Archive for October, 2009

A new video surveillance system for Denver International Airport


As we know too well, among places in need of a video surveillance system, airports are certainly ranking on top of the list, both for the number of cameras needed and for the complexity required of their systems, which must be capable of covering large areas, granting the possibility of a swift intervention in case [...]

Sensors smaller than a coin, for high security at a low price


Protecting a building or a property with fences, barbed wire and closed-circuit cameras may be really expensive, but a recent invention coming from Tel Aviv University might revolutionize environmental surveillance and security. The Smart Dew sensors, smaller than a coin, can be scattered at random all around the area that needs to be monitored, in [...]

If you lost a hand, you can recover your sense of touch


Robotic prostheses currently used to give at least a bit of dignity to those who lost a hand or an arm due to an accident, have several limitations. First of all, along with the discomfort and trouble in wearing them, comes the lack of response under the sensory point of view, which makes it very [...]

Top 10 tips to buy the best handheld digital voice recorder


With more and more professionals, business men, journalists and students laying their hands on the voice recorders, these products are being marketed and sold like hot cakes. The latest craze around is the handheld digital voice recorder. It is a common observation that people with lesser experience are often misguided and finally land up buying [...]

Seeing and listening through a wall: radio waves and optical fibers


A research team from University of Utah is at work on a project that allows usage of a small network of wireless radio transceivers, in order to detect movements of people on the other side of a wall. Thanks to this detection system, based on the RTI (Radio Tomographic Imaging) concept which allows the images [...]

Seeing through your ears? Yes, you can!


When someone pays attention to all details of what happens around him and does not miss a detail, you can say that “he’s got eyes even behind his back”. Now this saying can become true, with a small difference: the eyes can effectively be located … inside your ears! Relax, we are not talking about [...]

How to detect a bomb within a few seconds, thanks to a gel


In order to detect chemical agents used for the preparation of bombs and explosives, scientists from the Northern Irish Queen’s University based in Belfast, are working on some sensors which can act quickly, thanks to their pads containing a special gel, which are swiped over a person or a crime scene, to gather samples which [...]

If your phone calls are important, your phone must be invisible!


No need to think about George Orwell and his Big Brother, but we all know that the modern technologies, which allow us to be constantly in touch with our loved ones, our work and our interests, also have some disadvantages to them. This is because, naturally, if our peers and our colleagues are able to [...]

To protect your home while you are away, put an alarm in your phone!


When we leave for holidays, but also when we go out for a weekend in the countryside, or when we just want to spend an evening out with our friends, the danger is constantly present for our homes, which might be visited by burglars or thieves, especially if we do not take the appropriate security [...]

To protect yourselves from thieves, now you can brand them!


In the Middle Age, punishments for thieves were certainly effective, even though the modern society rules would not certainly define them as humane: thieves had their hands cut, and if they were for example caught red-handed when trying to steal cattle, they were branded with fire, so that they would be permanently exposed as thieves, [...]