Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Military Testing WMD Sensors at Super Bowl

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the save-what's-left-of-detroit dept.

Lam1969 writes "Members of the Michigan National Guard will be at the Super Bowl on Sunday to deploy 'sensor fusion', a real-time, IP-based wireless technology that combines readings from portable and fixed devices that can potentially detect terrorist threats. While sensors capable of detecting chemical, biological, or radiological threats have been used at previous Super Bowls, the readings had to be communicated by radio between different security personnel. Sensor fusion automatically takes readings from the devices and uploads them to a central, secure Web server, where security staff anywhere can monitor conditions at the event. From the article: 'The software uses open standards and is open-source, based on the OSGi Service Platform, which is a standardized, component-oriented computing environment for networked services. OSGi allows networked devices to be managed from anywhere in the world, while allowing software to be installed, updated or removed on the fly while the device is operating.'"

9 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. "secure" by scenestar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's hope it isn't anything like those voting machines.

    --
    perpetually dwelling in the -1 pits
    1. Re:"secure" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Yeah, obviously it should only be trusted to the lowest bidder where the ratio of potential corners cut, not to mention the potential for the CEO to flee the country with his millions of dollars, is high.

  2. Of course... by TCQuad · · Score: 4, Funny

    Because the best place to beta test a top-secret military project is in a forum with six billion people watching.

    I'm not saying that this shouldn't be used here, but why weren't they tested at, say, a regular Lions game beforehand? It's the same number of people in the same location, just not as many of them are VIPs with the associated security concerns in case of evacuation.

  3. WMD's at a football game? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Apparently, the British soccer hooligans have nothing on American football fans. Over there, they're happy if they can keep glass bottles out of the stands.

  4. Re: Open source a good thing here? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny

    > So if the source code is available for anyone to analyse, AND the software can be updated on-the-fly... what makes this effective? Why does everyone keep assuming terrorists are stupid? Attacks don't succeed through stupidity, they succeed through ingenuity. Look at the source, find a hole, "fix" the software, detonate a WMD...

    Yeah, 'cause closed source always keeps the evildoers out.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  5. Ob. South Park by Headcase88 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well I'm Canadian and if they ever attack our Superbowl, we know what to do.

    --
    "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
  6. So.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    does this mean neither team can throw the long bomb?

    (ducks)

  7. The real question is... by niittyniemi · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...will it protect the American public from the wardrobe malfunction threat?!?

    Another overexposed nipple could spell doom for us all...

    --
    The Machine stops.
  8. How about ... by MrNougat · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... testing it in Iraq? They'll be able to work out false positives there just as well, since there's no WMDs there to find, either.

    --
    Web 2.0 == Giant Blogspam Circle Jerk