Popular_Science_Australia_November_2016

Inactive smoke detectors

lead to almost 900 fire-

related deaths a year in

the US. Roost’s Wi-Fi-

enabled 9-volt battery

will alert you when it’s

about to die—no more

annoying chirps. Plugged

into any old smoke

detector, Roost sends

alerts to a companion

smartphone app if the

alarm goes off while

you’re away. It can also

talk to other smart-

home gadgets, so it can

carry out tasks like

automatically unlocking

the front door for

police or firefighters.

Not Just a

Battery

E

ROOST

SMART BATTERY

Last December, New

Orleans Saints fans

passed between pylons

embedded with security

scanners that work faster

and are more thorough

than ordinary metal

detectors. Adapted from

military checkpoints,

Ronin uses magnetic and

pulse-induction sensors,

which record minute

changes in a magnetic

field, to spot contraband

and weapons. By reducing

the need for pat-downs,

Ronin could make lines at

public venues move up to

five times faster.

Eagle-Eyed

Checkpoint

BROADBAND

DISCOVERYRONIN

The more gadgets we put

online, the more

backdoors we give hackers

into our data. The

Symbiote Defence

software protects

anything—from printers

to cars—regardless of

their operating system.

The program can spot

malicious activity

and remove threats

continually. Developed

with support from DARPA

and Homeland Security,

Symbiote debuted on HP

printers this year,

and more devices will

roll out in 2017.

Universal

Anti-Virus

RED BALLOON

SYMBIOTE DEFENSE

Robotic guards already

patrol empty lots at night,

but navigating constantly

changing indoor

environments is trickier.

The 1.3-metre-tall K3

robot uses multiple lidars

(the laser range-finders

on self-driving cars) and

other sensors to build live

maps and find its way

around shopping malls,

offices, and server farms.

Soon this R2D2 of building

security will get facial-

recognition to compare

suspects to a database of

people it knows.

Autonomous

Robot Mall Cop

D

KNIGHTSCOPE

K3

QUALCOMM

SNAPDRAGON SENSE ID

Hackers have shown they

can trick common

biometric scanners with

faked fingerprints. The

SenseID sensor makes

that nearly impossible. It

ultrasonically scans

a fingerprint’s depth,

reading a detailed

3D map of every nook,

cranny, and pore.

Unhackable

Print Scanner

PHOTO CREDITS SEE PAGE 87

E

D

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