Geospacial intelligence is gaining new ground as analysts are starting to see the value of utilizing more open sources produced by individuals on the ground and then collaborating that information with other sources of intelligence. Cell phones play a big part in this analysis - both as a producer information with their built-in cameras, and a homing device that can easily be tracked or triangulated. Experts cite the importance of pictures taken by those in close proximity to the London bombings in 2005 and how these images are being easily spread with file sharing sites on the internet.

Developments are also being made in interpreting the massive amount of text that exists in open sources, especially on the internet. John Pierre, a former analyst with SAIC, founded a start-up that utilizes artificial intelligence to gather intelligence from text in geographic perspective. This can give analysts more awareness of context, regional conflicts and inside information. Additionally, progress is being made on coordinating massive amounts of photos taken of one place or landmark and forming them into a manipulative whole. This can greatly improve mobile mapping, global positioning information and satellite images.

Mass Market

Labels: Advanced Computing

Officials in southeast Alaska and northwest Washington are singing the praises for a new alternative energy project slated to begin construction in the region soon. The idea is centered around Swan Lake, north of the southeast Alaskan town of Petersburg. Because of the lake's high altutitude, its hyrdoelectric energy potential ranks is comparable to that of a large dam. Canada has recently constructed a power transmission line near the area, which would allow for easy transportion to areas in the Pacific Northwest. County officials are also hoping to lure power companies to the area to take advantage of the cheap resources the lake will produce.

Washington County to explore renewable energy project

Labels: Advanced Energy

MIT researchers have begun using bio-engineered viruses to build nanomaterials with wide-ranging applications, such as thin battery fibers that may one day be woven directly into clothing. The process, which is being developed by Professor Angela Belcher and her team, has gained the interest of the US military for its potential in creating new types of sensors, solar cells, and batteries, as part of future combat gear. However, there is still a significant amount of work to be done. Currently, all the virus-built fibers really do is glow red under ultraviolet, but Belcher is confident her "directed evolution" development technique will allow her viral construction crew to build more sophisticated fibers soon.

Labels: Nanotechnology

Nokia is becoming the first mobile device vendor to ship smartphones with a default software application that allows its consumer electronics to easily connect to any Wi-Fi network in range. As these network proliferate throughout society with different "hot-spots," consumers are looking to connect with more than just their laptops. And with easy-connect software devices like the one being installed on this Nokia model, doing so is becoming much easier.

Hurdles have exisited for years between consumer electronics and Wi-Fi networks, mostly because of the requirement for a web browser to be able to log-in to the network. With software that handles this step instantly, users can access e-mail and chat with less of a hassle. Wireless carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T, who have already boomed in the hot-spot business, are certainly going to welcome this transition for their customers.

'Auto-Connect' App Links Nokia Users Smoothly to Wi-Fi Hotspots

Labels: Web Technologies, Wireless

Solar panels constructed with amorphous silicon (A-Si) were recently installed Mattituck, NY, the first of its kind in Long Island. The silicon panels offer more versaility than their crystalline counterparts by operating in poor temperature and low-light conditions, while also not fracturing as easily. They are environmentally friendly and substantially thinner then older versions, while remaining in the same price range.

This material is not only revolutionizing solar energy capabilities, but is now being used in plasma TV screens, digital imagery and x-ray technology. They're more aesthetically pleasing than older forms of solar power and are becoming increasingly more powerful as manufacturers improve their capabilities.

Residential Framed Thin Film solar Electric Application Debuts in Long Island

Labels: Advanced Energy

Following the arrest of three Austrian individuals accused of making jihadist statements on the Internet in September, authorities are now attributing the facilitation of these postings to the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF). GIMF is group that translates al-Qaida propaganda into German and facilitates communication via message boards and videos between al-Qaida leaders and their Western European counterparts. The Web site allowed followers in countries like Austria and Germany to follow al-Qaida activities live and be in constant contact with al-Qaida leaders.

Officials are referring to this monitoring process as following radicalism in "real-time". By keeping a close eye on email traffic, Internet usage and message board posts, authorities were able to turn the Internet from a powerful jihadist tool into a dangerous trap for those seeking to use it for harm. Additionally, opponents of al-Qaida in the US and in Europe have protested in great numbers to the service providers and publishing engines that host these sites, and as a result many have been blocked or removed.

Technology has been of great assistance to al-Qaida and its followers, but fortunately counterterrorism officials across the world have also been able to use it their advantage to track down those who would take their dangerous rhetoric to the next level by facilitating attacks. This tactic will prove to be instrumental in the future in order to infiltrate the massive web of terrorist activity that easily crosses borders and languages.

Austria's "Jihad by Telecommute"

Labels: Web Technologies

NANOGLOWA is a pan-European research project based in Holland. It brings together academic specialists, power plant owners, and other energy industry experts from 14 European countries. The project has set out to eliminate the problem of CO2 in the atmosphere. The solution, according to the project founders, is to capture the CO2 and bury them in underground "gas fields."

The primary goal of the project is to develop the most efficient way to capture the CO2 emissions in order to move them to the underground holding stations. The project aims to employ the latest in nanotechnology to find their solution. They believe that nanostructured membranes have the capacity to capture and separate carbon dioxide emissions for safe storage. Currently, the cost of installing and maintaining the system is too high to be cost-effective, but the project sponsors are working diligently to create an affordable system.

Should NONOGLOWA prove successful, it could change the current status of fossil fuels. The search for environmentally friendly fuel sources has focused on alternatives to fossil fuels. If the project succeeds, it may remove the high environmental cost of burning fossil fuels.

NANOGLOWA

Labels: Advanced Energy, Nanotechnology

A BMW plant near Greer, SC has successfully trapped enough methane from a nearby landfill to supply 60% of the energy it needs to operate. In partnership with Texas firm Waste Management, the plant receives the methane via a nine mile-long pipeline that runs from the Spartanburg County landfill and fuels turbines that generate electricity. In addition to reducing carbon output by about 60,000 tons annually, this innovation also makes the state more energy independent.

Landfill gases are created when microorganisms break down the organic material, and consist of mostly methane, which is then collected by the landfill power plants and converted to electricity. In addition to the plant near Greer, South Carolina has plans for two additional methane-based power systems, including one that would fuel a major power grid used to heat and provide electricity to homes and business. Trapping carbon-contributing gases and energies and converting them to usable fuel is an area of emerging technology that hold tremendous promise - additional avenues for this practice also include trapping carbon dioxide from the smokestacks of fossil fuel-burning power plants and trapping it in underground mineral deposits.

Labels: Advanced Energy