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BAE promotes intelligence, security start-ups
BAE’s inviting SMEs in the intelligence and security sector to come forward with innovative technologies as part of its Investment in Innovation program
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Israel shows -- and sells -- sophisticated loitering munition system
Israel used the Paris Air Show to display the Harop, a robo-kamikaze device; the defense-suppressing weapon loiters in the air and transmits back video to its control station just like a surveillance drone; if a target is found — typically, an enemy radar —the Harop can then fly down and crash into it with unerring precision, detonating its 50 lb warhead as it does so
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Large defense contractors on a buying spree of smaller UAV manufacturers
UAV expenditures will double within a decade from $4.4 billion annually to $8.7 billion, with more than $62 billion spent over the next ten years
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Simpler, cheaper planes steal the show in Paris
Simpler, slower, and cheaper planes, loaded with weapons, attract attention at the Paris Air Show; these planes are more suitable for the budget-conscious Pentagon — and for fighting insurgents; Stephen Biddle: “Somebody roaring by at 500 miles per hour has a harder time of distinguishing between civilians and insurgents”
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Defense contractors look to cybersecurity for growth
The Obama administration’s emphasis on cybersecurity in its FY2010 defense budget — and the federal budget more generally — offers opportunities for large defense contractors; smaller companies providing gear for Afghanistan/Pakistan war also see growth opportunities
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Biometric use in Australia grows
National Australia Bank is now using voice biometrics to authenticate its customers; the bank joins a lengthening list of Aussie businesses relying on biometric technology for quicker and more accurate identification of customers
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China uses stolen software in its new Internet censorship scheme
The Chinese government will impose strict Internet censorship beginning 1 July; the software the Chinese will use for filtering Web sites was stolen from California-based Solid Oak Software; the Chinese piracy was exceedingly clumsy: a file containing a 2004 Solid Oak news bulletin has been accidentally included in the Chinese filtering coding
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FLIR acquires Salvador Imaging
Acquisition will allow FLIR to expand into markets related to its core infrared business
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U.K. white supremacists plotted to use ricin against minorities
White supremacist cell in the U.K. plotted to use ricin to kill black people and other ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom; ricin is 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide
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Flying car's proof-of-concept testing now complete
Terrafugia says its Transition flying car has completed the proof-of-concept testing; company now to build a beta test prototype; the company is taking reservations, and deliveries are expected in 2011
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Congress offers relief to Washington State cherries growers
Congressional mandate, going into effect last Monday, requiring 100 percent screening of cargo on passenger planes, threated Washington State cherries grower; Congress offers growers relief
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Obama's emphasis on IT security a boon to Michigan companies
Focus on cybersecurity technology offers Michigan IT companies chance to grow; the state has been quietly building a respectable range of network security companies
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Smarter Security Systems shows vascular reader
Austin, Texas-based company shows its new vascular patterns reader; low false acceptance rate (FAR) of 0.0001 percent, quickness (0.4/seconds per person), the ability to performs with skin conditions such as scars or dirt and any lighting conditions makes it ideal for industrial applications
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Biometric: Promise and peril
The trend toward digital identification and biometrics appears inexorable; this trend is a boon to companies in biometrics — but it also raises serious privacy concerns
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Biometric technologies improve, offering greater reliability
Biometrics is not perfect — but it is improving; biometrics is developing along two lines — physical, which is often more intrusive for the user, and behavioral, which is usually less intrusive; Fujitsu’s Jerry Byrnes: “What was James Bond 15 years ago is biometric reality today”
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