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Fuel cells for UAVs
Massachusetts company awarded a contract to increase the power density of its existing fuel cell while also increasing the power output of the overall system
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DARPA looking for space sweeper
The age of space exploration allowed mankind to look deep into space, but it has also created a glut of space junk orbiting Earth and threatening future space missions; DARPA seeks ideas on cleaning space debris, noting that it looking for systems capable of dealing with everything from rubbish up to “derelict spaceship” size
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Biometric surveillance checkpoint technology would notice the imperceptible
Draper Laboratory and collaborators develop technology which will home in on irregular physiological and behavioral biometrics of the individual being screened, such as heart rate, blink rate, and even fidgeting
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Roboboat to fight pirates
An American company has developed an automated counterpiracy system that could be outfitted to a vessel and set loose on patrol
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The day of the "iSniff" nears
Pocket-size pollution sensors hold promise of big improvement in monitoring personal environment; wearable sensors to be used for identifying air-borne causes of disease
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More efficient nuclear fuel sought
DoE funds research to address the shortcomings of uranium dioxide — the fuel most commonly used to generate nuclear energy
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California police employs nonlethal weapon used against pirates
ATC’s long range acoustic device (LRAD) blast sounds at 150 decibels — 50 times the human threshold of pain — to fend off approaching pirates or massing insurgents; California law enforcement is now using the device at local political events
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U.K. equips soldiers with thermal rifle sights
The red dot sight is more accurate than iron sights, could be used with both eyes open, and is generally more effective at typical combat ranges (under a hundred meters)
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Turning water fountains into infection control units
Toronto’s Farrow Partnership Architects sees future in infection-control units
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Detecting counterfeit pharmaceuticals
Researchers develop a method which quickly and cheaply identifies counterfeit drugs in the health care industry
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Electronic nose detects toxins
Physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, but chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals; new electronic nose will change that
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Surveillance software solves security snag
Network security monitoring is currently limited by the inability of operators to recall the relationships between more than about 40 cameras in a network; the new software will automatically integrate data from thousands of security cameras in a video surveillance network into a single sensor, eliminating existing problems with huge information overloads
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Airborne laser ready for flight tests
The coming months will be important for the airborne laser — the multibillion-dollar laser built into a customized Boeing 747 will try to shoot a ballistic missile as it rises above the clouds
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U.K. orders helmet-mounted displays
BAE’s The Q-Sight display is a key element of the Gunner’s Remote Sighting System (GRSS), a system that will allow the image from a machine-gun-mounted thermal weapon sight to be displayed remotely on a see-through display mounted on the weapon operator’s helmet
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New type of blast-resistant glass
Currently, blast-resistant window glass is more than 1in thick, which is much thicker than standard window glass that is only one-fourth of an inch thick and hurricane-protected window glass that is one-half of an inch thick; the new glass being developed is less than one-half of an inch thick
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More headlines
The long view
Autonomous Vehicle Technology Vulnerable to Road Object Spoofing and Vanishing Attacks
Researchers have demonstrated the potentially hazardous vulnerabilities associated with the technology called LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, many autonomous vehicles use to navigate streets, roads and highways. The researchers have shown how to use lasers to fool LiDAR into “seeing” objects that are not present and missing those that are – deficiencies that can cause unwarranted and unsafe braking or collisions.
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.
Prototype Self-Service Screening System Unveiled
TSA and DHS S&T unveiled a prototype checkpoint technology, the self-service screening system, at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, NV. The aim is to provide a near self-sufficient passenger screening process while enabling passengers to directly receive on-person alarm information and allow for the passenger self-resolution of those alarms.
Falling Space Debris: How High Is the Risk I'll Get Hit?
An International Space Station battery fell back to Earth and, luckily, splashed down harmlessly in the Atlantic. Should we have worried? Space debris reenters our atmosphere every week.
Testing Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology
Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.
Strengthening the Grid’s ‘Backbone’ with Hydropower
Argonne-led studies investigate how hydropower could help add more clean energy to the grid, how it generates value as grids add more renewable energy, and how liner technology can improve hydropower efficiency.
The Tech Apocalypse Panic is Driven by AI Boosters, Military Tacticians, and Movies
From popular films like a War Games or The Terminator to a U.S. State Department-commissioned report on the security risk of weaponized AI, there has been a tremendous amount of hand wringing and nervousness about how so-called artificial intelligence might end up destroying the world. There is one easy way to avoid a lot of this and prevent a self-inflicted doomsday: don’t give computers the capability to launch devastating weapons.
The Tech Apocalypse Panic is Driven by AI Boosters, Military Tacticians, and Movies
From popular films like a War Games or The Terminator to a U.S. State Department-commissioned report on the security risk of weaponized AI, there has been a tremendous amount of hand wringing and nervousness about how so-called artificial intelligence might end up destroying the world. There is one easy way to avoid a lot of this and prevent a self-inflicted doomsday: don’t give computers the capability to launch devastating weapons.