New technology for lifeguards Researchers at Australia's Griffith University are developing a camera-based motion detecting system that could increase the effectiveness of lifeguards in monitoring the country's many beaches. The system is designed to monitor the behaviour of beachgoers, according to a report in The Australian. It will harness images captured by web cameras set up by the national surf monitoring group Coastalwatch. 'We are trying to detect people to some level of accuracy and we are about 85 per cent [accurate],' said Steve Green, a doctoral student at the university's School of Information and Communication Technology. The system could be used to increase safety at unpatrolled beaches - lifeguards nearby could get an early warning if, for instance, bathers entered non-flagged areas. The main challenge is the low-resolution images, which makes human detection difficult in overcast conditions, but Mr Green said he hoped the system will be completed with greater accuracy in two years. The ultimate warship Britain's Royal Navy launched its next-generation warship HMS Daring last week. The 7,350-tonne, 150-metre-long Daring is the first of six Type 45 destroyers expected to come into service by 2009. It is one of the most sophisticated warships ever built, boasting a $8.33 billion price tag and 14 decks that have the latest military technology. A new Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) can trace and destroy hostile objects as small as a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound over a radius of several hundred kilometres. The hi-tech entertainment systems built into every cabin will be of greater interest to the crew. Hotel facilities on board the ship include iPod docks, internet access and five-channel recreational audio. Microsoft delays Asia launch of games console Microsoft has delayed the launch of its widely anticipated Xbox 360 games console in the Asia-Pacific region. It cited challenges in ramping up its supply to meet unprecedented global customer demand. Hong Kong and Singapore gamers will be able to get their hands on the console on March 16. The product will be launched in Australia and New Zealand a week later. The company said it remained on track to ship between 4.5 million and 5.5 million consoles worldwide by the end of June. Harnessing the wind's power California-based Sky WindPower has released its latest design for Flying Electric Generator (FEG) technology, which it is pitching as a potential solution for future global energy shortages. The so-called Flying Windmills technology is designed to operate at an altitude exceeding 15,000 feet to harness the energy from high-altitude winds using light tether materials and existing rotorcraft technology. 'Just average wind conditions high above the earth in the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres are sufficient to supply all the world's energy needs,' the company said. The next planned Flying Electric Generator will be rated at 240kW with rotor diameters of about 10.6 metres. The company said the device would produce twice the energy per year as a ground-based wind turbine with a rotor blade measuring 77 metres. HSBC expands use of authentication Global financial services company HSBC is expanding the deployment of its user-authentication tokens for internet banking across the Asia-Pacific, according to technology supplier Vasco Data Security International. Vasco, the world's leading vendor of user-authentication products for the financial sector, said HSBC had rolled out 900,000 units of its Digipass GO3 tokens in Hong Kong in the second quarter last year. HSBC has since initiated Digipass use on the mainland, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. Jan Valcke, president and chief operating officer at Vasco, commended HSBC for the speed of its Digipass implementation. 'The battle against internet fraud has become a priority for banks worldwide. HSBC proves that end users in the e-banking sphere can be protected in a cost-effective and easy-to-use way,' he said. Two Digipass authenticators, the GO3 and the 260, are being used for HSBC's retail, commercial, corporate and private banking applications. Vasco, which operates out of Belgium, has sold more than 20 million Digipass products so far. Customers include more than 420 international financial institutions, about 2,100 blue-chip companies and governments in more than 100 countries. Fuji Xerox wins DPEX document contract Fuji Xerox has won a contract to deliver a major document-management system for an unspecified amount to DPEX Worldwide Express, a parcels carrier that operates in 180 countries. The system is expected to help streamline the carrier's document management processes and improve its handling and tracking capabilities. Donald Tay, the Singapore-based managing director of DPEX Worldwide Express, said Fuji Xerox was selected over three other IT vendors because it could link the carrier's IT systems, eliminate a lot of paperwork and manual processes, and enable the quick retrieval of document images. 'We can simultaneously scan images at high speed, read bar codes, capture related information and automatically assign file names - none of which we could do before,' Mr Tay said. Debby Chan Wai-tak, director of marketing at Fuji Xerox Hong Kong, said the document management system included the multifunction Document Centre 900 with Document WorkBench Adecpro software. The entire solution is capable of scanning, sorting, capturing data, and verifying and indexing large quantities of different types of documents in a predefined flow. It would help handle thousands of DPEX Worldwide Express shipments every day. Each shipment bears a detailed consignment note that is used for audit purposes and acts as a reference point for customer inquiries. Qualcomm and Yulon join hands for 3G Qualcomm and Yulong Computer Technology, Co, a subsidiary of main-board-listed China Wireless Technologies, have forged an extensive licensing deal that could help push the adoption of 3G mobile communications in the mainland. The multimillion-dollar, royalty-bearing agreement provides Yulong with a worldwide licence - under Qualcomm's code division multiple access (CDMA) patent portfolio - to develop, manufacture and sell subscriber equipment based on any 3G CDMA standard, including Wideband CDMA, and CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO. Qualcomm said royalties due from Yulong followed the company's standard rates. 'This licence agreement will enable China Wireless, through its Yulong subsidiary, to develop and market competitive 3G products,' said Guo Deying, chairman and chief executive of Shenzhen-based China Wireless, a maker of smartphones and wireless data devices for mainland operators such as China Unicom. Mr Guo said the aim was to support 3G adoption in China and worldwide. Established in 1993, China Wireless supplies a range of communications gear, from back-end systems to wireless terminals, for the mainland's public and private sectors. The company estimated that it doubled smartphone sales last year to 90,000 units from 45,000 in 2004.
