U.S. Defense Contractor Homeland Security Strategies, Inc. (HSS) announced plans to offer a Facial Recognition option for its ICARUSTM Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Platform (MUAVP).
Originally the ICARUS UAV spotter was designed to detect roadside bombs and land mines for the protection of anti-terrorist forces. Today, it offers new upgrades and options. It can perform such tasks as aerial observation and countermeasures for improvised incendiary bombs (IEDs), buried object detection, facial recognition, deployment and laser targeting of hostile personnel.
Traveling at high speeds, the system affords 100% silent operation, provides Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) and can fly heights of over 1,500 feet. Operation is remotely controlled by an operator from a ground based control center. Functions include auto-pilot, auto hover, automatic landing, and GPS tracing, all of which are managed from a laptop-based graphical user interface that provides control officers with continuous live wireless streaming audio, video and telemetry feeds. The system also boasts sophisticated features such as GPS and Magnetometer based auto-hover modes and Emergency Auto-landing features. Waypoint navigation is another feature which enables the system to fly on a pre-determined route and carry out preprogrammed functions as well.
Facial Recognition is being introduced as a major tool to assist the United States department of Homeland Security in its efforts patrol its borders. It is being heralded in England, Germany and other European countries as a major enhancement to aid security efforts in identifying and tracking known criminals and people of interest.
UAVs themselves are the hot new technology. They can help fire fighters see in and around a forest fire, or detect heat sources such as hidden pockets of fire in a building. They can track a fleeing criminal leaving the scene, help to find lost children in the woods, scout and secure roadways in advance of motorcades and convoys. And of course, their capabilities and potential for news gathering are already being discovered by the broadcast media.
HSS introduced its ICARUS Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Vehicle at the 2008 SOFEX Military and Defense show in Amman, Jordan, where it met with great reception among the cadre of military and government officials from throughout the world in attendance. The company also displayed samples of their Bombjammer™ series, a wide range of radio controlled IED Defeat Jamming Systems.
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