting in devastating floods, crop-killing droughts, plummeting fish populations, and an uptick in tropical diseases.

  • Tech Mandated by U.K. Online Safety Bill “Could Turn Phones into Surveillance Tools”

    Tech mandated by the U.K. government’s Online Safety Bill could be used to turn millions of phones into facial recognition tools. It would be possible, for example, for governments to use client-side scanning (CSS) to search people’s private messages, for example performing facial recognition, without their knowledge.

  • New Program Will Harness AI to Bolster Cybersecurity

    Researchers will work across disciplines to develop new approaches to artificial intelligence that is informed by and works with security experts. The AI tools developed by the new program will perform security tasks quickly and accurately while anticipating potential moves made by adversaries. The AI will counteract the possible attacks in a way that protects computer network security and ensures people’s safety.

  • Using Novel Approach to Teach Robot to Navigate Over Obstacles

    When it comes to robotic locomotion and navigation, most four-legged robots are trained to regain their footing if an obstacle causes them to stumble. Researchers out to train their robot to walk over clutter.