MetalDetector
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Smartphone-powered mine detectors readied for field-testing in Cambodia (video)
Red Lotus Technologies is now refining and pitching its PETALS technology for real-world use around the world. Short for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Landmine Sensing, the system connects acoustic sensors to smartphones, outputting a silhouette of what lies below onto the phone's screen. The company has expanded from an initial research project that paired mine-detecting sensors with the processing clout (and availability of) smartphones. It's now developed some tablet-based training equipment for de-miners and, working alongside the Landmine Relief Fund, aims to field-test the devices in Cambodia before launching them next year.
AOptix e-Gate could improve global airport security, replace ID checks with iris scans
You're certainly not alone if you think that the current airport security process is far from ideal. AOptix hopes to streamline and speed up security procedures by replacing manual boarding pass and ID checks with a biometric kiosk called e-Gate. The new system, which verifies passenger identities by matching an iris scan with a boarding pass, just received (IATA) approval, and is currently being tested in three airports around the world. It's not as slick as a similar concept we saw earlier this summer, but e-Gate could be implemented with a trusted traveler program, creating special lanes for pre-approved frequent fliers -- similar to the US Customs Global Entry system in place today. We don't see it replacing X-ray machines and check-in interviews, but it could remove human error from the equation -- at least when it comes to verifying your identity. Jump past the break for the full scoop from AOptix, or you can check out the system for yourself at the Future Travel Experience in Vancouver. Update: e-Gate is in fact a potential component of Checkpoint of the Future, which we saw conceptualized in June.%Gallery-133007%
IATA's Checkpoint of the Future uses biometric IDs to separate do-gooders from terrorists (video)
This, ladies and gentlemen, could be your Checkpoint of the Future -- a new airport security prototype that promises to move away "from a system that looks for bad objects, to one that can find bad people." Unveiled at the IATA's annual conference in Singapore yesterday, the setup is comprised of three, 20-foot long detectors -- one for "known travelers," one for high-risk flyers, and one for everyone else. Instead of funneling passengers through the same checkpoint, then, the prototype would use eye scanners and biometric chips to verify their identities and analyze their personal history, before dividing them into groups. People who complete and pass government background checks would waltz through the fast pass lane with their carry-on luggage in tow, whereas those deemed particularly risky would have to undergo a more intensive, full-body scan within the "Enhanced" security lane. The rest of us, meanwhile, would be directed to the "Normal" detector, which would automatically scan us for liquids, metals and everything that is evil. The IATA says this risk-based approach would reduce security lines and lower airport costs, but it would still require governments to share data on their own citizens, which could pose a major hurdle to widespread adoption. For now, the IATA and governmental agencies are still hammering away at the details and have yet to announce a pilot program, but you can check out an audio-less demo video of the prototype, after the break.
Metal detectors and smartphones make beautiful, mine-sniffing music together
Harvard researchers have married a smartphone to a metal detector to create PETALS, a low cost way to improve mine detection in third-world countries. Traditionally, locating land mines has required a carefully trained ear to distinguish deadly explosives from, say, a can. This new system removes some of the guesswork by mapping the beeps on a cell phone screen, creating a silhouette of whatever is beneath the surface. Similar results have been accomplished using acoustic sensors, but so far they've been relegated to research projects and would likely be too expensive for use where they're needed most. Not only should the simplicity of PETALS (which stands for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Land mine Sensing) make it cheap and easy to deploy but, in tests novice de-miners were able to improve their performance by 80 percent -- that's a least a few less brave humanitarians going "boom" in the field.
Metal Detector solves some problems you don't have
Every so often I get the idea I'm living in some kind of parallel universe where iPhone apps are created that look great but just don't do anything of value.Such an app is Metal Detector [App Store] that for US$0.99 cents purports to detect metal around you. It requires an iPhone 3GS because it uses the built in magnetometer (compass) to work.Well, it did discover my bird cage, but I could see that anyway. It reacted to a stop sign, and a fire hydrant when I was on my morning run. "Look Mom, the funny man from across the street is messing with the fire hydrant. Call the cops!"It didn't work on coins at all, wrong kind of metal, so any visions you had of crawling along the beach looking for treasure is out the window. It works on ferromagnetic metals only, like iron and steel.The app did not cut off my iPod music when I started it up, but as soon as it beeped with finding something metal the audio shut down. Appropriately, I was listening to the Alan Hovhaness Symphony for Metal Instruments, but I guess most Heavy Metal bands would work too.The Three Stooges used to have a routine where they talked about inventing a pen that wrote under whipped cream, and this seems like a similar fetish. It does work, but so what? What do I do with it? You have to be really close to the item for the alert to go off, and if I'm that close, I don't need a metal detector. I tried it on in wall wiring, but no dice there, so I'm straining to find some utility for this thing. The developers say this is a novelty item, but I think most of my friends would say I'm stupid, rather than entertaining. If you must satisfy your lust for searching for visible metal, I'd suggest you take a look at Metal Detector Pro [App Store], which does the same thing with a different interface but it's free.
Body-scanning chair to show UK prisoners who's BOSS
Not nearly as intrusive as it first sounds, the Body Orifice Security Scanner (BOSS) is a chair-shaped mobile metal detector that officials are considering installing in every prison in England and Wales. Designed mainly to weed out one of the most popular forms of contraband -- cellphones -- the new BOSS II is said to be sensitive enough to detect even a single SIM card being smuggled somewhere inside an individual. So far the two £6,500 ($12,900) chairs that have been used at the Woodhill jail in Milton Keynes since April have helped authorities seize 21 handsets, with inmates who trigger an alert segregated and swiped down by a metal detector every time they leave their cells until the metal object has been, um, passed. While this system does humanely do away with uncomfortable cavity searches, those poor souls with a knee replacement, a bit of shrapnel embedded in their hip, or the like seem destined to toil away in solitary confinement for eternity.[Via SlashGear]
MagShoe, the "portable footwear weapons detection system"
Thanks to that freaky would-be shoe bomber dude, we're all now forced to endure the embarrassment of exposing foot odor and sock holes to our fellow passengers every time we take a flight -- but thanks to a company named IDO Security and its MagShoe metal detector, this long national nightmare at airport security lines may soon be at an end. The high-speed portable device allows folks to simply stand in its dual foot bays -- shoes on -- for just a few seconds before the all clear is given, and has already been tested successfully overseas. Military Tech goes on to report that a US deployment is almost a done deal, according to the company, with the TSA currently evaluating the MagShoe for domestic use. Now, will someone please come up with a way for us to bring a bottle of water on the plane?
UK inventor crafts remote controlled treasure hunting robot
Although John Corney's RC treasure hunter hasn't happened upon any $10 billion finds or unreleased iPhone knockoffs, the remote controlled truck has indeed scrounged up part of a Medieval Pilgrims badge which has now been donated to Warminster Library Museum. The off-roading machine is essentially a souped up metal detector on wheels (er, tracks) that has an on-board camera "to show its controller where it is going." The creator is already "qualified in remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) control," and has used his mountain climbing machine to land "hundreds" of old coins and medieval artifacts including a World War II medical badge. The project didn't come easy, however, as Mr. Corney has spent over seven years and £2,000 ($3,958) honing its skills, but apparently, he's hunting down VCs right now to help bring "Champion the Wonder Robot" to market.[Via Robot-Gossip]
Internet-enabled TrailGuard metal detectors snitch on poachers
The latest anti-poaching tool may not be as completely bizarre as the Robodeer, but the TrailGuard technology coming out of Steve Gulick's laboratory is entirely more sophisticated (and stealthy, too). The system consists of a network of metal detectors buried next to forest trails which will detect the presence of a contraband machete or rifle and swing into action. Upon recognizing a potential weapon, the sensor will "send a radio signal to a nearby internet gateway and then to the internet via satellite," which will subsequently alert a ranger to the unwanted guest practically in real-time. The developing team insinuates that this product could make the rounds that rangers make a lot more efficient, and considering that most national parks are somewhat understaffed, this could help them cover the ground that they need to. So if you just so happen to wander out in the woods and pitch a tent with metal stakes, only to be approached by an armed wildlife officer, don't be too alarmed.
Rolling Stone Bill Wyman introduces...a signature metal detector?
While Keith Richards may or may not still be trying to up the shock ante as of late, another Stone seems to have settled into a considerably more laid-back lifestyle. Apparently a metal detecting enthusiast for years, former bassist Bill Wyman now looks to be trying to turn his passion into a bit of profit, coming out with his own signature metal detector. While we're not sure how it compares to other non-rock legend endorsed models, £125 ($245) doesn't seem to be too unreasonable a price to pay for a few extra bragging rights among your metal detecting buddies (even if the signature doesn't turn out to be authentic). Just don't get too down on yourself when the chorus of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" kicks in after you've spent all day roaming the beach with nothing to show but a few bottle caps.[Via TRFJ]
Please remove all jewelry: Nokia files metal detector patent
Here's a patent filing from the creative minds at Nokia that'll appeal to both the security industry and the paranoid among us. Apparently, with a little elbow grease, bubble gum, and duct tape, engineers have been able to take your standard induction coil used for hearing aid compatibility and give it the functionality of a close-range metal detector. At least, that was the intent of Nokia's patent filing back in 2004. Of course, we've seen enough phone patents come and go to know that the odds we'll see this in a shipping product any time soon are low, so in the meantime, keep your distance from knife-wielding baddies, m'kay?
