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Formula One technologies help U.K. military
BAE collaborates with Motorsport Industry Association for the purpose of using suitable motor sports tehcnologies for making military vehicles more secure and durable
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Questions raised about certification of new nuclear warhead design
The Bush administrattion wants to replace cold war-era nuclear warheads with a newly designed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW); trouble is, a 1992 U.S.-Russia treaty imposed a moratorium on all nuclear tests, so the new design cannot be tested
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Liquid explosives detection technology is almost here
After the plot to blow up trans-Atlantic airlines with liquid explosives was uncovered in London in August 2006, pressure has grown to find new ways to detect liquids in baggage and on airline passengers and figure out what they are
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First true invisibility cloak created
University of Maryland researchers develop first true invisibility cloak; it is still small — well, at 10 micrometres in diameter, very small — and works only in two dimensions, but shows that true invisibility is practicable
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Army researchers develop IED-detecting radar
Researchers at the Army Research Lab develop new low-frequency, ultra-wideband radar which detects IEDs, senses through walls, and supports robotic ground vehicles
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Stanford researchers offer revolutionary design for computer chips
Moore’s law stipulates that the number of transistors squeezed onto a computer chip can be doubled about every two years; the law was threteaned by the damaging heat generated by the chips as their transistors become more densely packed; new design solves problem; “What we managed to do is basically get rid of the magnetic field,” says lead researcher
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NASA engineers develop FISMA compliance tool
NASA engineers are good at developing complex space exploration systems, but they were frustrated by the demanding FISMA compliance and reporting requirements; so they developed an automated tool to take care of it
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Argneitna warms up to UAVs
Argentina plans to increase use of UAVs for various homeland security and law enforcement missions
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DuPont to invest $500 million to expand Kevlar production
Growing demand for personal and vehicle protection conveniences company to increase Kevlar production capacity by 25 perent
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Mechanical mole seeks out disaster survivors under collapsed buildings
Robots already roll, walk, slither, and even “swarm” to locate or help survivors, so why not dig and burrow? University of Manchester rsearchers build a digging robot which imitates the common European mole
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InRob Tech leverages military technology in civilian markets
A remote-control and robotics specialist uses technologies developed for defense and homeland security for civilian market applications
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Elephant trap for truck-bombs
A truck bomb killed 241 soliders in Beirut in 1983, and they continue to reap their grim harvest in Iraq and Afghanistan; a designer suggests an elephant-trap design as proetction
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Herding swarming robots
Individual autonomous machines are now in wide use on land, in the air, and at sea for defense and homeland security missions; using several of these robots together, in a coordinated fashion, is difficult; an MIT researcher offers a way to use “swarming” robots which talk to each other
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Bottle makes dirty water drinkable; ideal for post diaster relief
A bottle which purifies even the dirtiest water — it uses filter which cuts out anything longer than 15 nanometres, which means that viruses are filtered out — is ideal for post-disaster relief, soldiers in the field
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Military GPS technology to be marketed domestically
Rockwell Collins will market its Polaris-branded devices, popular in the military, to homeland security and search and rescue agencies
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The long view
Sea-Level Rise Has Increased Frequency of Extreme Coastal Flooding Worldwide: Study
Human-caused sea-level rise has significantly increased the frequency of extreme coastal flooding worldwide. New research found that coastal flooding events expected only once every 100 years are now, on average, about 12 times more likely to occur.
China’s ‘Artificial Sun’: The Holy Grail of Energy
China has achieved a major milestone in its pursuit of commercial nuclear fusion, with two domestically developed superconducting magnets designed for a fusion reactor successfully passing technical acceptance and full-load testing.
U.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable
Droughts in the United States are becoming more intense and unpredictable, and the nation needs to develop a new drought assessment framework to better understand and address them. A new framework should be developed which distinguishes between short-term operational needs, such as drought monitoring and emergency response, and long-term planning for water management, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.
What Should America Do with Its Aging Dams?
Aging dams pose growing safety and economic challenges. Two Stanford water experts discuss the safety, economic, and environmental tradeoffs driving debates over dam removal.