• Emergency responders could have jetpacks by year's end

    Emergency responders in New Zealand could soon be zipping around on personal jetpack; last month, Glenn Martin, an inventor based in New Zealand, successfully flew his jetpack up to a height of nearly 5,000 feet; Martin has been hard at work on the jetpack for the last thirty years and hopes to have his “jetski for the skies” commercially available within eighteen months; the jetpack is essentially two two-liter V4 engines strapped to a carbon fiber frame; the device is wingless and is controlled by two joysticks and can be flown with little pilot training; Martin says that the first people to use the device will be emergency responders conducting search and rescue missions

  • New tech taps Earth's deep heat

    Established methods for transforming Earth’s heat into electricity involve extracting hot water from rock formations several hundred feet from the Earth’s surface at the few natural hot spots around the world, then using the hot water to turn power-producing turbines; University of Minnesota researchers developed a new system — CO2-plume geothermal system, or CPG — which uses high-pressure CO2 instead of water as the underground heat-carrying fluid; the method is expected not only to produce renewable electricity far more efficiently than conventional geothermal systems, but also help reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) — dealing a one-two punch against climate change

  • House drastically cuts DHS science and technology

    The Republican majority in the House last week passed a proposed DHS budget which drastically cuts the department’s Science & Technology Directorate’s (S&T) budget by 52 percent, from $827 million to $398 million; the Obama administration has requested $1.2 billion for that program in fiscal year 2012, which begins on 1 October; the S&T reductions are part of a $1.1 billion reduction in DHS’s overall budget, now $43.4 billion; the proposed DHS budget is $1 billion lower than the FY 2011 funding level, and $3 billion lower than the Obama administration’s request ; DHS officials say the decrease in S&T’s budget will wipe out dozens of programs, stalling the development of technologies for border protection, detection of bio-hazards, cargo screening; also cut will be research into domestic IED detection, leaving mass transit vulnerable to attacks

  • WWI, WWII-era dazzle camouflage of benefits in modern warfare

    Warships in both the First and Second World Wars were painted with dazzle camouflage: startling geometric patterns aimed at confusing the enemy rather than concealing the vessel; while dazzle camouflage would probably not have successfully distorted ships’ speeds in the two World Wars, it could play a role in today’s battlefields where fast-moving army vehicles frequently come under attack from shoulder-launched, rocket-propelled grenades

  • Bacteria designed for sleuthing

    Seven Cambridge University undergraduates spent the summer of 2009 genetically engineering bacteria to secrete a variety of colored pigments, visible to the naked eye; they designed standardized sequences of DNA, known as BioBricks, and inserted them into E. coli bacteria — so the bacteria can now change its color to red, yellow, green, blue, brown, or violet; the bacteria can be programmed to do useful things, such as indicate whether drinking water is safe by turning red if they sense a toxin; other uses for the design bacterium include monitoring food additives, patenting issues, personalized medicine, terrorism, and new types of weather

  • DHS completes tests on mind reading technology

    DHS officials recently completed an initial round of tests for its new intent detecting technology; with the Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program, DHS hopes to be able to identify terrorists or criminals before they execute an attack; FAST relies on remote sensors to measure several physical indicators like heart rate and how frequently one’s eyes flit back and forth; so far the technology has only been tested in a laboratory setting, but DHS says that it has been able to achieve a 70 percent accuracy rate; in the next battery of tests, officials will examine how FAST fares in more realistic settings; many scientists criticize the program for the dubious science behind it

  • Future UAVs will emulate birds

    Engineers at UC San Diego are mimicking the movement of bird wings to help improve the maneuverability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); this is important, because UAVs are quickly becoming popular tools for the armed forces, and there are also a myriad of civilian applications which are rapidly developing, such as border control, wildfire monitoring, search and rescue, and traffic observation

  • DARPA crowd-source next-gen UAV design

    DARPA has announced its UAVForge competition for the design of a user-intuitive, backpack-portable UAV which is also quiet, can stay aloft for at least three hours, and can fly in harsh condition; in addition to the $100,000 prize, the winning team will have the opportunity to showcase its design in an overseas military exercise

  • Smartphone apps help thousands in latest storms

    In the recent string of natural disasters to hit the Midwest, emergency communication smartphone apps have proven invaluable for contacting family members and first responders; during these natural disasters, telephone lines and cell phone towers are often inundated with traffic, leaving individuals unable to contact their loved ones or even reach 911; thanks to smartphone apps like Life360, individuals have been able to contact family members to let them know they are okay, or alert emergency workers if they are in trouble; during the floods that left Memphis, Tennessee under water, more than 2,400 families used the app to share their locations and confirm their safety

  • Forensic science to foiling fakers of Chinese art

    The field of Chinese art has become one of the hottest sectors of the global art market in recent years, and nowhere more so than in the demand for fine antique porcelain; prices for the finest Imperial porcelain have soared, but so have the ambitions of accomplished fakers, seeking to infiltrate exquisite new fakes into a market eager for top quality material; a joint effort by university researchers and an auction house will see the application of forensic science in the authentication of Chinese artifacts

  • Phantom Ray completes maiden flight

    Phantom Ray, Boeing’s fighter-sized unmanned airborne system (UAS), took to the early morning skies on 27 April at Edwards Air Force Base in California for its maiden flight; Phantom Ray is one of several programs in Boeing’s Phantom Works division, including Phantom Eye, which is part of a rapid prototyping initiative to design, develop, and build advanced aircraft and then demonstrate their capabilities

  • Portable technology provides drinking water, power to villages, military

    Researchers have developed an aluminum alloy that could be used in a new type of mobile technology to convert non-potable water into drinking water while also extracting hydrogen to generate electricity; such a technology might be used to provide power and drinking water to villages and also for military operations

  • Michelin developing puncture-proof tires

    Michelin, the French tire manufacturer, has invented the “Tweel” which could make vehicles impervious to punctures or even explosions; The Tweel is a combination tire and wheel that infuses the best elements of both designs; the Tweel has no pneumatic rubber shell leaving nothing to deflate or puncture; the Tweel resembles a wagon wheel with polyurethane spokes and rubber for the treads, but is not entirely rigid as the spokes are flexible; despite these improvements in design, Tweels have several flaws that have kept them from being widely implemented

  • Homeland security solution competition

    HSTV announced its Ideas for a Secure Tomorrow awards — a video competition that seeks the best ideas for improving security at both the local and national level; entries are due by 1 August 2011

  • Researchers develop paper that is stronger than steel

    Work by Australian researchers is a step forward in the development of a material that has the potential to revolutionize the automotive, aviation, electrical, and optical industries; the composite material based on graphite that is a thin as paper and ten times stronger than steel