Surveillance

Businesses use anti-terror lists to screen customers
Mortgage companies and rental car agencies fear punishment if they unwittingly trade with America’s enemies; mistakes, however, cast a dark cloud over the project; system is rough on those named Hussein
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Investors in Intelligentias convert debt position to stock
The NSA domestic spying brouhaha offered an inkling of the commercial potential of data collection and retention; debt holders of a data retention company agree, converting their debt into equity
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Lumenera unveils new high-end video analytic cameras
Relationships with Pixim, ObjectVideo, and Texas Instruments pays off; intelligent cameras will be shown at ISC West
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Third Eye introduces employee stress monitor
Designed for medical monitoring, wrist-mounted device detects suspicious behavior
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Boeing graduates first military ScanEagle
Seven Georgia airmen will be the first to operate the UAV without Boeing’s assistance
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The Real ID Act poses serious challenges
The Real ID Act mandates that by May 2008, states must include biometric information in the driver licenses and equip these lcienses with RFID technology; this de facto national ID will be a boon to technology companies which manufature and sell systems to support digital ID, authentication, or encryption, but it may well also be a gift to hackers, criminals, and terrorists
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Ioimage acquires Unisor's technological assets
Ioimage, an important player in intelligent video, acquires technology which will bolster its offerings to the defense and homeland security markets
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Former CIA officials launch private intelligence agency
J. Cofer Black and Robert Richer strike out on their own with Total Intelligence Solutions; company intends to bring spycraft into the corporate suite
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SIM sells quadrotor Sky-Eye UAV to China
Small unmanned helicopters to be used by civilian police; craft similar to Diehl’s SensoCopter; company claims at least thirty units sold so far; Flight Global offers technical specifications
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Galileo Avionica wins $26 milliion Aussie Coastwatch contract
Twelve-year contract to install airborne and ground sensors to protect the continent’s coastal waters; Australia homeland security market continues to show stength
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iRobot shares suffer, but future looks bright
Company predicts lower-than-expected earnings in 2007; Roomba and PackBot make an unlikely kinship; coordinating networks of PackBots the next big challenge as Helen Grenier looks to develop packs of surveillance droids
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Europeans plan to monitor airline passengers in flight
System marries video and audio analytics technology to individual passenger profiles in order to preempt terrorist activity; microphones pick up Koranic recitations while tiny cameras look for signs of nervousness
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UAVs struggle to access civilian airspace
Civilian air authorities demand collision-avoidance systems before permitting flight; high rates of operator error worry other pilots; American and European authorities meet to develop technical standards for such a system; industry mourns NASA’s Access Five program
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L-3 announces new thermal imaging camera for rescuers
Thermal-Eye 5000xp offers a 400 percent increase in pixels and twice the field of view as the previous model; camera is designed for emergency rescue, law enforcement, and perimeter security
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Verint beats out NICE to buy Witness Systems
Deal comes as Verint itself is an acquisition target by IBM; $950 million cash offer wins out; company poised to hold its own in the military and civilian data analytics markets
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