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I've long wondered whether science will ever catch up to and truly defeat asymmetrical terrorism, or whether tactics like suicide attacks in large population centers will remain practically indefensible. Now one company is claiming a new technology that's a step in the right direction:

Suicide bombers are part of the arms race of the 21st century. And they have an advantage over their victims, whether civilian or military: even if caught, they can often still blow up the checkpoint where they were detected.

One company claims to have developed a way around this: the first technology that automatically discovers the bombs at a safe distance. The system involves aiming a low-power radar beam at people from as far as 100 meters (109 yards) away.

Software within the system reveals concealed objects without showing the body underneath, which could violate subjects' privacy, according to the developers. The technology was described last month in Technology Review, a magazine of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The company says the system "could be ready for sale by this fall." RTWT.

Posted by Bill at April 10, 2007 01:19 PM | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Posted by: Chief RZ at April 12, 2007 04:08 PM