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Smiths Detection shows active mm-wave detection system
Passive mm-wave detection systems pick up the mm-wave heat energy emitted by the body, which is used as a background reference point; active systems transmit mm-wave into the detection area to boost the level of energy overall, give a better return and a more detailed image
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New car-stopper uses squids' tentacle-based approach
Looking for an answer to stop fleeing cars or suicide trucks hurtling toward their target, an Arizona company developed a tentacle-based device that ensnares the vehicle and brings it to a halt
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Researchers develop silent UAVs
UAVs are used more and more in surveillance and operational roles on the battlefield — and by the police; the larger UAVs are very noisy, announcing their presence and allowing the adversary to hide or escape; Georgia Institute of Technology researchers work on equipping UAVs with a “whisper” mode
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ScanEagle offers and example of dual-use technology
Initially developed to track dolphins and tuna from fishing boats in order to ensure “dolphin-safe” tuna in supermarkets, the ScanEagle UAV system has evolved into a mainstay with the U.S. Navy — and others as well
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Top 7 alternative technologies to fossil fuel
Energy expert says that an “all of the above” approach to the world’s energy problem is wrong; study shows wind and solar to be the most promising alternative technologies to fossil fuel; biofuel, clean coal, and nuclear power are do not hold such promise
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Keeping water clean
Researchers develop hydrogel material that can detect and remove contaminants in water; the hydrogel shrinks as it absorbs heavy metal pollutants, signaling the presence of cadmium and other toxic ions, even as it absorbs them from the contaminated water
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U.K. military employs hovering droids in Afghanistan
Hovering petrol-powered prowler patrols to check Afghan ambush alleys so soldiers do not have to; device may be used by law enforcement in urban areas — and future systems may carry weapons
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Detecting rusted metal encased in concrete structures
Many of the problems of aging infrastructure owe to rusting metal; trouble is, much of that metal is encased in concrete — in bridges, tunnels, dams, roads; new technology uses electromagnetic fields to measure corrosion through non-ferrous material
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Israel uses new ISR systems, ordnance
Advocates of air power were humbled in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, but they hope to be vindicated in the Israel-Hamas conflict; Israel uses new ISR systems which shrink the sensor-to-shooter loop, and new bunker-busting ordnance
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NIST's electromagnetic Phantom standardizes metal detector tests
An electromagnetic phantom — a carbon and polymer mixture that simulates the human body — is being readied by NIST as a standardized performance test for walk-through metal detectors such as those used at airports
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"Small is beautiful" comes to the nuclear power industry
The main problem facing nuclear power is not the fear of accidents or terrorism, or anxiety about nuclear waste disposal; it is cost (it takes about $4,000/kilowatt to build a nuclear power station); there is a growing interest in small, tub-size nuclear power units
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SwissCopter in $15 million Middle East deal
Swiss developer of manned and unmanned systems for surveillance and search-and-rescue — and the innovative software these systems use — receives an order from an “unnamed Middle Eastern government”
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Scientists seek ways to ward off killer asteroids
The U.S. Congress has tasked a blue-ribbon panel of scientists with two missions: Find better ways to detect and deflect asteroids that might hit Earth; more than 5,000 near Earth objects, including 789 potentially hazardous objects, have been identified so far
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Government examines, then dismisses, threat of gravitational waves
A U.S. company solicited funds from the Defense Intelligence Agency to examine the threat to the United States from gravitational waves; the agency concludes that notions that these waves might pose a security threat “belong to the realm of pseudo-science, not science” (physicists say you did not need a 40-page report to reach this conclusion)
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Blood-detecting clothing to help first responders, soldiers
Wolverines researchers developed a yarn that can detect blood; clothing made from the yarn would be useful in high-risk professions, as unconscious firefighters, ambushed soldiers, or police officers in an accident may not be able to send a distress signal to a central command post
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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.