• Now you see it, now you don’t

    Blue Devils researchers develop a cloak which makes objects invisible to microwave beams; the cloak is based on a new design theory developed by Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London, and these principles may ultimately lead to the production of cloaks which confer invisibility within the visible frequency range

  • Researchers develop portable lab on a chip to identify WMD contamination

    Soldiers and first responders are exposed to chemical and biological threats, so there is a need to develop a quick and accurate technology to identify dangerous exposure — a technology, moreover, which can be carried easily into the field or the urban disaster area to perform on-the-spot contamination checks; researchers affiliated with MIT have developed such a technology

  • Laser powered by recycled fuel tested

    Here is a useful idea which would go a long way toward solving the logistical problems associated with operating laser weapons in the field: Use hydrogen peroxide and chlorine regenerated from waste products from prior laser operations

  • EST to test zNose technology in Iraq

    After testing in a simulated Iraqi village, the explosives detection system is ready to be used for checkpoint inspections and for “interrogating buildings” for bomb materials; wartime appplication just one for this versatile technology

  • Raytheon shipping microwave nonlethal weapon systems

    Militaries and law enforcement units have been intrigued by non-lethal weapons — weapons occupying the territory between shoot and shout — for more than four decades, but with few exceptions (taser guns, stun grenades) these weapons have not been widely deployed; Raytheon hopes that its microwave-based Silent Guardian will prove to be the exception

  • South Korea unveils armed guard robot for border, critical infrastructure sentry missions

    Wait ‘til Representatives Steve King and Tom Tancredo hear about this: A South Korean consortium develops an armed robot for guard mission along border and around critical infrastructure facilities; the robot can identify moving targets from as far as a mile, and it has ‘ears” which understand passwords

  • Lockheed Martin to develop stratospheric airship fabric

    It’s not your father’s Hindenburg; dirigibles — in their traditional, lighter-than-air configuration or in hybrid form — are gaining popularity as intelligence observation posts high in the sky (Israel, for example, has one parked high above the Gaza Strip, and a couple in the north, keeping an eye on the goings on inside Lebanon); the Pentagon wants airships for intelligence, too, but it is also considering the craft for transporting troops and equipment; oil and gas companies want to use them to ferry supplies and equipment to remote locations, and other commercial entities show interest as well

  • SecureRF shows new, more efficient security algorithm for RFIDs

    RFID technology is gaining adherents in more and more sectors, so it is good to see a technology which promises to enhance to security and economy of the tags receiving the recognitions it deserves

  • DHS installs first RFID e-passport readers; will meet Congress’s 26 October deadline

    he first RFID readers have been installed at SFI for the purpose of reading biometric information off passports from U.S. and visa waiver program countries; DHS will roll out readers to all major U.S. ports of entry

  • Computers to tell fact from opinion in newspaper articles

    Inquiring minds want to know whether what people say about the U.S. is based on fact or is mere opinion; DHS has allocated $2.4 million to a consortium of three universities to develop machine-learning algorithms which computers will use to engage more effectively and accurately in information extraction

  • IBM, University of Georgia to study the secret of business success

    IBM gives the University of Georgia money to study the secrets behind IBM’s success, and draw broader lessons from these successes so that technology companies would more effectively implement business strategies which enhance the chances of success in bringing innovative technology to market

  • Maryland agencies team up for homeland security business plan competition

    First-in-the-nation Chesapeake Innovation Center teams up with state Department of Business and Economic Development to offer $50,000 homeland security prize; companies have until 15 November to submit appliications

  • DHS to encourage development of liquid explosives detection technology

    New DHS technology chief says developing technologies to detect liquid explosives is the department’s priority, and that companies offering devices that do that will be accelerated through the process of granting their products liability protection

  • EOIR receives $7.8 in additional Army contracts

    Work for the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate to focus on new sensor technology; company will develop countermine and EO/IR components and ATR-signal processing schemes

  • Icuiti to provide goggle-mounted displays to the Pentagon

    Made in the USA: Bucking the outsourcing trend, an upstate New York technology company proudly proclaims that it will rely on local vendors to manufacture the various components of its sophisticated high-resolution goggle-mounted SVGA display