Secret agents can create a Wi-Fi network and hide important files with these cufflinks

Life as a secret agent means you need to have access to the internet when you need it, as well as have the ability to carry around important files in locations where your adversaries won't think to look. These secret agent-worthy Wi-Fi cufflinks let you wear your mobile hotspot on one wrist, and carry around 2GB of important files on the other. The Wi-Fi cufflink essentially acts like a miniature router. The end pops out, and when plugged into the USB port on your web-connected computer creates a hotspot that can be used by other devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets... Continue Reading Secret agents can create a Wi-Fi network and hide important files with these cufflinks

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Cufflinks, Data Storage, Flash Drive, USB, Wi-fi

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NYPD developing portable body scanner for detecting concealed weapons

You have to feel sorry for the police officers who are required to frisk people for guns or knives – after all, if someone who doesn’t want to be arrested is carrying a lethal weapon, the last thing that most of us would want to do is get close enough to that person to touch them. That’s why the New York Police Department teamed up with the United States Department of Defense three years ago, and began developing a portable scanner that can remotely detect the presence of a gun on a person’s body. The NYPD announced the project yesterday... Continue Reading NYPD developing portable body scanner for detecting concealed weapons

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Crime, Police, Safety, Scanner, Weapons

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Researchers create invisibility cloak for sound

Many of the current experimental "invisibility cloaks" are based around the same idea - light coming from behind an object is curved around it and then continues on forward to a viewer. That person is in turn only able to see what's behind the object, and not the object itself. Scientists from Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have applied that same principle to sound waves, and created what could perhaps be described as a "silence cloak.".. Continue Reading Researchers create invisibility cloak for sound

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Hearing, Invisibility, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Sound

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DARPA's Shredder Challenge is solved ahead of schedule

At the end of October, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) launched its Shredder Challenge contest. The objective: create a system for reconstructing shredded papers, then demonstrate it by piecing together five documents, the shredded remains of which were posted on the contest’s website. Although the contest had a December 4th deadline, the “All Your Shreds Are Belong to U.S.” team correctly reassembled all five documents with two days to spare... Continue Reading DARPA's Shredder Challenge is solved ahead of schedule

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: DARPA, Paper, Privacy, Security

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Klingons take note - nanotubes could allow spaceships to disappear

Although Klingon-style disappearing spaceships may not be in our neighborhood any time soon, the technology that could allow a spaceship to vanish from sight may be here now. Scientists from the University of Michigan have successfully made a three-dimensional etched silicon image of a tank appear as a featureless black void, that completely blended in with the backdrop surrounding it. The secret: good ol’ carbon nanotubes... Continue Reading Klingons take note - nanotubes could allow spaceships to disappear

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Invisibility, Light, Nanotubes, University of Michigan

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Hobbyist builds wrist-mounted, laser-sighted crossbow

A lot of people think crossbows are pretty cool. Lasers, miniaturized things, and wearable devices also tend to rate pretty high on the neat-o-meter. It goes to follow, therefore, that a small wrist-mounted laser-sighted crossbow should have a lot of admirers. Well, laser hobbyist Patrick Priebe built just such a device, and his video of it in action has already racked up over 100,000 hits in just four days. As it turns out, the "WristBow" is just the latest of his cyberpunk-esque creations... Continue Reading Hobbyist builds wrist-mounted, laser-sighted crossbow

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: DIY, Laser, Weapons

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DARPA offering US$50,000 for shredded-paper puzzle solutions

Do you like puzzles? If you’re good enough at solving them, it could win you up to US$50,000. That's the maximum prize that DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is offering in its Shredder Challenge. The agency is trying to develop methods of reconstructing shredded documents that U.S. soldiers could use when gathering intelligence in war zones – it also wants to identify shredded-document-reading strategies that could be used against the U.S., so that it can take preemptive measures against them. What better way to do it than by crowd-sourcing?.. Continue Reading DARPA offering US$50,000 for shredded-paper puzzle solutions

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: DARPA, Security

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Rotundus GroundBot spherical surveillance robot broadcasts live in 3D

Remote-controlled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have proven exceptionally useful in military applications, but according to Swedish company Rotundus, they can be equally well applied to civil security. Rolling through mud, sand, snow, or even floating in the water, the Rotundus GroundBot spherically-shaped robot is equipped with a pair of cameras, providing its remote operator with a live video feed in 3D... Continue Reading Rotundus GroundBot spherical surveillance robot broadcasts live in 3D

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Autonomous, Remote-controlled, Robots, Security, Surveillance

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Smartphone malware could identify words typed on nearby keyboards

If you're looking for a reason to buy an iPhone 3GS as opposed to an iPhone 4, besides the lower price, here's one: it's technically possible that malware on an iPhone 4 – if that phone were placed beside its user's computer keyboard – could be used to deduce what the user was typing. Once that data was stored on the phone, it could then be transmitted to another party. According to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who were able to use one of the phones for this purpose, any smartphone made within the past two years should be capable of doing so... Continue Reading Smartphone malware could identify words typed on nearby keyboards

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Georgia Tech, iPhone, Keyboard, Privacy, Security, Smartphone

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Japanese company offers disturbingly-lifelike masks of clients' own faces

It appears that there's a number of customers willing to pay a lot to be in possession of a lifelike replica of their face or even their whole head ... or at least, REAL-f hopes so. The Japanese company offers extremely realistic 3D models of human faces and heads made using vinyl chloride resin, based on its own technique called 3DPFs (3 Dimension Photo Forms). .. Continue Reading Japanese company offers disturbingly-lifelike masks of clients' own faces

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: 3D, Japan, Mannequin, Model

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SpyNet Laser Trip Wire protects your priceless artifacts ... or sandwiches, more likely

So, where do you keep your valuable pieces of jewelry and works of art? In a cabinet? No, that just won’t do at all. If the movies have taught us anything, it’s that valuable items should be stored out in the middle of a big open room, with a network of laser beams surrounding them. While we may be used to seeing such systems portrayed in places like the Louvre or Blofeld’s mansion, now you can buy your own – for forty bucks! It’s the Spynet Laser Trip Wire system, and it sure is niftier than a “Hands offa my stuff” sticker... Continue Reading SpyNet Laser Trip Wire protects your priceless artifacts ... or sandwiches, more likely

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Tags: Laser, Security

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Gadgets for the ghosthunter

In a survey conducted by CBS News in 2005, it was found that 48 percent of Americans believed in ghosts. Other surveys have put the number at anywhere from around 20 to over 50 percent. While such figures certainly don't imply that ghosts are real, they do suggest that belief in them is relatively common. When someone does suspect that a ghost is present in their home or business, they will sometimes call in "experts" to ascertain if that is, in fact, the case ... and what sort of gear do these ghost hunters use to detect said spirits? Gizmag's (very intrepid) Ben Coxworth decided to find out... Continue Reading Gadgets for the ghosthunter

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Tags: Gadgets, Ghost

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New tech creates 3D faces from 2D images

Biometric technology allows for the verification of an individual’s identity via parameters such as their fingerprints, iris, voice, DNA ... or facial features. However, given that most people’s faces have so much in common with one another (two eyes, a nose, etc.), it’s sometimes difficult for biometric systems to tell them apart based on flat two-dimensional images. With that in mind, researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton have created a computer algorithm that is capable of creating 3D models of faces based on 2D images. .. Continue Reading New tech creates 3D faces from 2D images

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: 3D, Biometrics, Facial, Recognition, Security

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Real-life gadgets for real-life superheroes

Yes, there are real-life superheroes. And no, we’re not just referring to firefighters, paramedics, and other heroic people who we’re used to seeing coming to the rescue of others. We’re talking about costume-wearing, identity-concealing, cool-name-having people who fight crime, pollution, or other evils in their own communities, on their own time, and at their own risk. Many of them actually patrol the city streets, ready to intervene if they see trouble brewing – and being ready includes having the right tools. Given that none of these people have Bruce Wayne’s budget, however, their gadgets tend to be less like Batmobile clones, and more like... well, read on and see for yourself... Continue Reading Real-life gadgets for real-life superheroes

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Batmobile, Home-built, Superhero

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Computers could identify people by their ears

If you’ve watched any spy movies, then you’ll know that biometric security systems can recognize individuals based on physiological traits such as their fingerprints, handprints, faces and irises. Well, you may soon be able to add “ears” to that that list. Scientists from the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science have used a program called image ray transform to achieve a 99.6 percent success rate in automatically locating and isolating ears in 252 photos of peoples’ heads. .. Continue Reading Computers could identify people by their ears

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Biometrics, Identification, Imaging, Security, University of Southampton

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When 007 was a teenager...

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA), a British company that offers bicycle insurance, recently surveyed 800 cyclists to find out what aspects of cycling they liked the least. The primary purpose of the survey was no doubt something boring and insurancey, but one of the spin-offs is kind of fun – the company put together a one-off bike concept that addresses four of those dislikes in a rather extreme fashion. It’s the B.O.N.D. (Built of Notorious Deterrents) Bike, and it’s almost certainly the only bike in the world with a flamethrower built into its handlebars... Continue Reading When 007 was a teenager...

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Bicycle, Cycling, Deterrent, Security

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Smart Eyes CCTV system 'works just like the human eye'

Watching live CCTV footage of thousands of people, trying to pick out any sort of noteworthy activity... it sounds like a very tedious, difficult job for a human being. That’s why researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology are working on an electronic system that uses the principles of human motion vision to do the same job. It is part of the EU’s SEARISE project, which stands for Smart Eyes: Attending and Recognizing Instances of Salient Events. .. Continue Reading Smart Eyes CCTV system 'works just like the human eye'

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Cameras, Cctv, Fraunhofer, Security, Video

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New CCTV tech could spot abandoned baggage and track its owner

We’ve told you before about CCTV programs that can identify criminal behavior, or that skip through footage where nothing’s happening. Now, a consortium of ten organizations from six European countries is working on another concept involving video monitoring of public spaces. It’s called the SUBITO project, for Surveillance of Unattended Baggage and the Identification and Tracking of the Owner, and it’s intended to do pretty much what the name suggests. Installed in existing security camera systems at places such as airports or train stations, the software will identify baggage that has been left unattended, and that could therefore possibly contain an explosive device. It will then search back to identify the person who deposited that baggage, then follow them forward through various cameras to establish their present location... Continue Reading New CCTV tech could spot abandoned baggage and track its owner

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Bombs, Cctv, Detection, Identification, Luggage, Monitoring, Recognition, Security, Surveillance, Terrorism, Tracking, Video

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Surveillance: two rare glimpses into who's watching you, and how

If it hasn't become apparent to you yet, you are living in an age when your every online step is being monitored. The notion of communications privacy has been steamrolled in the interests of security, and the occasional tiny chance we get to peek back at the people who make it their business to watch us is truly frightening. Two new stories from America this week give a rare glimpse behind the curtain at just how closely you're being watched, and by whom. .. Continue Reading Surveillance: two rare glimpses into who's watching you, and how

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Communications, Mobile Phone, Privacy, Security, Surveillance

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Chobi Cam is the new king of miniature cameras

Not unlike the Mini-digi which we covered a few weeks back, the Chobi Cam from Japan Trust Technologies gives you the power to shoot photos and videos using a device no bigger than an eraser. Even smaller than the Mini-Digi (2.5 x 1.8 x 1.2 inches), the Chobi Cam measures a miniscule 1.7 x 1.1 x 0.5 inches and weighs only half an ounce... Continue Reading Chobi Cam is the new king of miniature cameras

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Cameras, Japan, Miniature, Voice Recorder

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Tiny Panoptes technology holds promise for military surveillance and iris recognition

Researchers at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas are developing new miniature camera technology and an iris recognition application built on a high-resolution, light and compact platform known as Panoptes. The technology is designed to help the military and border patrol to track combatants in dark caves or alleys and airport security personnel to quickly and unobtrusively identify a subject from an iris scan. .. Continue Reading Tiny Panoptes technology holds promise for military surveillance and iris recognition

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Biometrics, MEMS, Military, Northrop Grumman, Pico projector, Security, Surveillance

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Invisible Bluetooth Earpiece brings out your inner Secret Service agent

Brickhouse Security’s Micro Bluetooth Earpiece is so small it actually fits inside the ear canal to allow covert two-way communication via any Bluetooth mobile phone or two-way radio. Its size means that a battery is out of the question, so the tiny device is powered by magnetism, which is also used to remove the earpiece from the ear canal... Continue Reading Invisible Bluetooth Earpiece brings out your inner Secret Service agent

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Bluetooth, Earpiece, Invisible, Microphone, Security

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Spy vs spy – wireless camera detector lets you sleep easy or play hard (in privacy)

If you don’t trust that shifty-looking night supervisor at the motel or the suspicious-looking smoke detector in your room, or if you just value your privacy, help could be at hand. A quick scan of your room or surrounds with the Chinavision CVMV-J19 Spy Wi-Fi Signal and Camera Lens Detector should let you sleep easy or play hard – in privacy (I guarantee there are a few celebrities who wish they had one)... Continue Reading Spy vs spy – wireless camera detector lets you sleep easy or play hard (in privacy)

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Cameras, Detect, Detector, Infra-red, Privacy, Signal, Surveillance, Wi-fi, Wireless

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GPS-based location devices: have we become too security-conscious?

Gizmag has featured a number of GPS based location devices and concepts that are designed to keep track of your most loved people, pets and possessions. From the Nu.M8 child watch system, to a GPS dog-collar device or a range of tracking devices capable of following just about anyone or anything. The latest in an ever expanding range of these gadgets - the Ekahau wrist-tag, is a tracking device that allows monitoring via a Wi-Fi network. When will it end? Not anytime soon - Jude Garvey checks out three different tracking systems on (or soon to be released on to) the market. .. Continue Reading GPS-based location devices: have we become too security-conscious?

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Bluetooth, GPS, Security

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Tiny Smart Dew sensors promise low-cost security solution

The cost of securing large properties with physical barriers like fences or conventional electronic surveillance systems can be quite prohibitive but a new invention from Tel Aviv University promises a cheap, effective solution in the form of a network of tiny sensors as small as dewdrops. Called "Smart Dew", the devices can be scattered outdoors on rocks, fence posts and doorways, or even indoors on the floor of a bank to serve as invisible security guards with each individual "dew droplet" capable of detecting an intrusion within a parameter of 50 meters (165 feet). .. Continue Reading Tiny Smart Dew sensors promise low-cost security solution

Section: Spy Gear

Tags: Security

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