• New nonlethal weapons uses light flashes to disorient adversary

    As the debate over nonlethal weapons continue — are they more humane because they do not kill? Are they instruments of torture? — DHS funds the development of flash-light-based system which incapacitates by flashing LED lights at several specific frequencies

  • Beyond fingerprinting: Alternative biometric technologies advance

    As more organizations turn to biometric technology to help them perform their missions, they show interest in a variety of technologies — vein architecture, retinal scan, facial recognition, and more; these are good times for innovative biometric companies

  • Invention turns trash into ethanol

    Two University of Maryland researchers develop a process which turns trash into ethanol; the researchers found that a Chesapeake Bay marsh grass bacterium has an enzyme that could quickly break down plant materials into sugar, which can then be converted to biofuel

  • ThruVision shows T5000 T-ray security imaging system

    T-rays operate in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum; T-ray-based detection system can see through clothing of still or moving individuals at a distance of up to twenty-five meters to reveal hidden objects

  • Fuel cell joint venture formed

    In an effort to accelerate the development of fuel cells, two companies form a JV to target the light industrial, commercial, and residential markets in the United Kingdom and Ireland

  • New camera vastly improves surveillance

    Revolutionary camera design could have far-reaching implications for the military, crime prevention, and enforcement as well as traffic analysis and emergency response support; design is based on an array of light sensitive chips placed at the focal plane of a large multiple-lens system

  • Aussie-Chinese collaboration on clean coal

    Australia, China in collaborative clean coal effort; the goal is to hone the post combustion capture (PCC) process, which uses a liquid to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from power station flue gases

  • European consortium to improve ground-probing radar

    Effort aims to allow ground-based radars to penetrate deeper; scientists hope to create a new radar-based sensor that can be attached to drill heads to give operators real-time information about obstacles in the drill path

  • Measuring the size of waves

    Surfers — and wave energy converters — benefit from a having more accurate sense of the size and intensity of waves; Scottish researchers developed a technique to make the exploitation of wave energy more efficient with a device that measures the size of each wave approaching the converter

  • Invisibility cloak for nanoparticles designed

    Researchers design invisibility cloak for nanoparticles; the new particle invisibility cloak will help create a vast array of new material technologies that combine unknown property combinations such as strength and durability with optical transparency

  • Sea cucumber inspires new plastic for body armor, brain implants

    Sea cucumbers’ skin is usually supple, allowing them to slide through narrow spaces between rocks and corals; when touched, however, a defensive reaction makes their skin go rigid in seconds, thanks to enzymes that bind protein fibers together; researchers apply this process to clothing, creating garments which switch stiffness in response to a pulse of electricity

  • Researchers show principles of mind-reading machine

    Researchers have developed a more sophisticated way to extract visual stimuli from brain signals; they developed a computational model that uses functional MRI (fMRI) data to decode information from an individual’s visual cortex; system may help in decoding dreams, and may offer a more humane interrogation technique

  • Growing interest in multi-view X-ray technology

    Multi-view X-ray machines offer several different views of objects within each piece of luggage, and they also automatically detect the presence of improvised explosive devices; TranSec World Expo in June will showcase the technology

  • GE Security, Schiphol to collaborate on security technology

    Leading security developer and major European airport will work to develop advanced technology aviation security; collaboration will lead to a real-world evaluation of existing and emerging security products and technologies “from the European perspective”

  • Taming food poisoning and bioterrorism toxins

    Rutgers researchers offer new insights into how plant toxin ricin kills cells; insights could help scientists develop drugs to counteract poisonings, reducing the threat of ricin as a bioterror weapon