Not only for secret agents, police and secret traders, the usage of electronic miniature devices to secretly record conversations and phone calls is now widespread in many other fields, thanks to the ever decreasing price of this kind of spy recording equipment, which makes it affordable for almost everyone.

And this means that devices which were born as a tool for spies and secret agents, are now being used also for leisure or for professional reasons, for example to record a live concert, a public speech, or just to save notes from a company meeting or even to take quick audio notes on the go.

Miniature digital recorders come in small sizes, as the name goes. But on top of that, they can also come in a variety of shapes and appearances, which can not be immediately recognized as an audio recording device. For example, who could ever think that what looks like a car key or remote control, a watch, a pen, a lipstick or even a USB drive, is actually a micro digital recorder?

They also come with different characteristics, for example such as voice activation system, which makes sure that the recording operation is started only when it is really necessary, for example when a noise or a voice is picked up by the sensor. By doing this, the storage space on the micro recorder would be used at its best, without pauses and, most of all, without any danger of missing out on important information.

Capacity and characteristics may vary depending on the specific purpose for which your digital audio recorder is going to be used, but with their extreme versatility, anyone may need a miniature recorder, from a student to a secret agent!

Thanks to the latest developments of technology, a British soldier who got seriously wounded in Iraq, and lost his sight due to the wounds, is now capable of recognizing shapes around him, walking without aid and even read, thanks to BrainPort, a device which uses electro-tactile stimulations as a surrogate of eyesight.

At a first glance, it looks just like your MP3 player, but it is connected on one end with a pair of special glasses, while on the other end there is a sensor, similar to the one that your dentist would use to take a dental X-ray, which is placed under its user’s tongue.

Inside these glasses, there is a small video camera connected to the sensor by means of a small tube. The camera sends signals to the sensor via this tube, and thanks to tiny electrical pulses it is possible to recognize lines and shapes, which are then turned into two-dimensional black and white images.
This system is still in its experimental stage, in fact the tube which connects the glasses to the sensor makes it mandatory for its user to keep his mouth closed, thus making it impossible to carry out normal activities like eating, drinking or talking.

To solve this problem, researchers are considering the idea of placing a fixed sensor, to be located for example behind the dental arc. The soldier on whom it is being tested is fully satisfied, and although he is certainly far from having a normal life, certainly BrainPort is doing a lot for his morals.

For people with a very low eyesight (but not blind), an interesting remedy could be using a pair of night vision glasses, which work on a similar principle, as they use a camera which projects images directly on the patient’s retina, allowing him to get oriented normally and without assistance, by day or even at night.

The room of a cinema, a conference hall or a meeting, a church or a concert: these are all places or situations in which one may be requested to turn his mobile phone off, for different possible reasons which may range from the simple rule of keeping the place silent during a movie or a musical performance out of other people’s respect, to the need to avoid that any sensitive data or conversations may be leaked or transmitted outside.

Of course though, it may happen that someone accidentally keeps his cellphone on and it rings exactly when it shouldn’t, or that others do not turn it off on purpose, to allow a third party listener to remotely grab secrets in real time.

To avoid such kind of trouble, it may be useful to use a jammer, that is, a mobile phone breaker which prevents cellphones from working, making it impossible to communicate with the outside world, thus saving others from having to hear that annoying ring in the middle of an important scene, or preventing prying ears from listening to confidential conversations.

This is possible thanks to a jammer which would flood the area to protect with invisible signals (absolutely harmless for human health), preventing radio waves, which carry mobile phone signals, from reaching the area by making them illegible; so if someone keeps his phone on, he would have no signal and would not be able to place or receive calls, with no trouble for others and no unauthorized listeners.

The different types of jammers available on the market can block not only cellphone transmission, but also WiFi networks and Bluetooth connections.

For more info on jammers, protection devices and a wide range of solutions for your security and privacy, you can visit the Endoacustica website.

The US Department of Defense seems to be busy with planning weapons capable of penetrating the earth and blow themselves up near underground bunkers, in order to strike their enemies even when they hide in places deemed inaccessible.

In fact, on its official site, the DoD has launched a request for information, aimed at the supply of single use vehicles (that is, vehicles which blow themselves up along with their payload), with high mobility characteristics that make them similar to an UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle).

This underground robot, called RUM (Robotic Underground Munition) would be launched from an airplane with a parachute, and once it reaches the programmed coordinates, it would start softening the ground and then digging, thanks to a powerful auger or rig mounted on the vehicle, until it reaches the bunker wall.

Once the wall is reached, it would keep on perforating until it penetrates the inside of its target. Only at that point, the explosive contained inside would explode, destroying the vehicle along with the bunker and the people inside.
Aside from being useful to reach enemies hiding underground, this sort of kamikaze mole would be a great way to destroy ammunition or ordnance storage sites, effectively cutting enemy supplies to the war zones.

The required technology would include robot sensors, communication systems capable of staying connected even underground, and of course a drilling system which can dig holes not only through the most resistant rocks, but most of all through manmade constructions which should theoretically be attack proof.

If any of you fellow readers of this humble blog thinks that they have what it takes, all they have to do is contact the DoD website and send their details by April 9…

Readers of these pages may already have noticed that we mentioned robotic fish a few times, both small and medium sized, so this new item coming (of course) from Japan, and more specifically from Osaka City University, may not look exactly as something new.

In this case though, what makes this robot fish, with its 10 centimeters in size, different from others and standing out from the crowd, is the source of power it uses.

Generally in fact, this kind of miniature devices is powered with a rechargeable Li-ion battery, which can provide an operating time of a few hours. This new robot fish from the land of the Rising Sun, instead, is powered by a fuel cell, nicknamed “Power Tube”.

The energy consumption of the small magnetic engine powered by this fuel cell is approximately 100 times lower than those which use a normal lithium battery, and the final target of this research is creating robotic fish that can swim for up to three consecutive days, not only on the water surface, but that are also capable of diving and rising, thanks to a small joint placed on the front of the fish, which makes it easier to head downward or upward.

In a near future, such robotic fish might be used for a wide range of applications, for example starting with monitoring of the pollution level of waters by simply adding dedicated sensors, or checking the condition of water pipelines from the inside, or even, by simply some micro camera and a transmitter, for underwater surveillance in port areas that might be at risk of any kind of attacks.

At the current stage it is not more than a research program, but in the future a robot fish might help us in several fields and make our waters a safer and cleaner place.

When talking about telephone eavesdropping, the image that comes to mind is that of a secret agent sitting in a dark room, concentrated on listening the telecommunications around him thanks to complicated and expensive machines.

A similar scenario is now available for pretty much everyone, thanks to the increasing user-friendliness of the technology used for mobile phone bugging, which can now be easily housed inside a device just a tad bigger than your average home computer.

The GSM Interceptor is a passive eavesdropping system, with a concept not much different from radio scanners. While the latter inspect the radio frequencies band in search of transmission, this GSM interception device does basically the same, but on GSM networks, either encrypted or non encrypted.

By operating on the different transmission bands, of 900 and 1800 MHz, used by GSM networks, this device is capable not only of intercepting calls, but also to display the caller telephone number, as well as all identification and authentication numbers of the intercepted handset, which can then be stored for a tailored eavesdropping operation. Intercepted calls are saved as audio files, making it easy to use them at a later stage, for example as evidence before a court of law if needed.

GSM Interceptor has an operating range of approximately 500 meters, and is capable of working in a completely invisible way, unnoticed by the GSM operator. Therefore, law enforcement agencies which need to monitor activities in a dangerous neighborhood, or are trying to track down dangerous criminals by knowing in which area they are hiding, can use this modern system to intercept their phone calls and finally put their hands on them.

In a similar fashion, individual citizens, for example managers of large plants, may be able to keep under control all phone activities in their work area.

To obtain more information on this mobile phone interception device, as well as many other tools for security and struggle against crime, we recommend that you visit the Endoacustica website.

Lately, producers of data storage supports seem to be busy in a constant race towards the highest possible level of security for their USB drive products.
In all this, consumers are indeed reaping the benefit of this constant improvement, especially if they need to make sure that their data is travelling in the safest possible way.

Under the security point of view, the new Kanguru Defender Elite USB drive seems to be pushing forward the limits in this particular field, as it is compatible with the extremely high standards set by the US Department of Defense, and even exceeds them in some aspects.

Furthermore, it has been awarded with the FIPS 140-2 certification, thanks to its 256-bit AES-type hardware encryption, compatible with hi security standards such as HIPAA and Sarbanes Oxley. The FIPS 140-2 certification, assigned by the National Institute of Standards and Certification, is the minimum requisite to apply for tenders to become suppliers of the US Government institutions.

In fact, recently the Department of Defense had banned its employees from using USB drives for data transfers, as deemed not completely secure; this ban has been partially lifted for some products, including Defender Elite.

Among its several features and functions, we can list the limited number of password attempts, the possibility to have access limited only to certain IP addresses, and an advanced antivirus and antimalware protection.

Available in formats ranging from 1 to 128 Gb, its price can reach up to 600 dollars, certainly a high price, but certainly reasonable when it comes to national security issues.

When carrying out undercover or confidential operations, either with police forces or the military, you need to have support from accessories that, along with absolute top-notch performance, can guarantee ease of use and maneuverability, along with total flexibility and the ability to be suitable for a wide range of possible applications.

And this is exactly the case with SV-CAM, a pocket video camera which, thanks to its characteristics of extreme sturdiness, can be used as your perfect adventure companion for shooting footage of extreme sports activities, for example by mounting it on the front of your mountain bike or a motorbike, or even on the pilot’s helmet. In fact, the digital portable video camera is water and shock proof.

Thanks to this, SV-CAM can be a very useful tool also for those who are professionally dealing with dangerous situations, be it military personnel in action or on a reconnaissance mission, or police agents on a crime enforcement operation.

The SV-CAM digital video camera can in fact be easily operated with a big record start button, which makes it possible to put it to work with a quick pressure and without complicated procedures, even while you are wearing gloves.

The keys can be locked, in order to prevent recording from being accidentally interrupted, and ensure continuous operations while at work or while both hands are busy.

Thanks to its wide LCD screen, this BWV (Body Worn Video) system allows you to see at all times what it is shooting, to make sure that it is working correctly. This is particularly useful for police forces on a patrolling operation, as real time video recording may effectively deter from nasty behavior, as the offending person knows that he is being recorded.

In a few inches, you basically have a complete tool for leisure, surveillance and security.

Aviation giant Boeing has just announced that soon it will launch on the market a photo camera to be used to capture 3D aerial images, which has been specifically designed to be deployed on UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) type aircraft and helicopters, and which can have applications in several fields, ranging from reconnaissance or target acquisition for the military, or commercial applications of various kinds, as well as aerial video surveillance operations, both civilian and military.

This 3D photo camera has been developed by Spectrolab, a subsidiary company of Boeing, over more than two years of design and different tests on UAVs. Compared to similar devices for capture of 3D images, it has the advantage of a smaller size (its encumbrance is roughly one third of similar models), as well as a ten times lower energy consumption, a factor of vital importance for UAVs, which are powered by battery packs, making every inch of power important.

To create its 3D images, during flight the photo camera sends short and quick laser pulses towards the ground, measuring the duration of every pulse’s flight time to determine the distance of the ground from the device thanks to its set of sensors and imaging software.

Once the test stage on UAVs is over, Boeing will also be studying the possibility of adding video capabilities, in order to add further potential to its three dimensional imaging system, in order to make it suitable for a wide range of applications on the ground, in the air and even in outer space.

If we are going on holiday and are afraid that our home might be visited by burglars, or if we are keeping valuable objects in the house and fear that someone with malicious intentions might take advantage of our absence, and we just do not want to sit back, cross our fingers and just hope that nothing happens while we are out, we still can find an effective solution to keep our home (or our office) under close control, without having to spend a fortune for the installation of a complicated surveillance system with cameras in each room.

All that is needed is a WiFi connection and a computer, and wherever you are, you can keep the situation under close scrutiny, thanks to the cam robot, that is, a small device, equipped with a pan and tilt webcam, which can freely move on wheels within your office or home, and detect any changes in the environment, such as a movement, a piece of furniture that has been moved, an open door which was closed before or vice versa.

By programming a path with preset waypoints, you can easily achieve a full surveillance inside your premises or apartment, and in case of alert the robot cam can send an acoustic alarm in the room. Thanks to its webcam, it is possible to follow In real time what goes on, by simply connecting to the internet and guiding its webcam in real time, even in the dark thanks to its powerful headlight which will illuminate the area.

In a few words, we are talking about a webcam teamed up with an intelligent robot, which thanks to its rechargeable battery can freely move around on its sturdy wheels. The operating time of the battery is around 90 minutes, therefore it can be programmed so that, at fixed intervals or when the battery is low, it will automatically return to its docking station to recharge, and get ready to start his job again!