• IDF to use serpent surveillance robot

    Israeli researchers developed a 2-meter long serpent-like robot which mimics the movements and appearance of real snakes, slithering around through caves, tunnels, cracks, and buildings, while at the same time sending images and sound back to a soldier who controls the device through a laptop computer

  • UAV operation now a career path in U.S. Air Force

    The USAF has 127 Predator and 31 Reaper UAVs in service, along with some 400 pilots to run them; these operators can put about 36 UAVs into the air at any given time; the USAF wants to be able to do more, so it has instituted a policy which will see 10 percent of recent graduates from pilot schools will spend three years operating UAVs, before going on to flying manned aircraft

  • U.K. to emulate some of China's Olympic security practices

    The British police wants to implement during the 2012 London Olympic Games some of the security practices employed by the Chinese during the 2008 Beijing Games — some, but not all: A Scotland Yard report says that a “balance must be maintained between the use of technology to support security requirements and individual rights to privacy” (the Chinese were less concerned with that balance)

  • Brookline says "No" to CCTVs

    Two months ago the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, installed surveillance cameras at major intersections; on Tuesday, members of the city council voted to remove the cameras because of privacy concerns

  • Fuel-cells will extend UAVs' ability to roam the skies

    At present, battery-powered electric UAVs are limited to one to three hours of flight; Massachusetts-based Protonex developed a power systems which allows this flight time to be extended by up to four times

  • Raytheon to develop smart-map battle network for U.S. Army

    Raytheon signs contract to demonstrate smart-map computers which will allow soldiers to see enemy soldiers and each other on the digital maps even where GPS satellite navigation is unavailable

  • Asia-Pacific to drive growth in global CCTV market

    RNCOS says the global CCTV market will grow at a CAGR of more than 27 percent during 2009-12, driven by rapid growth in the Asia-Pacific region; global CCTV market will be worth $13 billion in 2012

  • U.S. Air Force uncomfortable with the idea of a pilotless bomber

    Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he is considering making the next-generation long-range bomber a pilotless aircraft; USAF chief begs to differ, saying “We would have to think seriously” about having a nuclear-delivery aircraft without a pilot

  • Court: use of GPS to track criminals requires warrant

    The New York State’s supreme court ruled that the police cannot use GPS to track a criminal suspect without a warrant; majority decision said: “the use of these powerful devices presents a significant and, to our minds, unacceptable risk of abuse”

  • Microchip-sized digital camera for surveillance

    In today’s minicams, the image sensors and support circuitry are on separate microchips, and most of the power goes on communication between the chips; Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena has squeezed all the components of a camera onto one low-power chip

  • RFID market to reach $5.56 billion by end of 2009

    In 2008, the average price per RFID tag was $1.13; the total value of tags being sold in 2008 was $2.23 billion; this figure will increase to $5.56 billion in 2009

  • Products block unauthorized RFID reading of contactless cards

    More and more countries and organizations move toward adopting RFID-enabled, biometric e-IDs — driver’s licenses, passports, national IDs, and more; trouble is, these e-documents are susceptible to digital pickpocketing; a U.K. company offers solutions

  • Elbit, GD create UAS Dynamics

    The military UAV market is becoming more lucrative; Elbit, maker of the popular Skylark and Hermes UAV lines, create a joint venture with General Dynamics to sell UAVs based on Elbit’s designs; company intends to compete with General Atomics’ Predator

  • DARPA looks for inertial-nav to be embedded in smart boot's heel

    DARPA is funding the development of smart shoes: soldiers and first responders will be equipped with shoes with embedded inertial navigation sensor; sensor will help in keeping track of soldiers, special operatives, and first responders in harsh environments

  • U.K. information commissioner: data collection trend will be reversed

    Richard Thomas, the outgoing U.K. information commissioner: “If you are looking for a needle in a haystack, it does not make sense to make the haystack bigger”