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DARPA selects Goodrich for next-generation night vision technology
Company to develop next-generation night vision sensor technology for helmet-mounted and micro vehicle applications based on its indium gallium arsenide-night vision (InGaAs-NV) SWIR sensors
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Terrorists in Europe more difficult to track
As intelligence services and law enforcement use ever-more-sophisticated technology to monitor and track terrorists, al Qaeda operatives and sympathizers are countering by using different measures to avoid detection; they avoid places that they assume are bugged or monitored, such as mosques and Islamic bookshops, use more sophisticated codes, and more
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Preventing bicycle theft -- and public safety
A graduate engineering student at Leeds University develops a clever video analytic tool to help cut down the number of bicycles being stolen in the U.K. every year (currently, 500,000 bicycles); tool can also be used for other public safety missions
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TSA places behavior observation teams in more airports
TSA behavior observers now operate in more than fifty U.S. airports; since January 2006, behavior-detection officers have referred about 70,000 people for secondary screening; of those, about 600 to 700 were arrested on a variety of charges
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U.S. grounds 39 Lockheed P-3C surveillance planes
The U.S. Navy says that structural fatigue has caused the grounding of 39 out of the Navy’s 161 P-3C Orion surveillance planes; Orions used heavily in post-9/11 operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan
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Motorola invests in RFID maker
Santa Clara-based Intelleflex raises $15.5 million from Motorola, Arcapita Ventures; the move may signal a change of attitude by VCs, who have so far failed to warm up to the technology; another RFID maker, Colorado-based SkyeTek, raised $10 million in July
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AT&T shows RFID solution for schools
RFID-GPS solution will allow school district to monitor schools buses, but also school equipment, students and teachers, and visitors; it will also help in disaster response
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Enjoying the benefits of GPS technology without giving up on privacy
The proliferation of location-based services raises the specter of an Orwellian Big Brother society in which a citizen’s every move is monitored and tracked; two computer scientists offer a way to enjoy the benefits of location-based services, while avoiding the more sinister aspects of the technology
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Maker of small UAV raises $25 million
Insitu makes small, light UAVs aiming to tip soldiers off to an impending ambush or track the car of a terrorism suspect; company raises $25 million in fourth round; UAV market will expand from the current $3.4 billion per year worldwide to $7.3 billion within ten years
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Another milestone for SBSS
Boeing successfully tests the visible sensor, payload electronics, and high speed gimbal of the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system
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Qinetiq selected for £5 million slice of Watchkeeper contract
U.K. contractor selected for £5 million contract to deliver a critical part of the £800 million Watchkeeper UAV project; Watchkeeper project is designed to provide U.K. armed forces with specialized surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities
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Unmanned aircraft will challenge air traffic control
The rapid growth in the number of UAVs flying the skies for a variety of purposes leads to serious discussion of a UAV air-traffic control system to monitor their flight and prevent accidents
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Unmanned aircraft takes off and lands on water on its own
Wolverine researchers develop a UAV which is the first seaplane that can initiate and perform its own takeoffs and landings on water; funded by DARPA, the vehicle will fit into DOD’s “persistent ocean surveillance” program
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Companies join to create the RFID Consortium
The consortium will license patents that are essential to making products supporting the UHF RFID Standards announced by EPCglobal and ISO/IEC
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FLIR Systems received $2 million contracts to boost airport security
Thermal imaging specialist finds its cameras in demand at U.S. airports; cameras are suitable for securing the long perimeters typically associated with major airports
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The long view
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.