• Terahertz scanners may detect what whole-body scanners miss

    A typical full-body scanner works by bouncing X-rays off an individual’s skin to produce an outline image of the person’s body; these images must then be studied by an operator who makes the call whether there is a potential explosive present or not; the operator’s subjective view makes the system more fallible; terahertz technology works by sweeping a terahertz beam across a person and then using sensors to detect the radiation that reflects back; explosives and benign substances such as candy have a different terahertz spectrum, or fingerprint, that can be classified by TeraView software

  • Battling against biological threats with ultrasonics

    A tweezers-like device uses ultrasonics to detect bioterror agents; when a small sample such as a powdery anthrax mix is placed inside the device, an array of piezoelectric transducers would generate an ultrasonic force field onto the sample; security officials would be able to detect anthrax from innocuous powders in the mix through differences in compressibility and density

  • Quake-proofing U.S. buildings

    An Indian civil engineer has invented a sleeved column braces which help buildings withstand earthquakes; the sturdy brace apparatus surrounds a core of high-performance steel, but is spaced from the sides of the core; the sleeve thus absorbs and dissipates energy, but does not buckle under pressure; several large buildings in California, built in the last few years, have adopted the technology

  • Shooting payloads into space with a cannon

    Using rockets to loft payloads into orbit costs $5,000 per pound; a proposed ling-barrel cannon can deliver cargo into orbit around $250 per pound; what is more, unlike a rocket, the cannon is re-usable; it will take seven years and about $500 million to build the cannon

  • Robot chooses from a menu of walking styles to escape trouble

    When a newly developed robot finds it cannot move freely, it scans through the many walking gaits it has taught itself and selects the best for the terrain; this means it can free itself should it get stuck; the robot has six triple-jointed legs each with several sensors; the sensors feed information to the neural network, which then determines the most appropriate gait for the terrain, and adjusts the robot’s eighteen motors accordingly

  • Robots climb up the wall

    Robots which mimic wall-climbing animals can be used for gathering information; they can climb up walls and peek into windows – or clamber around the submerged hulls of cargo ships to check for contraband and bombs

  • Russia to build nuclear spaceships

    The key technical problem in sending manned missions to the Moon and Mars is the development of new propulsion systems and energy supplies with a high degree of energy-mass efficiency; the chemical rockets used in spacecraft today expel their reaction mass with relatively low energy, making them inefficient; in the case of round-trip journeys without refueling at the other end, chemical rocket craft will need to carry so much fuel that they will struggle to deliver any useful payload

  • Computer spots behavior patterns

    New cognitive computational system recognizes and predicts human behavior; applications for the system could include intelligent surveillance and accident prevention

  • Fire-fighting robots developed

    Sheffield-Hallam University develop fire-fighting robots; these robots carry individualized laser-range, radio-signal and ultrasound sensors that are designed for specific tasks such as warning of toxic materials, providing and maintaining mobile communication links, or inferring localization information

  • Hidden sensor network detects explosives

    German researchers develop a covert sensor system that track people carrying explosive in busy transportation hubs; the system works using two separate sensory networks that gather chemical and kinetic information — the first is made up of a series of four to six rotating laser scanners that send pulses through corridors, walkways, or escalators at airports or railway stations; the second network consists of electronic sensors hidden in air vents and wall fixtures that provide chemical data on explosive materials

  • U.K. firm says its scanning technology meets security, privacy concerns

    Cambridge, U.K.-based TeraView says it is developing terahertz body scanners which use light from upper end of the infra-red spectrum, with a wavelength between 0.1 and 1mm; the scanners do not produce an image but a “fingerprint” — rather than blurry pictures of naked tourists, a TeraView scanner would return absorbance data that could be automatically analyzed to approve travelers or alert airport staff to investigate further

  • U..S faces critical shortage of computer scientists

    DARPA says the United States is facing a critical shortage of computer scientists; “While computers and internet connectivity become daily fixtures in the lives of Americans, we are steadily losing the engineering talent to [develop and maintain] these systems”

  • Israeli ducted-fan sky-jeep in flight trials

    Fancraft technology is different from hovercraft technology, because hovercrafts cannot actually fly; fancraft technology involves the use of a basic idea: ducted fans, which are essentially enclosed helicopter rotor discs; until now, the technology faced two problems: small thrust discs mean very low efficiency, leading to aircraft with unacceptably poor fuel endurance and payload even in the context of helicopters; secondly, in the past, the ducted-fan machines were almost impossible to control; an Israeli company says it has solved at least the second problem

  • Keyboard strokes reveal who you are – and whether your are stressed

    The rhythms of a person’s typing style are stable over time, allowing computers and ATMs to identify you; researchers suggest key strokes could be used not only to verify identity but also to detect stress or even spot early signs of Alzheimer’s disease

  • Debate intensifies over full-body scanners

    The Christmas Day near-bombing invigorated an already-keen interest in whole-body scanners; there is debate going on over the effectiveness – and health risks – of the two main technologies available: millimeter-wave radiation and backscatter radiation; some suggest soft chemical ionization as an alternative