Depressing news for extremist privacy lovers today: a cheap CCTV camera which can reliably survive a large bomb explosion with video recordings intact has been developed. It's no longer possible to cover one's tracks by simply blowing everything up.
News of the new cheapo bombproof surveillance cams comes to us courtesy of - you guessed it - the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS didn't develop the kit, but did help test it by blowing up a bus with sixteen of the prototype ruggedised spyeyes aboard (vid below). Each camera's memory chip had been preloaded with video files in order to see how much was retained.
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
Blurring the lines between magic and science: Berkeley researchers create an 'invisibility cloak'
The great science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously noted the similarities between advanced technology and magic. This summer on the big screen, the young wizard Harry Potter will once again don his magic invisibility cloak and disappear. Meanwhile, researchers with Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley will be studying an invisibility cloak of their own that also hides objects from view.
A team led by Xiang Zhang, a principal investigator with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and director of UC Berkeley's Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center, has created a "carpet cloak" from nanostructured silicon that conceals the presence of objects placed under it from optical detection. While the carpet itself can still be seen, the bulge of the object underneath it disappears from view. Shining a beam of light on the bulge shows a reflection identical to that of a beam reflected from a flat surface, meaning the object itself has essentially been rendered invisible.
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A team led by Xiang Zhang, a principal investigator with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and director of UC Berkeley's Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center, has created a "carpet cloak" from nanostructured silicon that conceals the presence of objects placed under it from optical detection. While the carpet itself can still be seen, the bulge of the object underneath it disappears from view. Shining a beam of light on the bulge shows a reflection identical to that of a beam reflected from a flat surface, meaning the object itself has essentially been rendered invisible.
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Safety Laser Scanner covers up to 48 zones
The New Keyence SZ Series, Type 3 Safety Laser Scanner, allows users to configure protection areas anywhere, even in complex-shaped zones and dangerous areas. Its compact body and light weight help facilitate installation and save space without compromising quality or detection range. Despite its compact size, the SZ Series can create a protection zone up to 4.2m (13.77') with a warning zone area projecting as far as 10 m (32.80') from the scanner.
The SZ Series ensures reliable detection of any target regardless of its color or surface finish. Even matte black targets can be detected, thus eliminating the need to worry about dark colored work clothes affecting its performance.
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The SZ Series ensures reliable detection of any target regardless of its color or surface finish. Even matte black targets can be detected, thus eliminating the need to worry about dark colored work clothes affecting its performance.
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Rubber Suspensions target fire and rescue industry.
Available in tandem capacities of 42,000, 48,000, 54,000, and 58,000 lb, HN® FR Series utilizes VariRate® spring system to provide optimal balance of empty ride quality and loaded stability. Diagonally-mounted rubber bolster springs act in compression and shear to dissipate road shock, while extra wide spring centers and Hytrel® auxiliary springs provide stability for high center of gravity applications and emergency driving conditions.
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RFID Asset Tracking Solution Debuted by DAILY RFID
DAILY RFID has released a modified RFID Asset Tracking solution, designed to track and manage mobile and fixed assets. It can automatically keep track of assets as they move in and out of an area.
This 13.56MHz RFID asset tracking solution can apply to all assets in business. To track asset with RFID, asset tracking tags or rfid metal tags are attached to the assets, depending on different environment, so as to enable the stability of the system.
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This 13.56MHz RFID asset tracking solution can apply to all assets in business. To track asset with RFID, asset tracking tags or rfid metal tags are attached to the assets, depending on different environment, so as to enable the stability of the system.
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Blade forces
US researchers have developed a technique that uses sensors and software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind-turbine blades.
The research by engineers at Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories is part of an effort to develop a smarter wind-turbine structure.
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The research by engineers at Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories is part of an effort to develop a smarter wind-turbine structure.
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Speed Bump Sensors Keep Hummers Rolling
Wear and tear on Humvees need not slow down the U.S. Army – soldiers could soon drive over speed bump-like diagnostic cleats to determine the conditions their vehicles are in.
Embedded sensors could detect suspension or tire problems by comparing vibration signatures with the baseline signature of a healthy vehicle. Researchers used triaxial accelerometers to gauge tire forces in a cleat prototype.
"The cleat is a quick first check to determine what's mechanically wrong with a vehicle before wasting time hunting for potentially simple problems," said Joseph Gothamy, who leads the reliability and durability simulation team at Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, in Warren, Michigan.
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Embedded sensors could detect suspension or tire problems by comparing vibration signatures with the baseline signature of a healthy vehicle. Researchers used triaxial accelerometers to gauge tire forces in a cleat prototype.
"The cleat is a quick first check to determine what's mechanically wrong with a vehicle before wasting time hunting for potentially simple problems," said Joseph Gothamy, who leads the reliability and durability simulation team at Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, in Warren, Michigan.
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Hackers Breach the Joint Strike Fighter Program
Cyberwarfare ratchets up as intruders siphon information from the Pentagon's most sensitive and expensive weapons program. Are Chinese hackers responsible?
After frightening revelations that hackers have already managed to break into the computer systems that control huge swaths of the United States' power grid and other pieces of national infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports that cyber-spies have broken into the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter program -- its costliest initiative -- and made off with several terabytes of sensitive data. Hackers have also managed to get into the Air Force's air-traffic-control system, the Journal reports.
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After frightening revelations that hackers have already managed to break into the computer systems that control huge swaths of the United States' power grid and other pieces of national infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports that cyber-spies have broken into the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter program -- its costliest initiative -- and made off with several terabytes of sensitive data. Hackers have also managed to get into the Air Force's air-traffic-control system, the Journal reports.
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Social Networking for Emergencies
Microsoft Vine takes the trivia out of tweeting
Emergency response entails a widespread tactical effort by countless government agencies. Too often, citizens are left out of the loop and have to rely on mass media, cell phones, and Web sites for emergency information. Microsoft Vine is a new social networking tool, designed to help its users keep tabs on people and places. Currently in a beta test in Seattle, the service lets you enter a location and see news reports aggregated from 20,000 sources, and from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. You can enter people you want to track into Microsoft Vine, and then receive an e-mail, text message, or an update about them in the Vine dashboard -- which runs on Windows only. Disaster victims with Macs are out of luck.
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Emergency response entails a widespread tactical effort by countless government agencies. Too often, citizens are left out of the loop and have to rely on mass media, cell phones, and Web sites for emergency information. Microsoft Vine is a new social networking tool, designed to help its users keep tabs on people and places. Currently in a beta test in Seattle, the service lets you enter a location and see news reports aggregated from 20,000 sources, and from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. You can enter people you want to track into Microsoft Vine, and then receive an e-mail, text message, or an update about them in the Vine dashboard -- which runs on Windows only. Disaster victims with Macs are out of luck.
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GE breakthrough steps closer to 500 Gbyte optical storage disc
Although they are not the first to develop ultrahigh-density data storage technology (see "Terabyte optical disc relies on two-photon process" and "Harvard researchers develop plasmonic laser antenna [to improve optical storage technology]"), GE Global Research (Niskayuna, NY), the technology development arm of General Electric, announced a major breakthrough in the development of next-generation optical storage technology. GE researchers successfully demonstrated a threshold micro-holographic storage material that can support 500 gigabytes (Gbyte) of storage capacity in a standard DVD-size disc.
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Air Force fields special flight suit for JSF
Pilots flying the F-35 Lightning II are getting their own flight suit, a more comfortable one that will protect their arms if they have to eject from the stealth fighter.
The sage-green flight suit looks like the one now worn by thousands of other airmen except for no line-cutter pocket on the left leg and the addition of a removable fabric cord attached to each upper sleeve, said Cheryl Limrick, a spokeswoman for the Joint Strike Fighter program office in Arlington, Va.
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The sage-green flight suit looks like the one now worn by thousands of other airmen except for no line-cutter pocket on the left leg and the addition of a removable fabric cord attached to each upper sleeve, said Cheryl Limrick, a spokeswoman for the Joint Strike Fighter program office in Arlington, Va.
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