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UTD students place 2nd in Robotic submarine competition
Students’ 11th-hour changes help propel team to top Ranks in underwater challenge
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Edible optical sensor to watch for bacteria in food
Tufts University researchers demonstrate for the first time that it is possible to design “living” optical elements that could enable an entirely new class of sensors; these sensors would combine sophisticated nanoscale optics with biological readout functions, be biocompatible and biodegradable, and be manufactured and stored at room temperatures without use of toxic chemicals
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Self-healing wire to bolster avaiation safety
In 1996 an explosion downed TWA flight 800 off the shore of Long Island, killing all 230 passengers and crew; University of Dayton researcher who identified a plausible cause of the explosion has developed a self-healing wire designed such explosions in the future
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Military use of robots increases
The U.S. military goal is to have approximately 30 percent of the army be robotic forces by somewhere around 2020; it is well on its way
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Bullet-tagging technology to help combat crime
U.K. researchers develop new bullet-tagging technology: tags are applied to gun cartridges by being embedded in cartridge coatings made from polylactic acid, sucrose ester, and tetrahydrofuran; the tags attach themselves to the hands or gloves of anyone handling the cartridge, but a portion of the tag remains on the cartridge even after it has been fired, making it possible to make a definite link between a cartridge fired during a crime and whoever handled it
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China establishes itself as a physics powerhouse
Published journal articles in nanoscience, with at least one co-author based in China, have seen a 10-fold increase since the beginning of the millennium, rising to more than 10,500 in 2007; China has already overtaken the United Kingdom and Germany in the number of physics papers published and is beginning to nip at the heels of the United States; the verdict on the quality of many of these papers is still out
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Harris shows new multiband software-defined radio
New Unity XG-100 provides direct interoperability to federal, state, and local public safety agencies across multiple frequency bands
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Day of optical communications nears
New technique to compress light could open doors for optical communications; scientists at the University of California-Berkeley have devised a way to squeeze light into tighter spaces than ever thought possible, opening doors to new technology in the fields of optical communications, miniature lasers, and optical computers
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GM opens new powertrain development center
GM, looking to bring more fuel-efficient cars to market more quickly, opens state-of-the-art powertrain development lab
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"Gravity tractor" could deflect asteroids, protect Earth
Spacecrafts have a weak gravitational pull; new NASA study says that if an asteroid was menacing Earth and was more than one orbit away from the potential impact, then deploying such a space craft — in effect, a gravity tractor — near the approaching asteroid would deflect the threatening object and save Earth
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New simulation tool for handling hazardous situations
Irish, Israeli companies develop new simulation tool which immerse trainees in a scene which has been designed for them; new tool will help first responders and law enforcement familiarize themselves with situations before they occur
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Boeing chooses Qinetiq for Vulture program
Vulture is a pseudo-satellite system aiming to provide operational advantages in terms of persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications
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Security research
Imperial College London launches the Institute for Security Science and Technology; new outfit will research techniques for preventing identity theft to safeguarding transport infrastructure, energy supplies, and communication networks
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TSA testing shoe scanning technology
he Transportation Security Administration is testing show scanning machines from L2 Communications; this is a step toward eventually allowing passengers to keep their shoes on when they go through the security checkpoint
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Breakthrough: First commercial quantum cryptography chip
The future of (at least theoretically) completely secure communication nears as Siemens and two European research centers claim to have developed the first quantum cryptography chip for commercial use
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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.