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U.S. federal agencies ready for IPv6 D-Day (which is today)
Agencies expect to meet 30 June deadline; future of IPv6 awaits new president; IPv4 — the current version of the Internet — is running out of address space; IPv6 provides many more addresses — 2 to the 128th power
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Airless tires may be a lifesaver in military combat
A Wisconsin company and Badgers researchers develop an airless tire that can withstand extreme punishment, even those meted out in military combat zones
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Acoustic cloak silences nuisance noise
Spanish researchers prove metamaterials can be designed to produce an acoustic cloak — a cloak that can make objects impervious to sound waves
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Super-sensitive explosives detector
Innovative explosives detector can detect explosives at distances exceeding 20 yards; the technology is a variation of photoacoustic spectroscopy but overcomes a number of problems associated with this technique
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New biological, chemical decontamination solution
An airborne and surface decontamination system delivers a decontaminant mist that results in rapid surface area contact and full non-line-of-sight coverage
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Food inspection technology improves food safety
New inspection X-ray technology developed by European researchers is helping to ensure that the only thing in people’s dinners is the food itself
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Wireless communication under water
Acoustic time reversal cleans up underwater sound signals, extending their range and capacity
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U.S. DOE offers $1.3 billion funding for clean coal technology
The Bush administration sees clean coal as a vital component of its energy policy, and the Department of Energy announced a funding opportunity of $1.3 billion for companies and organizations doing research and development of clean coal
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Hybrid trucks could save fuel and the environment
Sales of small- to medium-size hybrid passenger cars are growing fast, but hybrid technology for trucks is about a decade behind; U.S. Congress wants to change that
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New CCTV cameras can see and hear
Researchers teach intelligent CCTV to “hear” as well as see; the CCTV’s artificial intelligence software is being taught to recognize sounds associated with crimes, including breaking glass, shouted obscenities, and car alarms going off
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New X-ray technology order of magnitude brighter
The electron pulse enters an undulator and generates an X-ray which is reflected back into the undulator entrance by crystals and connects with the next electron bunch and again travels back along the undulator
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GM, Carnegie Mellon collaborate on autonomous driving
General Motors and Carnegie Mellon University have collaborated on an autonomous vehicle which was entered in DARPA 2007 Urban Challenge competition; the now commit to expanding their collaboration with the aim of accelerating the emerging field of autonomous driving
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Intelligent binoculars
Northrop Grumman develops binoculars which connects to scalp electrodes in the soldiers’ helmets; the electrodes record how soldiers’ brains react to various objects as they look through the goggles, then train the binoculars in what constitutes a threat
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Canada puts brakes on electric vehicles
There is a growing demand in environment-conscious Canada for electric cars, but the Canadian government says that the vehicles made of lightweight metals and plastics are not safe to drive on Canada’s open roads
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Plane wings made of glass
Researchers learn more about the atomic structure of glass, offering the possibility of constructing plane wings — and other things — with glass rather than metal, thus avoiding the danger of metal fatigue
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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.