First response

Soteria provides more details of search-and-rescue helicopter capabilities
The Soteria Consortium — consisting of RBS, Thales, and CHC — is competing with the AirKnight consortium for the lucrative contract to provide the U.K. government and localities with search-and-rescue helicopters
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New type of El Niño may mean more hurricanes make landfall
The form of El Niño may be changing potentially causing not only a greater number of hurricanes than in average years, but also a greater chance of hurricanes making landfall
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Rat-like rescue robot uses whiskers to feel its way through rubble
Researchers developed rat-like robot which can crawl through — and under — rubble in search for victims trapped under collapsed buildings; robot uses long plastic whiskers at the side of its head to detect objects and radio back to a control center
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Soteria chooses Sikorsky
Soteria — a consortium bidding for a U.K. search and rescue helicopter contract — has selected the Sikorsky S-92 as its preferred mission aircraft
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Orsus forms users group in the situation management market
First meeting of users group brings together core users of Situator to share best practices, ideas for product development
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Researchers develop ways for humans to use bat-like sonar vision
A team of Spanish researchers has developed a method of giving humans the power of echolocation or “biosonar” — used by bats for flying at night; first responders, search-and-rescue teams will be able to “see” through smoke, bodies, walls
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Bangladesh in SMS cyclone alert system trial
Thousands of people in Bangladesh die each year as a result of cyclones; the government is testing am SMS disaster warning system
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DHS announces $1.8 billion in federal preparedness grants
Grants to states and localities aim to protect, prevent, respond, and recover from potential calamities this fiscal year
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Locating VoIP callers in emergencies
Callers who use VoIP to call 999 (the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. 911) run the risk of making it difficult, if not impossible, for the police, paramedics, and fire crews to attend emergencies promptly; a system is being developed to locate Internet phones
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Motorola: Cellphones could offer a unified disaster alerts broadcasts
Motorola envisages using cellphones for emergency alerts even if most of a cellphone network is down; a new generation of cellphones that can rapidly form a peer-to-peer network when an emergency alert is broadcast
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U.K. hospitals missing true scope of swine flu infection
An expert says the extent of swine flu infection in the United Kingdom is being underestimated because hospitals are failing to test patients with respiratory illnesses for the virus
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Dutch researchers develop new virus detector
A prototype of a new system can detect within minutes if an individual is infected with a virus; the system carry out measurements many times faster than standard techniques, and it is also portable
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U.S. unprepared for severe solar storms
Mankind’s vulnerability to disruptions caused by severe solar storms has increased as a result of the increasing dependence of human societies on technology and electricity; a storm on the scale of the 1859 Carrington Event could damage the U.S. electrical grid to such an extent that vast regions of the country could be without power for weeks, perhaps months.
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Flu vaccine contracts worth $46.7 million awarded
Two companies awarded $46.7 million to supply influenza vaccine to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies
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The first true flying car: DARPA's Transformer TX
DARPA, in its FY 2010 budget request, has asked for $2 million to develop the Transformer TX; the list of requirement makes for a true flying car: it is quiet; it hovers; it carries up to four people and can run for up to two hours on one tank of fuel; it travels on roads; and can be operated “by a typical soldier”; it should also be able to run on an autopilot if need be
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