The Consumer Electronics Association has named Celestron's SkyScout the "Best of Innovations" in the personal electronics category. The handheld device instantly identifies and/or locates more than 6000 celestial objects viewable to the naked eye, enabled by a built-in GPS receiver and an inclinometer paired with two Analog Devices iMEMS motion sensors. SkyScout "combines sensor data with an internal GPS and a substantial celestial database to dramatically improve how people learn about astronomy," says Richard Hedrick, senior vice president and CTO of Celestron. And, he says, iMEMS "provided the precise and accurate tilt measurement required to enable a very consumer-friendly point-and-shoot product." (http:// tinyurl.com/q8prg)
Meanwhile Savi Technology garnered the top ranking among the world's "Leading Suppliers of Trade Visibility Solutions" in a recent ARC Advisory Group report. Subsidiary Savi Networks provides information services that leverage real-time data from its RFID network to improve the visibility, management, security, and integrity of ocean-going cargo container shipments and their contents for international shippers and their service providers. "Global trade visibility is the backbone of global trade management (GTM)," says Adrian Gonzalez, the report's author. (http:// tinyurl.com/rbbba)
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Finally, Aeris.net was honored with two leading industry awards at the recent CTIA Wireless 2006 show. Aeris.net network services provider for wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) fixed and mobile communications services, won the show's Wireless Emerging Technologies (E-tech) Award for its AerFrame offering. In addition, Andy Seybold's Outlook 4Mobility 2006 Innovation Award recognized the company for surpassing one million M2M subscriber devices. (http://
tinyurl.com/ngca9)
Threat Detection and Communication
Unprecedented biochem sensing, discreet concealed weapons detection, and impervious communications are new developments for homeland security applications.
"Sionex has developed a revolutionary biological and chemical sensing platform that is highly applicable to a wide range of commercial and government markets," says Amit Yoran, President and CEO of In-Q-Tel, a private venture group funded by the CIA and the U.S. intelligence community, that recently made a new investment in the company. "Sionex's unique capabilities have the potential to bring about a paradigm shift in detection systems, enabling the sensing of compounds on an unparalleled scale with unprecedented sensitivity and selectivity," Yoran adds. (http:// tinyurl.com/mtwtm)
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Brijot Imaging Systems likewise claims unparalleled achievement: The company says its full-motion security system, BIS-WDS Prime, is the first to detect concealed weapons quickly and discreetly in real-time while the person carrying them walks through the camera's view. Definable minimum-size thresholds eliminate the need for persons to empty pockets; the system simultaneously identifies an unlimited number of objects and superimposes indicator boxes over a video to help operators locate the objects. BIS-WDS Prime can integrate with other security devices to automatically lock out individuals on whom the system detects suspicious objects. Sandia National Laboratories is testing the product for the Rail Security Pilot Project, a Department of Homeland Security project. (http:// tinyurl.com/s2vpg)
And InfrAegis Inc. says its new national security and public safety communication system, iaMedium, is designed to work continuously through natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other crises to deliver public and emergency messages concerning everything from crowd control to evacuation routes. It incorporates four systems:
- 1. Nuclear/Radioactive Isotope Detection System, which, the company says, statistically eliminates false positive alarms
- 2. Computer-Aided Trace Detection System, which determines the presence of WMD, explosives, firearms, opiates, vehicle-smuggled humans, and other contraband
- 3. Incident Video Synchronization System (IVSS), which records multiple streams of digital video in both day and night formats to positively identify a vehicle, cargo container, or person detected via remote monitoring
- 4. Global Operations Monitoring and Analysis Center (GOMAC), which monitors, records, analyzes, and then enacts preapproved countermeasures when a threat is detected (http:// tinyurl.com/mm84e|~tinyurl.com/mm84e )