SIDE BAR

May 2005

Group Cites Technology ‘Success Stories’

By Harold Kennedy

Technical support working group officials, in a recent briefing to industry representatives, pointed to a list of “2004 success stories,” technologies developed during the previous year, including these:

The Rapidscan Secure 1000, from Rapidscan Secure Systems, of Hawthorne, Calif., is designed to detect metallic and non-metallic objects—such as conventional metal weapons, ceramic knives, explosives, illegal drugs and other contraband—concealed under a person’s clothing.

The Remote Firing Device, made by ETI, of Orlando, Fla., is intended to provide state and local bomb-disposal squads and similar agencies with an extremely rugged, low-cost system for exploding bombs from a safe distance. The device is so popular among bomb squads that it is going into its second production run, TSWG officials said.

Escape hoods are being tested to ensure that they meet the full-range of capabilities needed following a terrorist chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident. The hoods are designed to provide at least 15 minutes of protection while users evacuate to a safe area. More than 200,000 of the hoods—made by such firms as Quick Protective Systems, of Stuart, Fla., and Mine Safety Appliances, of Pittsburgh, Pa.—have been sold.

The Fiber Optic Remote Amplifier Extension System (FORAX), made by Syntonics LLC, of Columbia, Md., enables military units to relocate radio antennas up to a kilometer away from their transmitters. That makes it easier for them to communicate from the deep underground, inside buildings and below ship decks.

Talon, a product of Foster-Miller Inc., of Waltham, Mass., is a low-cost, highly portable miniature reconnaissance robot designed for explosive ordnance disposal operations. EOD units have bought more than 140 of them at a cost of $110,000 apiece.

The Z Backscatter Van Drive-By Screening System, built by American Science and Engineering Inc., of Billerica, Mass., is built into commercially available delivery van. It can be deployed quickly, and one or two operators can conduct x-ray imaging of a suspect vehicle as the van passes it.

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