Surveillance

Magal wins a $6 million contract to secure Israeli army bases
Deal follows recent successes with U.S. water authorities, banks concerned about underground tunnelling, and a Scottish hospital; company will install perimeter detection and command and control systems
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U.K. researchers aid MAV development by solving "bumble-bee paradox"
Due to their small size, micro air vehicles struggle to attain sufficient lift; Bath University scientists discover a seventy-year old secret as to how bees manage to get off the ground; flexible insect-like wings might help MAVs realize full potential
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RE2 wins small business grant to develop agile UGVs
Robotics company known for its SHERPA platform will create a speedy unmanned ground vehicle with a manipulator arm; military has long desired a combination of swiftness and technical prowess; Foster-Miller and Exponent lend a hand
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DoD looks to balloons and UAVs to solve satellite weaknesses
Navy plans a 2009 roll-out for the $7 billion Mobile User Objective System satellite brigade, but DoD lacks funding for the receivers; Global Hawk and Combat Skycat seem promising, but short-term, alternatives
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London Olympics to sport photometric stereo facial recognition technology
Intriguing approach uses a single camera and multiple sequential flashes to develop a “facial skin signature”; software uses slightly differing shadows to generate a 3D image of higher quality than conventional facial recognition systems; skin color and tone can both be identified
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Boeing to integrate ShotSpotter into ScanEagle UAV
Air Force contract shows how two seemingly-unrelated technologies can find a happy marriage in homeland security; planners will conduct a four month test of the ShotSpotter’s ability to locate sniper fire; system could be in Iraq soon afterwards
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British researchers marry lip-reading to video analytics
Government hopes that software will enable them to solve crimes based on conversations gleaned from CCTV; tracking the head and lip remain a challenge, but progress is being made; Asian and African languages present difficulties
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NYC to allow citizens to upload photos during 911 and 311 calls
Breakthrough concept relies on established technology to help diffuse information; photos of suspicious individuals can be quickly uploaded to dispatch authorities; citizens protect infrastructure by keeping their eyes (and apertures) open
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Insitu's ScanEage succesfully meets Navy's heavy fuel requirements
Twenty-eight hour flight, a record for the craft, proves the heavy-fuel concept to a Navy interested both in safety and improved logistics; cold-weather flight overcomes traditional temperature challenges with heavy fuel
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U.S. authorities cite Web cams as a serisous threat
Many airports and other critical infrastructure permit on-line viewing of the premises; some even allow a pan and zoom feature; security experts worry that such may make an opportune method of reconnoisance
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DARPA seeks next generation hemispherical optical sensor arrays
Winning research proposal will sport a 120-degree field of view and a speed of 60 frames per second; ability to take images in the visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared optical spectra is critical; organic and inorganic materials will be considered; DARPA encourages industry collaboration
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Terrorists use Google Earth to plan attacks
British troops in Iraq find satellite maps in insurgent safehouses; precise geographic coordinates inadvertently assist America’s enemies; governments continue to negotiate with Google over coverage
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ICRC delivers first responder vehicles to Michigan National Guard
Heavy-duty truck is first to incorporate IRCS’s national guard vehicle information system for interoperability and networking; flexible communications, NBS detection, and nighttime surveillance among the features of this interesting vehicle
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Israel Aircraft Industries to launch new missile-hunting UAV
With a wingspan of 110 feet, the Eitan UAV is designed for high altitide, long-haul flights; attached cameras and missiles intended to stop ballistic missiles on the launching pad; trial flights begin this week
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Bureau of Land Management to deploy UAV to Idaho
Agency hopes to use the unnamed craft to keep track of vegetation and recreational areas; monitoring land-use permits a major impetus; local libertarian object to government interference
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