• Army heli-UAV hops to avoid obstacle trouble

    The U.S. Army funds development of a hopping rotochute — a UAV designed to travel deep into obstacle-ridden spaces such as caves and rubble-laden buildings to video what it finds

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • More efficient nuclear fuel sought

    DoE funds research to address the shortcomings of uranium dioxide — the fuel most commonly used to generate nuclear energy

  • 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

  • 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)

  • Turning water fountains into infection control units

    Toronto’s Farrow Partnership Architects sees future in infection-control units

  • Detecting counterfeit pharmaceuticals

    Researchers develop a method which quickly and cheaply identifies counterfeit drugs in the health care industry

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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