Surveillance

CATSi - the world's smallest GPS, GSM and RF tracking device

By Darren Quick

01:46 June 24, 2009 PDT

The CATSi, (pronounced cat's eye), is designed to track almost anything, from pets and people through to cars, trucks and motorbikes. Although we’ve seen plently of GPS trackers before, CATS-i is touting the its new product as the world’s smallest, thinnest and most covert GPS, GSM and RF tracking device ever. This means the device can be used in products that have previously been inaccessible to GPS tracking - little Jimmy should have a hard time detecting a CATSi sewn into his jacket for example. Read More

Cisco PVC300 Internet camera brings Big Brother to small companies

By Alan Brandon

17:06 June 11, 2009 PDT

Cisco’s new PVC300 Pan Tilt Optical Zoom Internet Camera provides a suite of surveillance features aimed at small companies who want to keep a watchful eye on their employees and business property. Designed to operate on existing wired networks, the PVC300 provides two-way audio, motion activated recording, automatic alerts and full-motion live video that can be viewed from virtually anywhere on an Internet-enabled PC or mobile phone. Read More

Horizon releases drop-in fuel cell system for unmanned aircraft

By Michael Mulcahy

03:37 June 9, 2009 PDT

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies latest hydrogen fuel cell release is designed as a drop-in replacement for battery packs used in small electric Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Weighing 4.4lbs (2kg) and storing 900Wh of usable electric energy, the Aeropak can to increase flight endurance by up to 300% over lithium batteries, meaning longer range missions and more energy to run on-board cameras and sensors. Read More

The soldier helmet that pinpoints enemy snipers

By David Greig

00:28 April 30, 2009 PDT

Imagine being able to pinpoint an enemy shooter in difficult terrain with such deadly accuracy that you can see whether they are kneeling or standing and not only what kind of weapon they are firing but the caliber too. Well, engineers at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) have developed such a system by turning soldiers' combat helmets into "smart nodes" in a wireless sensor network. Read More

Boeing P-8A Poseidon lifts-off

By Noel McKeegan

03:35 April 28, 2009 PDT

Boeing's P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine and long-range surveillance aircraft has completed its first flight. In the latest development milestone for the plane scheduled to replace the P-3 Orion, the T-1 test aircraft completed a series of systems checks during three hours and 31 minutes in the skies above Seattle on April 25. Read More

Cuman personal tracking devices for persons, pets or products

By Darren Quick

00:09 April 14, 2009 PDT

While Orwell’s 1984 suggested that human surveillance and tracking would be an integral part of a dystopian future, the reality looks to be quite different, with people quickly embracing GPS technology and the myriad of uses such technology provides. The last few years has seen a range of tracking devices that use GPS to keep track of everything from products and pets to loved ones. The latest player to enter the field is South Korea electronics company Cuman with its range of tracking devices, which picked up the Editor’s List Award recently at CeBIT 2009. Read More

Raven UAV demonstrates 30-hour persistent surveillance

By Noel McKeegan

06:35 April 2, 2009 PDT

AeroVironment's Raven UAV system has been used to demonstrate the viability of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as a low-cost surveillance alternative in a continuous 30-hour persistent surveillance test flight. Conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Army Product Manager for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), the demonstration involved unbroken surveillance of a target site using one standard production Raven RQ-11B baseline system (three aircraft and two ground control stations) operated by two-person crews working in eight-hour shifts. Read More

Taser AXON wearable surveillance kit – to protect, serve and record

By Darren Quick

22:33 March 24, 2009 PDT

Dashboard cameras mounted on police vehicles have proven their worth in backing up courtroom testimony by providing a video record of incidents – as well as giving reality cop shows a veritable wealth of real life footage. Now a new product from Taser International, the company responsible for the electroshock weapon that bears that name, takes the idea one step further by capturing video and audio of incidents from the visual perspective of the responding officer. Read More

The anti-mirror... and more

By Darren Quick

22:24 March 2, 2009 PST

You could be forgiven for thinking Andrew Hicks is obsessed with his own reflection, but it’s the mirror itself which attracts the interest of this mathematician from Drexel University, Philadelphia. Hicks has used computer algorithms to generate a mirror that produces a mirror image that isn’t a mirror image, making it possible to read reflected text normally. Read More

LightSpeed binoculars transmit sound and video

By Kyle Sherer

15:38 December 22, 2008 PST

December 22, 2008 Torrey Pines Logic has designed an optical system that allows people to speak to the person they’re looking at. The LightSpeed uses infrared LEDs to transmit the wearer’s voice via a secure optical beam to another LightSpeed model. The data channel used by the binoculars can accommodate Ethernet, video streaming and multi-channel audio data, and the devices transmit data at 1Mpbs, at distances exceeding 5km. Read More

Robo-Bat: mini spy-plane of the future?

By Noel McKeegan

21:44 November 6, 2008 PST

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) undoubtedly have the potential to revolutionize both military and civilian surveillance operations, and the quest to find the most efficient design for these airborne spies of the future is leading to all kinds of radical platforms being investigated. Several are derived from nature, where evolution has produced designs that out-strip the performance and efficiency of humanity's aerial achievements on a proportional scale. Even extinct examples like the pterodactyl are not immune from this scrutiny, but in this case, the inspiration comes from the only mammal naturally capable of flight - the bat. Read More

Californian prisons employ robotic scouts

By Kyle Sherer

16:43 November 3, 2008 PST

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has agreed to test remote-controlled, 1.2-pound surveillance robots in hostile prison situations. After pulling an activation pin, the hardy robots can be thrown into place, or fired from a tear-gas launcher. Read More

Raytheon and US Navy demonstrate submarine-compatible UAS

By Kyle Sherer

17:30 October 30, 2008 PDT

Raytheon and the US Navy have demonstrated unmanned aircraft system capability for submarines. The Submarine Over the Horizon Organic Capabilities (SOTHOC) program is developing a specialized UAS designed for collection of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in a complex littoral environment. Read More

Pterodactyl-based UAV design for urban combat scenarios

By Kyle Sherer

16:29 October 7, 2008 PDT

Scientists have designed a highly-maneuverable UAV modeled on a 228-million-year-old pterodactyl. The 30-inch robotic craft would alter its wing shape to “squeeze through confined spaces, dive between buildings, travel under overpasses, land on apartment balconies, and sail along the coastline.” Read More

Raytheon's KillerBee UAV tested in simulated combat

By Kyle Sherer

22:21 October 2, 2008 PDT

Raytheon’s KillerBee, a 10-foot wide UAV designed for surveillance and reconnaissance, has been successfully demonstrated in a simulated combat environment. A Raytheon flight operations crew delivered the 30 pound KillerBee system to a remote location using Humvees and achieved set up and launch within 45 minutes before executing the operational scenario and retrieving the aircraft with a net-recovery system. Read More

Seagull-cam military/spy camera technology

By Loz Blain

01:33 July 7, 2008 PDT

Video capture and transmission technology has become so compact, reliable and cheap that remote-controlled spy-cams are making their way into general military use in a variety of creative packages. That seagull bobbing quietly up and down on the water, for example, could be one of Macroswiss's electrically-propelled remote control surveillance cameras. The company also manufactures small gun-mounted targeting cameras that allow operatives to point their firearms around corners and shoot whatever's on their wrist-mounted screen like it's a video game. And then there's the short-range throwing camera, which can be lobbed grenade-style into a dangerous or hostile area. It automatically rights itself and transmits a remotely-controlled rotating view back to an assault team so there's no surprises when they enter the area. Read More

StealthVue Pennycam aids reliable surveillance

By Kyle Sherer

02:24 June 23, 2008 PDT

It’s frustrating when sophisticated surveillance technology is circumvented by robbers who use a not-so-sophisticated baseball cap to shield their face. Retailers can reclaim the edge with StealthVue’s PennyCam, a hidden camera that provides upwardly-angled pictures of anyone who approaches the counter, delivering a clear, identifiable view of their face. Read More

Wide-angle camera improves security surveillance

By Emily Clark

21:38 March 30, 2008 PDT

Researchers at the University of Alabama (UAH) have developed a wide-angle camera that will assist security forces by enabling them to monitor large areas through high-resolution images taken from a satellite or an airborne craft. The proposed one giga-pixel camera was created after UAH researcher, David Pollock, discovered that if you point a large number of lenses toward a common point, and then make a small correction on each of the lenses, you have a camera with capabilities that far surpass existing technologies. Read More

Bluetooth enabled DVR pen

By Noel McKeegan

20:21 November 5, 2007 PST

November 6, 2007 Details are still scarce on this upcoming DVR pen that crams a wireless, low-power, digital video recorder - including microphone – into a 0.55 x 5.7inch (1.4 x 14.5cm) form that also works as - yes - a pen. Although the specs are not yet finalized, the device is expected to capture real-time video at 30 fps (320x240) with the ability to activate based on a motion detection system that allows for five different sensitivity levels along with the ability to select specific areas and send an alarm wirelessly to a remote site in the event that motion is detected. There’s also an audio detection capability that triggers the sound recorder and the media is flash memory or Micro SD, with Bluetooth wireless transfer back to PDAs or PCs included. Read More

"Condo-cam" keeps an eye on your second home

By Emily Clark

03:13 October 26, 2007 PDT

October 26, 2007 Having a holiday home is a wonderful luxury, but the casual nature of visits to the property can leave it open to security risks such as break-ins and vandalism. By fully embracing the benefits of remote technologies now on the market, a new property development at Le Paradis Beach, Golf & Marina Resort in St. Lucia acts is helping residents keep a close eye on their second homes. Read More

Intellivid Video intelligence software streamlines in-store security

By Darren Quick

00:29 September 19, 2007 PDT

September 19, 2007 We’ve all seen the seemingly ubiquitous eye in the sky cameras watching us from store ceilings and most of us have probably wondered if anyone actually monitors those things. In an effort to improve the efficiency of such surveillance, Intellivid has developed a Computer Aided Tracking (CAT) tool that incorporates a newly patented adjacency algorithm. The technology uses sophisticated video analytics to streamline video surveillance, giving the ability to seamlessly track in-store movements and create complete end-to-end footage. Read More

Unmanned jet-skis to take on harbour patrol missions

By Loz Blain

01:09 September 17, 2007 PDT

September 17, 2007 UK-based defense contractor QinetiQ is preparing to demonstrate the Sentry – an unmanned watercraft the size of a jet-ski that’s set up to perform remote-controlled patrol, reconnaissance and damage assessment missions. Its six hour mission endurance and control range of up to 16 nautical miles will make this stealthy vehicle a very practical security tool. Read More

Intelligent video surveillance combines situational awareness with flexible encoding

By Gizmag Team

19:31 August 21, 2007 PDT

August 22, The explosion of the number of video surveillance cameras used by government, business and private homes today has brought with it many issues relating to the management of video feeds, network congestion, rapid disk space consumption and degraded levels of image quality. To solve these problems, processor design specialist Stretch has come up with the Intelligent Encoder Software Development Kit (SDK), the first video surveillance encoder with built-in intelligence for the Video Surveillance Industry that combines situational awareness with flexible encoding. Read More

Next-generation Sky Warrior's maiden flight a success

By Loz Blain

June 18, 2007 Resurrecting a great name from the 1950s, General Atomics have completed the maiden flight of their Sky Warrior Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). While the original, built by Douglas, was known for being the largest and heaviest "whale" of a bomber to take-off and land on aircraft carriers, the new Sky Warrior will operate as an unmanned long range surveillance, communications and weapons delivery drone. Able to run happily on diesel or jet fuel due to its Heavy Fuel Engine, the Sky Warrior will form a key part of the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi Purpose Unmanned Aircraft system. Read More

Turn your mobile phone into a video controller with an advanced video pack from Swann

By Kate Seamer

April 25, 2007 The Advanced Video Pack from Swann enables you to stream video live from a camera to your mobile phone. It will even alert you via SMS when its cameras detect motion. While many would use this system for home or business security, it may also be used as a baby monitor, or even just for a bit of fun. Read More