News Briefs – Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Army engineers choose wireless surveillance software
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers implemented VistaScape Security Systems’ SiteIQ automated wide-area surveillance software to monitor dam facilities and assets along the Savannah River, near Clemson, S.C. The software detects, tracks and classifies objects in real-time. If an object violates a policy set by the Corps, live video of the alarm and wireless alerts are sent to law enforcement.
Houston transit police adopt Blackberry handhelds
The city of Houston’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police has agreed to purchase 59 Blackberry handheld devices enabled with BIO-key International’s PocketCop solution. The mobile-data solution lets users access local, state and national criminal-justice databases via Nextel’s public wireless infrastructure, according to BIO-key.
Brazil uses RFID to track hoof and mouth disease
Digital Angel and Brazilian Agriculture Research Corp. have developed a joint pilot program to fight hoof and mouth disease. One hundred and seventy-five cattle will receive a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a visual tag and a bio-thermal chip developed by Digital Angel that will be located in the animal’s umbilical cord. When an RFID scanner is used in conjunction with a database program, the bio-thermal chip also can provide specific information such as the identity of the animal, its age, medical history, where it has been and its contacts with other cattle, according to Digital Angel.
Portable chemical warfare agent offers wireless option
RAE Systems introduced the ChemRAE, a portable chemical warfare agent (CWA) detector. The detector is based on open-loop, ion-mobility spectroscopy that gives users the ability to identify unseen CWA threats in 30 seconds or less, the company said. It is available as a stand-alone portable instrument or as a wireless component of the AreaRAE rapid deployment hazardous environment detection platform, which wirelessly sends data to the ProRAE remote base station.
Toughbook promises to deliver in harsh environments
Panasonic’s newest Toughbook is targeted to the oil-drilling industry and is designed to stand up to harsh, offshore environments. The computer has a magnesium alloy case, shock-mounted hard drives and is engineered to provide access to all current wireless technologies including CDMA 1xRTT, GMS/GPRS, EDGE and EV-DO, Panasonic said.
Testing device for vehicle-based radio systems unveiled
Aeroflex launched its 3500-radio test set designed to test vehicle-based radio systems used by first responders. The device has a built-in generator and receiver and operates from 2 MHz to 1 GHz. It measures and tests antenna, power amplifiers and interconnection operability. It also conducts AM/FM transmitter and receiver tests including RF power, RD frequency error, AM modulation, FM deviation, RSSI, distortion and SINAD/sensitivity.