Lifeboat Foundation

WALLOPS ISLAND — With space station resupply launches expected to resume in August and a runway under construction for testing drone flights, Virginia is looking at another opportunity to lure a major federal research program to the state’s expanding spaceport complex on this Eastern Shore barrier island.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is expected to begin looking for a place to base a new “science and technology testing ground” for unmanned vehicle systems — operating in the air and underwater — and boosters say the regional spaceport would be an ideal fit.

“What better place to do it than here?” said Peter Bale, chairman of the Wallops Island Regional Alliance, as members of the House Appropriations Committee visited last week.

Continue reading “Virginia looks at new opportunities for Wallops spaceport” »

Interesting.

The Science Council of Japan will make clear its position on military-linked research — possibly overturning a decades-long ban — by early next year, the academic group said Friday.

A committee of 15 academics from fields ranging from physics, political science to law held its first meeting to discuss whether to revise statements released by the council in 1950 and 1967 stating that the group will “never engage in military research.”

Continue reading “Science Council to make clear position on lifting military-linked research ban” »

They’re calling this a 3 Axis Vector Nano Superconducting Quantum Interference Device which is pretty exciting because it enables the ability to make smaller and cheaper devices for measuring light, such as optical sensors and photodetectors which are and will grow in demand especially with some of the AI technology that is and will be developed. Optical sensors are used to read the gestures/ expressions of a face which are important in security, AI technology, etc. Just hope the cost savings is passed on.

(Phys.org)—Researchers have fabricated a silicon optical antenna that is somewhat like an extremely small, special kind of prism. This is because when a red light shines on the optical antenna, the light turns right, but when the light is another color such as orange, it turns left.

This unusual property, which is called “bidirectional color scattering,” enables the optical antenna to function effectively as a passive wavelength router for visible light. The device could have applications for innovative light sensors, light-matter manipulation, and optical communication.

Continue reading “Optical antenna scatters different colors of light in different directions” »

These autonomous robots are high-tech security guards.

Will the good bots finish last in the war of bots? Dark bots are definitely not that easily stopped by AI in companies.

The bot era is here, and the world has already begun to see its transformative potential. But like any technology, there will be bad bots as predictably as good ones. With every advancement, there are people looking to exploit it. Anticipating what they might do is key so that builders, developers, and users can prevent, preempt, and prepare.

Here are the “dark bots” we’re likely to see:

Continue reading “Dark bots: The cat-and-mouse game begins” »

Canberra-based QuintessenceLabs has taken its university research and transformed it into a quantum security firm, with its products used globally by the likes of the United States government.

I told many people that this was coming a few years ago; so glad. Wait until you see smart meds that people can never become addicted or overdose on because the smart med reads your system and knows when enough is enough.

The security solutions company uses botanical-DNA based tools to tag, track, and trace products for an array of industries. Now with the hire of a personal care supply chain management expert, the company is set to expand its engagement with the industry.

This week the Stony Brook, New York–based company announced that Barbara Brockway has accepted the role of Director of Personal Care.

Continue reading “Applied DNA Sciences to grow its cosmetics, fragrances, and personal care business” »

Mass killings in US and Europe during 2015 & 2016: Pulse in Orlando — 49 killed; Brussels — 32 dead; Paris — 150 dead; San Bernardino 14 dead… With these numbers we have to assess could Robots equipped with sensors, communications, Tasers and other defenses be used for security guards to protect buildings and public areas and events as a defense to save lives. I believe getting robots equipped with sensor technology as well as other equipment could help towards combating terror. Also, drones should be looked at to be used in conjunction with these bots.

Gamma 2 Robotics introduced its new RAMSEE security patrol robot at Hexagon’s international conference HxGN LIVE, which is being held June 13–16 in Anaheim, California. The launch is part of a new partnership with Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure.

RAMSEE is a physical presence that patrols autonomously without supervision and provides real-time data on intruders, motion, heat, fire, smoke, gas and more. the company says in a news release.

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All is promising for Biometrics and biometric informatics; however, the technologies to date leveraged in IoT and other environments for parsing, analysis (especially predictive analysis), as well as better presented needs to be improved to be of value. We have seen great progress in the collection of the information and for some basic identification capabilities it looks good; however, to truly be effective and of value we need a lot more work done in this space especially when you look at today’s landscape of collecting information in areas of IoT and processing/ analysis with big data.

The global biometrics market is projected to cross US $ 24.8 billion by 2021. Fingerprint recognition biometric systems are the most preferred type of biometric systems used across the globe, owing to their ease of use, low cost, high speed and accurate results.

Biometric systems are used across various public as well as private offices for enhancing the security of data and information, as these systems provide an accurate validation as compared to traditional methods such as ID cards, PINs, passwords, etc. Increasing use of biometrics in e-commerce and cloud computing solutions, coupled with initiatives taken by the government of various countries across the world to adopt biometrics systems for identification and verification purposes are some of the major factors driving demand for biometric solutions, globally.

Moreover, introduction of e-passports and e-visas, use of biometrics in criminal identification, increasing demand for smartphones integrated with biometric technologies and implementation of biometric technology in election administration are anticipated to drive the global biometrics market over the next five years.

Continue reading “Global Biometrics Market Worth US$ 24.8 Billion by 2021 — Vein Scanner to Outpace Fingerprint Recognition Biometrics — Research and Markets” »