Drones could help human workers
safeguard the 4 million miles of U.S. highways crisscrossing the
country. The flying robots could inspect bridges and roads, survey lands
with laser mapping, and even alert officials to traffic jams or accidents.
One such project focused on studying the use of drones recently received $74,984 from the Federal Highway Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Researchers plan to spend the next year figuring out how drones could
help workers as they go about inspecting and maintaining the safety of public roads and highways.
"Drones could keep workers safer because they won't be going into traffic or hanging off a bridge," said Javier Irizarry, director of the CONECTech Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "It would help with physical limitations of the human when doing this kind of work."
Georgia
represents one of several states considering how civilian drones could
do some jobs for transportation departments, the police and
firefighters. The state is also competing to become one of several
flight-test regions for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration — a step in the FAA's plan to open up U.S. civilian airspace to drones by 2015.
The
larger, aircraft-size Reaper or Global Hawk drones could spend hours
surveying traffic conditions or carry light detection and ranging
(LIDAR) equipment that can map terrain with millions of laser pulses.
That could potentially replace the expensive use of manned helicopters
doing the same job.
Irizarry
gave the example of the spherical drones that mapped a huge alien base
in the 2012 science fiction film "Prometheus" as an analogy for how
today's larger drones could aid in above-ground laser mapping. He has
also enlisted the help of Eric Johnson, an aerospace engineer at Georgia
Tech, to figure out the best role for drones.
"We're
going to look at the different divisions that [DOT] has and see how
they do things like surveying, safety monitoring or using traffic
cameras," Irizarry told TechNewsDaily. "Maybe they could be using drone technology for a similar purpose."
But
the human factor also matters. Georgia Tech researchers will spend the
next year studying the best control schemes or interfaces for human
workers to deploy drones — probably regular video displays rather than
more futuristic augmented-reality goggles or technology, Irizarry said.
They'll also consider how to retrain human workers if drones end up
taking over some jobs.
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If
one part of some lawmakers' plan for comprehensive immigration reform
goes through, Social Security cards could soon come with a fingerprint.
Asked
whether he favored "a super Social Security card that would have some
sort of biometric thing like a fingerprint" by Politico's Mike Allen at a Politico Playbook breakfast on Wednesday, McCain said, "I'm for it."
McCain
said he was not sure "exactly how" such a proposal would play out in
any legislation, "but there is technology now that could give us a
Social Security card, people a Social Security card, that is
tamper-proof."
"We
want to make sure that employers do not hire people who are here
illegally," said Schumer, who has called for biometric employment cards
in the past. "The only way to do that is to have a non-forgeable card.
Because right now you can go down the street here and get a Social
Security card or a driver's license for $100 that's forged."
Biometrics
proposals have been floated for years as one solution to the vexing
problem of how to prove workers are who they say they are. The ID card
industry sees the potential for billions of dollars of business if
immigration reform leads to biometric requirements. Privacy advocates,
however, worry the new proposals could in essence create a national ID
-- and lead to a spate of Arizona-style "show-me-your-papers" laws.
Some
of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the
United States resort to using forged or stolen Social Security
identities to obtain work. A computer system called E-Verify is supposed
to catch people who are not authorized to work in the United States,
but it goes no further than matching a name to a number, and its use is
usually voluntary.
Schumer's
solution is to require some sort of biometric information, like a
photo, a fingerprint or an iris scan, to go along with Social Security
cards. The biometrics would provide a verifiable external check on the
bare Social Security number.
Civil
liberties advocates, however, caution that linking biometric
identifiers to Social Security cards would inevitably create momentum
toward a national ID card.
"Once
you have a physical card, people are going to start asking for it,"
said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil
Liberties Union. "If you look like you might be undocumented, are police
going to expect to see your card on the street? We've seen these kinds
of status checks in places like Arizona in the past."
Representatives
of the biometrics industry claim the cards could be made in a way that
respects privacy and prevents official misuse.
"What
it really comes down to is: how do we deal with an identity environment
and make sure we're empowering the citizen? How do we let them be the
one that's in control of their identity?" said Kelli Emerick, executive
director of the Secure ID Coalition, an industry group. "There are ways
in implementation that can be very sensitive to privacy."
Emerick
suggested an ID that included a photo on a chip embedded in the card,
not stored in a centralized database. "I think that could definitely be a
possibility," she said. "And maybe that's something that's voluntary:
If you want to harden your credential and add this piece to it, that's a
possibility." (Obama's proposal suggests "a voluntary pilot program to
evaluate new methods to authenticate identity.")
But
Calabrese countered that such a technique would mean that "any time you
lost your card you'd have to go back, go through the entire process
again to get your card reissued" -- an impractical solution, he said.
Whatever
the mechanics of the biometric cards, the political pitfalls both for
the Obama administration and Congress are clear. The 9/11 Commission
recommended hardened standards for state ID cards, but the resulting
REAL ID Act ran into a firestorm of controversy.
States objected to the costs of upgraded cards, and a coalition of
civil libertarians and conservatives concerned about government
overreach managed to slow the law's implementation to such an extent
that the Department of Homeland Security says so far only 13 states have met the law's standards.
Schumer
also suggested linking employment verification and biometrics the last
time immigration reform was on the table, in 2009, to similar
objections. ID industry executives estimated
they could make anywhere from $1 billion to $4 billion off the idea --
but it went nowhere. Emerick chalked the response up to "the politics
around immigration at that time."
But
Calabrese doesn't see the civil liberties objections to biometrics, or
anything approaching a national ID, fading any time soon.
"Imagine
the police holding their smartphones with their E-Verify app, and they
walk up to you on the street and say, 'What's your name?'" he said.
"It's an enormously intimidating prospect, this idea that they've got a
national database."
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MOSCOW,
January 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s armed forces are ready for a major
war, Chief of the military’s General Staff Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov
said on Saturday.
“No
one rules out the possibility of a major war, and it cannot be said
that we are unprepared,” Gerasimov said, speaking at an Academy of
Military Sciences meeting.
His
address covered key issues the armed forces face today – including
outsourcing. Col.Gen Gerasimov conceded that outsourcing was necessary,
in order to relieve soldiers of certain functions, but added that
“outsourcing is only needed in peacetime and only at permanent bases.”
He also stressed that these activities would be carried out by troops
during combat or training.
President
of the Academy of Military Sciences, Army General Makhmut Gareev said
that the Russian Army’s approach to outsourcing needed to be completely
reviewed.
“We
think that the outsourcing system needs to be given a root-and-branch
review: laws should be passed covering combat scenarios, their transfer
to a war footing, and their full subordination to unit commanders,”
Gareev explained. He also warned that unless this was done, then
logistics and technical support systems would collapse.
Turning
his attention to the issue of military education, Gareev slammed the
current baccalaureate system involving a basic training component
delivered in colleges which is supplemented by additional training in
the armed forces’ academies, as entirely unsuited to military service.
He
said that officers’ training is the most important challenge the high
command currently faces. “Only the high command, with its highly
qualified specialists, is in a position to ensure that higher
educational institutions have the most sophisticated teaching and
material resources, curricula and academic literature,” Gareev said.
|
Mimicking a cellphone tower, it bypasses checks and balances
A
secretive cellphone spy device known as StingRay, intended to fight
terrorism, was used in far more routine LAPD criminal investigations 21
times in a four-month period during 2012, apparently without the courts'
knowledge that the technology probes the lives of non-suspects who
happen to be in the same neighborhood as suspected terrorists.
According to records released to the First Amendment Coalition
under the California Public Records Act, StingRay, which allows police
to track mobile phones in real time, was tapped for more than 13 percent
of the 155 "cellular phone investigation cases" that Los Angeles police
conducted between June and September last year.
As L.A. Weekly first reported in September, LAPD purchased StingRay technology sometime around 2006 with federal Department of Homeland Security funds. The original DHS grant documents said it was intended for "regional terrorism investigations."
But
the newly released LAPD records show something markedly different:
StingRays are being deployed for burglary, drug and murder
investigations.
Yet LAPD still refuses to answer questions about the spy technology or the legal interpretation that Chief Charlie Beck's office thinks give his department such powers.
Peter Scheer,
executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, says the documents
released by LAPD acknowledge "that they do have this technology, and
that they're using it. ... But the documents are ambiguous about whether
or not the procedure requires a warrant or other judicial permission
... "
The
portable StingRay device impersonates a cellphone tower, electronically
fooling all nearby mobile phones — not just the suspect's phone — to
send their signals into an LAPD computer. That signal reveals to police
the location of phones in real time.
But
the technology sucks up the data of every cellphone in the area, and
these innocent phone owners never know police are grabbing their
information.
Security researcher Chris Soghoian
last year warned that StingRays can jeopardize privacy: "If the
government shows up in your neighborhood, essentially every phone in the
neighborhood is going to check in with the government. ... It's almost
like Marco Polo — the government tower says 'Marco,' and every cellphone in the area says 'Polo.' "
Privacy
advocates are troubled by StingRay's "self-service" aspects: Police can
use the technology to get around the now-routine process of requesting
location data from cellphone service providers. Carriers like Sprint and AT&T usually require that LAPD get a court order.
StingRay could let police bypass the service providers entirely, and secretly.
LAPD won't comment on whether that's what it is doing.
As
with other emerging technologies, there's disagreement over how
StingRays should fit into privacy laws, which weren't written with such
sophisticated gadgets in mind. The courts have not yet weighed in.
ACLU of Northern California attorney Linda Lye,
who closely follows StingRay technology, says it appears LAPD has
embraced a very permissive interpretation toward obtaining court orders.
The
records suggest that LAPD doesn't explicitly describe StingRay but
instead seeks a judge's permission to use a "pen register/trap and
trace" — which is technology from landline days that functions like a
caller ID, can't zero in on a person's real-time location like StingRay,
and doesn't grab dozens or hundreds of innocent phone users in its web.
Equating
StingRay with a "pen register/trap and trace," Lye says, is like
applying for a search warrant for someone's home and then searching the
entire apartment complex. "The government has the duty of candor when it
goes to the court," she says. "If in fact they got court orders 21
times, and these were the court orders they sought, they were in no way
disclosing the technology they were using — and that is very troubling."
Scheer
says the First Amendment Coalition is preparing requests for more
information in hopes of clearing up what LAPD is telling judges — and
how often L.A. cops use the spy device without bothering to get a
judge's approval.
|
· Patch contains hundreds of 'microneedles' that penetrate the skin
· Could be used to deliver radical new DNA vaccines
It
could finally mean the end of painful injection, and instead deliver a
powerful new type of vaccine through a stick on 'tattoo'.
Researchers
say patches covered in 'microneedles' may be a far safer, and less
painful, way to deliver a new generation of vaccines.
They claim the system could even be used to deliver DNA vaccines for 'risky' disease such as HIV.
The Microneedle vaccine system uses tiny needles to penetrate the skin and deliver vaccines over several days
Applying
patches loaded with these needles onto the skin instantly embeds the
coatings into the body, much like the application of a tattoo.
These
microneedles can be designed to disrupt only the most superficial
layers of the skin to avoid nerve endings and blood vessels, making them
painless and safer than hypodermic needles.
This
type of vaccine delivery would also eliminate the need to inject
vaccines by syringe, says Darrell Irvine, an MIT professor of biological
engineering and materials science and engineering.
'You
just apply the patch for a few minutes, take it off and it leaves
behind these thin polymer films embedded in the skin,' he says.
The microneedles are set to be used to deliver a new generation of 'DNA vaccines' the researchers say.
Current vaccines help bodies develop immunity to diseases by exposing immune systems to potential invaders.
Scientists
are now developing DNA vaccines that deliver genes from contagions into
patients; the cells of vaccinated people then produce molecules from
those potential intruders that function like wanted signs, helping
immune systems recognize dangerous threats and making them far more
effective than conventional vaccines.
However,
researchers have struggled to find a way to deliver them effectively -
with the best methods so far involving injections and the applying an
electrical current to the skin.
Scientists
tested the patches on rhesus monkeys, measuring how much of a protein
encoded by a DNA vaccine the animals would produce.
The
monkeys generated 140 times as much of the protein in response to
microneedles as they did when injected using normal, hypodermic needles.
'Comparing
it to feeling like a cat's tongue is quite accurate,' researcher Peter
DeMuth, a biological engineer and materials scientist at MIT, told
TechNewsDaily.
'We
have very direct control over how the vaccine is delivered, and the
prolonged exposure to the vaccine that is possible with this system can
really enhance immunity.'
The new 'tattoo' is made of creating a patch made of many layers of polymers embedded with the DNA vaccine.
These
polymer films are implanted under the skin using microneedles that
penetrate about half a millimeter into the skin - deep enough to deliver
the DNA to immune cells in the epidermis, but not deep enough to cause
pain in the nerve endings of the dermis.
Once under the skin, the films degrade as they come in contact with water, releasing the vaccine over days or weeks.
As
the film breaks apart, the DNA strands become tangled up with pieces of
the polymer, which protect the DNA and help it get inside cells. |
BEIRUT (AP) -- An Israeli air attack staged in Syria this week may be a sign of things to come.
Israeli
military officials appear to have concluded that the risks of attacking
Syria are worth taking when compared to the dangers of allowing
sophisticated weapons to reach Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring
Lebanon.
With
Syrian President Bashar Assad's grip on power weakening, Israeli
officials fear he could soon lose control over his substantial arsenal
of chemical and advanced weapons, which could slip into the hands of
Hezbollah or other hostile groups. These concerns, combined with
Hezbollah's own domestic problems, mean further military action could be
likely.
Tzachi
Hanegbi, an incoming lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
Likud Party and a former chairman of parliament's influential foreign
affairs and defense committee, signaled Thursday that Israel could be
compelled to act on its own. While Israel's preference is for Western
powers to gain control over Syria's arms stockpile, he said there are no
signs of that happening.
"Israel
finds itself, like it has many times in the past, facing a dilemma that
only it knows how to respond to. And it could well be that we will
reach a stage where we will have to make decisions," Hanegbi told
Israel's Army Radio Thursday. Hanegbi, like other Israeli officials,
would not confirm Israeli involvement in the airstrike.
In
this week's incident, Israeli warplanes conducted a rare airstrike
inside Syria, according to U.S. officials who said the target was a
convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful
Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran.
The
Syrian military has denied the existence of any weapons shipment and
said a military research facility outside Damascus was hit.
On
Thursday, Syria threatened to retaliate, while Hezbollah condemned the
attack as "barbaric aggression." Iran, which supplies arms to Syria,
Hezbollah and the Hamas militant group in Gaza, said the airstrike would
have significant implications for Israel. Syrian ally Russia said it
appeared to be an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.
Syria's
ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, said Damascus "has the
option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation." He told Hezbollah's
al-Ahd news website that it was up to the relevant authorities to
choose the time and place.
For now, Israeli officials seem to be playing down the threats.
"Israel
took a big gamble out of the belief that Iran and Hezbollah won't
retaliate. The question is, `Are they right or not?'" said Moshe Maoz, a
professor emeritus at Hebrew University who specializes in Syria.
Officials
believe that Assad's position in Syria is so precarious that he cannot
risk opening a new front with Israel. With an estimated 60,000 Syrians
killed in the civil war, Israeli officials also think it's too late for
Assad to rally his bitterly divided nation behind him.
"Syria
is in such a bad state right now that an Israeli retaliation to a
Syrian action would be harsh and could topple the regime. Therefore
Syria is not responding," Maoz said.
Israel
is far more worried about the threat of sophisticated weapons reaching
Hezbollah. In a monthlong 2006 war, Hezbollah fired some 4,000 rockets
and missiles into Israel before the conflict ended in a stalemate.
Israeli officials believe the guerrilla group has restocked its arsenal
with tens of thousands of missiles, some capable of striking deep inside
the Jewish state.
Resigned
to this fact, Israel has set a number of "red lines" for Hezbollah that
it says are unacceptable, in particular the acquisition of new weapons
that it believes would change the balance of power in the region. These
include chemical weapons and sophisticated anti-aircraft and
surface-to-sea missiles.
This
week's airstrike targeted trucks containing Russian-made SA-17
anti-aircraft missiles, according to a U.S. official. The trucks were
next to the military research facility identified by the Syrians, and
the strike hit both the trucks and the facility, said the official, who
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak
about the operation.
If
the SA-17s were to have reached Hezbollah, they would have greatly
inhibited the Israeli air force's ability to operate in Lebanon. Israel
has frequently flown sorties over Lebanese skies since 2006.
The
airstrike is part of an Israeli strategy known to military planners as
"the policy of prevention," or the "war between wars." In recent years,
Israel is believed to have launched a number of covert missions,
including airstrikes in Sudan and assassinations of key Hezbollah and
Hamas militants, aimed at disrupting the flow of weapons to its
Iranian-backed enemies. Israel has never acknowledged involvement.
Israeli
security officials believe that Hezbollah, despite its claims of
victory, is still deterred by the experience of the 2006 war, in which
it lost hundreds of fighters. Instead of a direct war, Israel fears
Hezbollah might try to strike Israeli or Jewish targets around the
world. Israel has accused Hezbollah of a string of attacks on Israeli
targets in recent years, including a deadly attack on Israeli tourists
in Bulgaria last July.
The
Israeli airstrike comes at a particularly sensitive and vulnerable time
for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Despite its formidable weapons arsenal and
political clout in the country, the group's credibility and maneuvering
space has been significantly reduced in the past few years.
Hezbollah
still suffers from the fallout of the 2006 war, which many in Lebanon
accused it of provoking by kidnapping soldiers from the border area.
Since then, the group has come under increasing pressure at home to
disarm, leading to sectarian tensions between its Shiite supporters and
Sunnis from the opposing camp that have often spilled into deadly street
fighting.
When
Hezbollah sent an Iranian-made reconnaissance drone over Israel in
November, the group boasted of its capabilities - but critics in Lebanon
slammed it for embarking on a unilateral adventure that could provoke
Israel.
Despite
persistent reports and accusations that Hezbollah members are fighting
alongside the military in Syria, Hezbollah has largely approached the
Syria conflict with caution, mindful that any action it takes could
backfire.
"In
different times, Hezbollah would have reacted to Israel's surgical
strike, but not today," said Bilal Saab, director of the Institute for
Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, North America. "This is a time for
hunkering down and weathering the storm."
The
uprising in Syria, the main transit point of weapons brought from Iran
to Hezbollah, presents the group with its toughest challenge since its
inception in 1982.
The
group could still get weapons, but would struggle to get them as easily
without the Syria supply route. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah's public support for the Assad regime has proved costly and
the group's reputation has taken a severe beating. Former champions of
the group now describe it as hypocritical for supporting Arab Spring
uprisings in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, but not in Syria.
As
for Israel and Syria, although they are bitter enemies, they have
avoided direct conflict for most of the past 40 years. Israel has been
careful to stay out of Syria's civil war, not wanting to be seen as
supporting any side in the conflict.
While
the attack overnight Tuesday, believed to be the first by Israel on
Syrian soil since 2007, appeared to come out of nowhere, signs of
impending action were evident in recent days.
On
Jan. 23, the day after national elections, Netanyahu convened top
security officials for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in
Syria.
One
of the meeting participants, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, warned this
week that Israel could be forced to carry out a pre-emptive attack under
certain circumstances. The same day, Israel suddenly moved a new,
state-of-the-art rocket-defense system to the northern city of Haifa,
which was hit hard by Hezbollah rocket fire during a 2006 war.
Uzi
Rabi, a military analyst at Tel Aviv University's Dayan Center, said
the attack was a "kind of message" sent by Israel to Syria and
Hezbollah.
"It
says we do have capabilities when it comes to intelligence gathering
... and this would serve as kind of a warning sign to Hezbollah not to
transfer chemical weaponry from Syria to Hezbollah," he said.
|
British
troops are using a nano drone just 10cm long and weighing 16 grams on
the front line in Afghanistan to provide vital information on the
ground.
They
are the first to use the state-of-the-art handheld tiny surveillance
helicopters, which relay reliable full motion video and still images
back to the devices' handlers in the battlefield.
The
Black Hornet Nano Unmanned Air Vehicle is the size of a child's toy,
measuring just 10cm (4 ins) by 2.5cm (1 inch), and is equipped with a
tiny camera.
Soldiers
use the mini drone to peer around corners or over walls to identify any
hidden threats and the images are relayed to a small screen on a
handheld terminal.
Sergeant
Christopher Petherbridge, of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in
Afghanistan, said: "Black Hornet is definitely adding value, especially
considering the light weight nature of it.
"We
used it to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas
of the ground before crossing, which is a real asset. It is very easy
to operate and offers amazing capability to the guys on the ground."
The
nano helicopter has been developed by Prox Dynamics AS of Norway as
part of a £20m contract for 160 units with Marlborough Communications
Ltd (MCL), Surrey.
Philip
Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, said:
"Black Hornet gives our troops the benefits of surveillance in the palm
of their hands. It is extremely light and portable whilst out on patrol.
"Intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance systems are a key component in our
10-year equipment plan and now that we have balanced the defence budget
we are able to confidently invest in these kinds of cutting-edge
technologies."
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