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Under DHS new biometric monitoring system, all foreign visitors to the U.S. will be screened with facial recognition software which will check the identities of departing visitors to ensure they havent overstayed visas, arent wanted in criminal or terrorist investigations, and to confirm they arent trying to leave the country with forged documents, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

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Homeland Security has been screening foreigners entering the U.S. through fingerprints since 2004, but the agency has never had the security software to create a system for foreigners also leaving the U.S. as well.

DHS ran a test-run of the biometric monitoring system at Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where they successfully gathered images of passengers to verify their identities before they boarded flights.

Likewise, DHS fingerprint technology has been used at some of the countrys largest airports, but the agency has also tested a security system that captured the irises of foreigners for identification verification at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing.

As to the potential of the security system misidentifying an individual, a DHS Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokeswoman told the Christian Science Monitor that the biometric system is building upon existing operational platforms, ultimately finding a feasible solution.

The CBP spokeswoman said the agency is working with other government agencies and private industry partners to make sure the security system is as accurate as possible.

Aside from the new security technology for foreigners entering and leaving the country, the Trump Administration may still be eyeing a move to reinstate the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program.

NSEERS was initiated after the 9/11 attacks and it tracked individuals living in the country who had come from regions of the world where terrorism is prevalent, as Breitbart Texas reported. The Obama Administration cancelled the program, claiming it unfairly targeted Muslims.

The national policy team and the incoming cabinet and administration members are spending a lot of time reviewing potential executive order actions, working through a 100-day plan for particular pieces of legislation that will be coming up, Trump transition team spokesman Jason Miller told Breitbart News at the time.

John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at@JxhnBinder.

Excerpt from:

DHS Developing Technology to Identify Terrorist Travelers - Breitbart News

From smartphones, computers, TV sets to car navigation systems, almost every devices display shape is rectangular.

But this stereotype is likely to change soon, as display-makers work to come up with unique designs, such as circular, curved, ultrathin and flexible.

Such displays, they say, are expected to be used more widely in auto interiors, for wearable devices and other internet-ready gadgets with the expansion of the internet of things.

The need for higher-quality designs for displays has been growing, Akio Takimoto, chief technology officer at Tokyo-based Japan Display Inc., said during a news conference last month.

Takimoto stressed that displays are not evolving merely in terms of their resolution and energy-saving functions, noting technologies are improving to change their shapes, such as making them edgeless, curved or flexible.

Japan Display, which was founded in 2012 by combining the display sections of Hitachi Ltd., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., unveiled at the news conference a 5.5-inch-thin plastic liquid-crystal display called Full Active Flex.

By using plastic, the display has become flexible, which means it can be bent or folded, said Takimoto.

Japan Display, which supplies LCD panels for Apple Inc.s iPhones, said the 0.19-mm display has the potential to be used for smartphones as well as laptops and in-vehicle monitors.

Using plastic also offers extra advantages compared with existing glass-based LCDs, Japan Display President Shuji Aruga said at the same news conference.

For example, many people have broken their smartphone screens after accidently dropping their device. Plastic thin-film displays, however, wont crack, Aruga pointed out.

Laptops can be considerably lighter with the plastic displays, making it easier for users to carry them around, he added.

Flexible LCDs can also be used to produce stylish wearable devices, such as those that can be wrapped around a wrist.

Japan Display said it aims to mass produce flexible displays in 2018.

Looking at global markets, overseas manufacturers have already launched products using unconventional displays.

South Koreas Samsung Electronics has been selling smartphones with a curved-screen edge, known as the Galaxy Edge series, while LG, also of South Korea, has produced TV sets with curved screens.

Some analysts said that uniquely shaped displays are likely to make their debuts in the coming years.

It has been a trend in the past several years for display makers to create bigger and thinner smartphone or TV panels, but I think that trend has kind of reached its limit, said Hiroshi Sakai, an analyst at SMBC Friend Research Center.

Sakai said as a result manufacturers are developing displays that can be attached to devices or imbedded in different home electronics or outdoor spaces, to cultivate new markets, Sakai said.

Sharp Corp. is also seeing business opportunities with the evolution of displays.

The Osaka-based LCD manufacturer came up with Free-Form Displays, which are literally LCDs that can be cut into any shape.

As smartphones increase in use, their display sizes and resolutions have been improving, becoming larger and clearer.

However, when we thought about smartphones in terms of design and portability, we were discussing if the displays shape should be fixed to a rectangular shape, said Koji Fujiwara, director of technology planning at Sharps display unit.

Sharp has developed rounded and curved displays, which the firm said can be used for various products.

Fujiwara said auto interiors can easily accommodate Free-Form Displays, as car designers have said rectangular displays are no longer fashionable.

They have been asking us whether we can somehow solve that issue, he said.

Fujiwara said by freely changing the shape of displays, it has become possible to come up with a display that matches a curved center console.

Allowing Sharp to produce displays with unique shapes is possible as a result of a technology that allows it to locate circuits more flexibly.

Normally circuits are located at the edge of LCDs, such as within a frame. But Sharp managed to spread the circuits inwardly under the screen, doing away with the need for a pronounced edge.

In the coming years, more home electronics, including refrigerators and audio devices, are expected to be connected to the internet.

Fujiwa said it will mean that the products will need to be equipped with displays, including Free-Form Displays, which can be made into a round shape of about 3 inches, for example, to give greater freedom in designing more fashionable products.

Sharp said it expects to see products with Free-Form Displays debut sometime this year.

This monthly feature, appearing on the second Monday or the second Tuesday when Monday is a press holiday, looks at technologies still under development or new to the market.

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New technology has display designers thinking outside the rectangle - The Japan Times

Theres a popular misconception that people of the third age cannot cope with new technologies. There are plenty of people who have reached retirement age (or passed it) who have backgrounds in computers, engineering, science and mathematics, for whom new technologies pose no problem, or at worst are a temporary challenge. Even without such backgrounds, if shown how to operate the latest cellphone, PC, vacuum cleaner and any other technological marvel, most mentally alert senior citizens can learn. Perhaps their learning process is a little different and a little slower, but they do manage.

Nonetheless, Zionist Union MKs Nachman Shai, 70, and Itzik Shmuli, 37, are concerned as to whether technology will conquer senior citizens, or whether senior citizens will prove that they can master technology. The two head the Knesset Lobby on Technological Challenges for Senior Citizens, which deals with issues such as automatic switchboards that confound senior citizens who are seeking a human voice; digital banking; and inability to access ones email.

To learn more about the difficulties experienced by senior citizens in accessing technological systems, or alternately in succeeding to operate them, Shai and Shmuli will host a meeting at the Knesset on February 20. Shmuli not only takes care of the needs of senior citizens but is a hands-on parliamentarian in personally trying to solve numerous social welfare problems, and is frequently called on by radio anchors to help listeners who have telephoned the station to air their grievances at being stymied by bureaucracy.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu is not the only person in Israel to receive text messages from US President Donald Trump. Loretta Weinberger of Raanana received a message from Trump a few days before his inauguration.

Weinberger is not a politician, but she had created something that Trump wanted.

She happens to be a songwriter who, under her professional name of Loretta Kay Feld, had written a song called Gonna Keep America Singing. Trump thought it was a perfect backdrop for his campaign slogan about making America great again, and texted a request to her, in which he asked permission to play the song at his inauguration.

He not only did her the honor of choosing her song but also invited her to come and attend.

Weinberger readily consented to the song being played, but the invitation came at too short notice for her to be able to cancel existing commitments and to make all the necessary arrangements. In a technological age in which total strangers can gain some form of access to us through Facebook, email, Twitter and other forms of social media, it was not all that difficult for Trump to access Weinbergers cellphone, and although she has had strangers make contact with her before, the face of the last recognizable stranger in the world that she expected to see on her screen was the man who at the time was president-elect of the United States of America and is now president.

Weinberger, who came to Israel from England eight years ago, wrote the song in 2013, after which she received a letter on White House stationery from president Barack Obama. Three years ago the song was performed at the residence of then- US ambassador Dan Shapiro during the Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations.

Even though she was unable to attend Trumps inaugural, which she watched with great interest on television, Weinberger will nonetheless get to meet him.

When he learned that she would be unable to come to Washington in January, but that she hoped to be there in the spring, he invited her to come to meet him and his family.

ONE ISRAELI whom Trump would not like to meet is comedian, actor and musician Tal Friedman, who is Israels king of spoof. Friedman, who delighted television viewers during the 11 seasons in which he appeared on Channel 2 in the Keshet satirical production A Wonderful Country, is back again after a three-year hiatus, and each week will do a different send-up of Trump, depending on the presidents most recent tweets or politically incorrect indiscretions.

It is not yet certain whether Friedman will relate to Netanyahus upcoming meeting with Trump, which is more or less around the time that A Wonderful Country begins its new season, going to air on February 20.

Its just as well that Trump doesnt understand Hebrew, because a translation, no matter how good, will take some of the bite out of the skit. Unlike Israeli political figures who know how to laugh at themselves, and were mightily amused by the impersonations of Friedman, Eli Finish and Tuvia Tzafir, Trump is not amused when he is the target of the roast, and was most unhappy with Alec Baldwins take on him on Saturday Night Live.

Baldwin got Trumps hand movements just right. Trump might have gone along with that, but not with Baldwins remarks about groping women that went somewhat beyond the text in the embarrassing video released during Trumps election campaign, in which he bragged about how his fame enabled him to do anything he wanted to women.

THIS MUST be one of the most embarrassing months in Netanyahus life. With criminal investigations hanging over his head, headlined almost daily in the Israeli media and frequently reported in the world media, it has not been easy for him to meet with his counterparts from other countries.

When he was in London to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May, he had to stand for a minute or two in front of the closed door, before it was opened to admit him. He looked really uncomfortable waiting.

His meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in the shadow of Belgian prosecutors wanting to charge certain Israeli politicians and army officers with war crimes was likewise an uncomfortable situation. And now, barring any unforeseen barrier, hes off to Singapore to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and from there to Australia to meet Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

All of his government peers are aware of Netanyahus predicament and he knows that they know. Perhaps thats the reason that he and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon went to have hummus in a Jerusalem restaurant last Wednesday. But its getting harder and harder to play the business as usual game.

WHILE PLANS are already being made in the event that Netanyahu is charged with corruption and has to step down from office, the possibility remains that this will not happen, despite all the negative publicity.

In that case, there is likely to be a struggle between Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and Transportation Minister Israel Katz.

Levin wants to take responsibility for air traffic away from the Transportation Ministry, arguing that since international flights bring in tourists and take out tourists, responsibility for them belongs to the Tourism Ministry. It is unlikely that Katz will be willing to give up any part of his power base, which indicates that on top of everything else, Netanyahu will be faced with yet another challenge. The last thing he needs is to make enemies within the party, and someone is going to be angry whichever way the struggle ends.

THE YET-TO-BE-LAUNCHED Israel Broadcasting Corporation has received another blow this time from Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, who has stated that she does not think that it should be permitted to launch at the end of April, because it does not reflect the cultural diversity of the country. Regev, speaking on Israel Radio to Yoav Krakowski and Yaron Avraham, said that the IBC should be closed down and that the Israel Broadcasting Authority should be rehabilitated.

The question is whether she was reflecting her own views or those of Netanyahu, who in the past voiced a similar opinion.

Regev has not been sympathetically reported by IBA journalists, so unless she is carrying out the prime ministers bidding, it seems a little strange that she, of all people, should be advocating in favor of the IBA.

The powers that be at IBC chose not to respond to Regevs remarks.

With not much time left before the ax falls one way or the other, some enterprising communications reporter should do a time line on public broadcasting in Israel.

The overall story is almost beyond belief, with the chopping and changing of politically motivated decisions and the irresponsible manner in which politicians play with peoples lives. People still employed by the IBA are uncertain about what the future holds for them, as are people employed by the IBC. The only ones who can look forward to some form of employment security are those IBA people who have contracts with the IBC, to move from one to the other, once the transition goes into effect. greerfc@gmail.com

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Grapevine: Technology at any age - Jerusalem Post Israel News

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IOWA -- A lot of people are essentially glued to technology, but could all of these devices be harming people's brains?

Maria Shriver talked to neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley about his research after realizing how much time he was spending using different technological devices.

"Were you ever called out in your personal relationships like, 'hello, you're not listening, you're distracted?'" Shriver asked, to which Gazzaley replied, "Yes!"

He said, "We forage for information the way other animals forage for food for survival, so we have this draw, this almost veracious appetite for information."

Gazzaley decided to turn his personal struggle distractions into his work, and found all this technology is actually hurting our brains. Multiple studies show tech distractions are a major cause of anxiety, memory and sleep problems, poorer relations with family and friends, and even lower performance at school and work.

Gazzaley also said he believes this could fall into the category of a public health crisis and should be taken seriously. His bookThe Distracted Mind provides good steps to take to cope with technology and be happier and healthier. The first step? Simply, be aware.

"I'm now aware that when I'm having a conversation with my loved one and I'm on my phone, this quality is diminished. Or when I'm trying to do an email and I'm also on a conference call, they're both diminished," he said.

"The belief is that actually women were better at multi-tasking than men," said Shriver. "It's badge of honor about how I can multi-task. You're telling me it's not good for me and, in fact, I'm not doing it at an optimal level?"

Gazzaley replied, "Really what you're doing is you're switching the brain networks associated with each of them as you move from one to the other. With each switch between the networks, there's a little bit of loss of the quality of that information that you're holding. That's the degradation that we see in performance."

This leads to the second step: set boundaries with technology.

"I will say, 'okay. from 9:00 to 11:00, I'm gonna multi-task away. I'm gonna be on e-mail. I'm gonna have music on. I'm gonna check Facebook every once in a while.' Because the things I'm doing are just low level. They're boring. But from 11:00 to noon, I'm gonna focus on that article I'm writing. And I'm gonna do one thing. I'm just gonna give it singular attention because I know that that's how you get the highest quality."

The third step is to remember to take small breaks, which can range from quick cardio workout to breaks for socializing, and even five minute walks outside to let your brain recharge and become less vulnerable to distractions.

"Those breaks really give a period of restoration. They can also help with the burden of anxiety and boredom," said Gazzaley.

While technology may be part of the problem, it can also be part of the solution. At his lab at the University of California San Francisco, Gazzaley is developing the Body Brain Trainer, an experimental video game that works players physically and mentally to boost attention skills.

"This couldimprove your attention system so that you're more capable of focusing on something when that is your goal," he said.

It's a piece of technology that could help strengthen brains and allow people to cope with a wave of distractions.

Experts say it's also important to talk to children about the distractions electronic devices can cause, as children'sbrains are still developing and are most vulnerable to distractions.

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Feeling Tied to Technology? Neuroscientist Offers Tips to Focus and Recharge Your Brain - whotv.com

Most drivers are familiar with the headache of parking:spending what feels like hours circling the streets looking for a space, wasting time and money in the process. Now, the extent of motorists misery has been revealed, with new figures showing British drivers waste an average of four days a year looking for a place to park.

According to the British Parking Association, drivers spend an average of 5.9 minutes looking for a space, with 44 per centof those polled calling the endeavour a stressful experience. Nearly half of people (some 48 per cent) are frustrated by the lack of spaces in their area, and 59 per centare angry with bad drivers taking up multiple spaces with a single vehicle. Its no surprise, then, that UK Car Park Managements new app CPM is doing so well the app rewards motorists with a tidy 10 commission for reporting illegally-parked vehicles.

But this isnt a sustainable solution to Britains parking problem, which has gained prominence in recent times. Poor parking provision not only causes stress for drivers but leads to congestion on roads, contributes to pollution levels and crucially for councils impacts on revenue. The more time spent circling around looking for parking, the less time drivers are paying for it.

Councils are investing huge sums of money in tackling the issue Leicester, for example, last year unveiled a 2.2m plan to shake up the citys public car parking but the most efficient solutions could prove a great deal more straightforward thanks to big data and smart technology.

Theres already a huge raft of information about global parking availability in existence, thanks largely to London start-up Parkopedia. Since the companys creation in 2007 the company has amassed a trove of data ranging from static information such as car park capacities and opening hours to dynamic data that includes real-time availability and surrounding traffic flow. The company has a team of four PhDs working on developing predictive algorithms that calculate, with up to 95 per centaccuracy, the indication of availability at a car park ahead of arrival another example of machine learning amid our increasingly digital existence.

This kind of technology depends almost exclusively on localised factors, though, which is why sensor-based innovation likely heralds the future of public parking for the immediate future, at least. Here, flush-mounted, anti-slip sensors are installed in bay parking spaces which then detect whether the space has been occupied by a vehicle. Real-time data is sent back to a main system which informs drivers of nearby parking availability via app and electronic signs around the city.

The technology first came to the UK in the City of Westminster in 2014 starting with a pilot scheme of 3,000 spaces which was soon rolled out to the boroughs remaining 7,000 on-street parking spots. Meanwhile, Wales capital, Cardiff, is soon set to unveil Europes first citywide deployment of bay sensor technology following a successful pilot in 2015.

This kind of big data simultaneously provides a solution to the problem its monitoring, says Jim Short, technology sales manager at Smart Parking Limited, the company responsible for the schemes in Westminster and Cardiff. Pollution sensors monitor pollution but dont do anything about it. Parking sensors monitor the parking situation and if the data is shared in the right way contribute to streamlining the issue. Take Westminster, for example. Parking space occupancy normally sits around 60-70 per cent, regardless of the time of day. Contrary to what people might believe, the area has sufficient parking resources, its just that people cant find it. This technology remedies that.

According to Short, sensor-based parking is likely to become the norm in the UK in the next few years. We use apps for everything. We dont ring up to order a pizza anymore, we use an app. Soon enough the notion of driving around in your car looking for a space will be just as outdated and seem just as bizarre as manually ringing a takeaway.

But twiddling with a smartphone app while youre behind the wheel is not conducive to safe driving, which is why some companies are skipping apps altogether and moving straight on to built-in vehicle technology.

Real-time data displayed through a cars on-board navigation system is our preferred method of finding a parking space because it minimises driver distractions, says Parkopedias head of operations Christina Onesirosan Martinez. We currently supply this data to 13 car makers. There are very few cars being manufactured now that dont include this kind of technology its basically standard in new vehicles.

Of course, new vehicles now boast technology far more futuristic than built-in navigation systems, and the role of park assist technology and autonomous driving cant be overlooked in the UKs ongoing parking battle.

Ford recently unveiled a raft of new technologies due to be fitted to its cars by 2018 that aim to make the act of parking itself considerably quicker and easier. According to the car manufacturer, 15 per centof drivers avoid parallel parking altogether while almost half of those surveyed would rather travel further from their destination that attempt to parallel park. Its hoped, then, that Fords system of on-car sensors and wide-angle video feeds will quell some of these fears, reducing congestion in parking areas and, hopefully, doing away with the shoddy parking that reduces availability for everyone else.

But innovators are looking even further ahead. Elon Musk predicts that fully autonomous cars will hit the roads by 2023 and trials are already underway in Milton Keynes to test the technologys viability on British roads.

The impact driverless cars could have on our parking problem is significant. If a car is able to technically look after itself, theres no need for it to sit outside a shopping centre or cinema until its owner is ready to leave. Instead, experts envisage a world where the car will instead take itself to a specially-designated high-efficiency parking garage. Without the need for customer stairs, elevators and alleyways for access to individual cars, the space required for such car parks is drastically reduced. Audi is working on such a concept in Massachusetts and has found these garages require 60 per centless space than traditional car parks, while ParkPlus in Colorado is working on deploying a fully automated parking garage serviced by a robotic valet which can park up to four times as many cars in the same amount of space as a human-led counterpart.

Will we see this kind of innovation in the UK? Its perhaps a bit too early to tell, says Martinez. The technology would work, of course, but theres a cultural factor at play here. Valet parking in the US is widely adopted and people are happy to hand keys over for their car for someone else to park autonomous parking is just an extension of that service. In the UK we dont have that mentality and drivers like to know where they parked their own vehicles. But, she adds, a change to this mind set is quite feasible, noting that long-stay airport parking would be a natural starting point for this kind of tech in the UK.

Ultimately, parking issues arent a new phenomenon in the UK, she adds. The advent of tech innovation means weve just become more aware of it. The good news for motorists is that we take parking seriously here. Unlike other countries, most UK councils have a dedicated parking department, rather than just bunging it in with transport management. Were definitely ahead of the times, here, and things are set to change for the better very soon.

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The technology fixing Britain's parking problem - The Independent

The marijuana industry is scorching hot right now, and it's no wonder that investors are seemingly champing at the bit to get their hands on a company, or series of companies, with strong double-digit growth potential.

According to cannabis research firm ArcView, the legal marijuana market could grow by roughly 30% per year through the end of the decade. Investment firm Cowen & Co. shares a somewhat similar sentiment, forecasting growth from $6 billion in legal pot sales in 2016 to $50 billion by 2026. That's good for a compound annual growth rate of better than 23%. You'd struggle as an investor to find an industry that could consistently grow its sales for an average of 23%+plus each year for a decade.

Image source: Getty Images.

One reason why cannabis is exploding is the major shift in consumer sentiment toward the substance. National pollster Gallup found that 60% of respondents in its 2016 survey wanted to see weed legalized nationally. Comparatively, just 25% of respondents shared the same opinion in 1995, the year before California became the first state to pass a compassionate use medical cannabis law.

The aforementioned dollar figures are also an allure for businesses, investors, and governments alike. After raking in $135 million in tax and licensing revenue in 2015 on $996.2 million in legal marijuana sales, Colorado, which was one of the first two states (along with Washington) to legalize recreational pot in 2012, wound up surpassing the $1.1 billion legal-weed sales mark through the first 10 months of 2016.

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Long story short, the state probably earned well in excess of $135 million in additional revenue last year. Furthermore, with the passage of Prop 64 in California, $1 billion in new tax revenue stands to be generated annually once retail sales commence.

The enormity of these legal sales figures would probably attract most investors to the retail side of the equation, including dispensaries or marijuana-infused products, such as drinks or foods. Unfortunately, this can be a tightly regulated and highly competitive space filled with a bounty of smaller-run companies. Investing in the retail aspect of marijuana simply isn't appealing at the moment, especially with a number of inherent disadvantages still in play for the industry.

Image source: GW Pharmaceuticals.

With so few marijuana stocks trading on reputable exchanges (e.g., NYSE or Nasdaq), investors might also be attracted to the largest pot stock of the bunch, GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH). GW Pharmaceuticals has discovered more than five dozen cannabinoids from the cannabis plant, and it's testing these cannabinoids in a variety of ailments.

Arguably the most intriguing product GW Phamaceuticals has in its pipeline is Epidiolex, an experimental drug that yielded positive late-stage results in treating two types of childhood-onset epilepsy. Still, GW Pharmaceuticals appears to be at least three years away from profitability, and thus remains an unattractive option for investors.

On the other hand, marijuana breathalyzer devices could be an area of intrigue years down the road for investors.

The idea behind the marijuana breathalyzer is simple: it provides law enforcement with a way to protect our roads and drivers. Individuals who've consumed too much alcohol may be impaired behind the wheel, which is why police officers have alcohol breathalyzers, along with standard field sobriety tests, to determine the level of driver intoxication if alcohol is suspected.

Image source: Getty Images.

What law enforcement doesn't have at the moment is a device that tells them, with any accuracy, whether a driver is under the influence of marijuana. What makes things even trickier is that tetrahydrocannibinol, or THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, can stick around in the bloodstream for 30 days, meaning blood tests done at a police station, for instance, could turn up a positive result even if the individual hasn't used marijuana in days or even weeks.

Marijuana breathalyzers would seek to separate and identify THC molecules in a subject's breath so that a law enforcement officer can determine if 1) the individual has used marijuana recently and 2) perhaps some level of intoxication.

Currently, the breathalyzer market for law enforcement has an estimated value that's north of $500 million. Assuming additional states legalize recreational marijuana, this market value could rise even more.

However, there's a pretty big catch that could make or break this innovative technology.

Image source: Getty Images.

When it comes to deciphering driver impairment with alcohol, there's a pretty clear line in the sand for law enforcement to follow. If a driver blows a 0.08% blood alcohol content or higher, he or she is legally impaired, and possibly subject to arrest. Even a driver that blows below a 0.08% can be charged with driving under the influence. The point here is that there's a point of reference for law enforcement.

When it comes to measuring THC content, there's no point of reference or study that suggests what level of THC in the body is considered dangerous. Making matters more complicated, the only way a "safe" level could likely be determined is through a lot of federally funded testing.

Mind you, the schedule 1 status of marijuana at the federal level makes running clinical studies on pot extremely difficult. In other words, there's this repeating cycle of needing more evidence to set up a series of guidelines that law enforcement can follow, but this evidence is unable to be attained due to the restrictive nature of the federal government's view of marijuana.

If law enforcement agencies don't have a consistent way of determining whether a driver is impaired, then getting marijuana breathalyzer technology offer the ground could be difficult.

It may also be worth mentioning that there are only a small handful of marijuana breathalyzer developers at the moment, and they're penny stocks that trade on the over-the-counter exchanges, which are inherently risky and dangerous investments.

Image source: Getty Images.

Companies that trade on the OTC exchange, which has admittedly done a good job of improving reporting standards in recent years, may have a few shortcomings. For example, listing standards on OTC exchanges still aren't considered as tough as being listed on the NYSE or Nasdaq, meaning getting accurate and up-to-date information may not always be easy.

For that matter, many OTC penny stocks are usually avoided by mutual funds and hedge funds. This can lead to high levels of volatility, which can be unsettling for investors who aren't aware of the risks.

While the risks can't be ignored, marijuana breathalyzer technology has the potential to be a game-changer. And, rest assured, if a legitimate non-OTC company working on this technology appears, we'll be sure to report on it.

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This Technology Could Be a Game-Changer for the Marijuana Industry - Fox Business

Small cell technology is large endeavor for state Crain's Cleveland Business "This is an incredible opportunity to really position yourself as the first state to be talking about 5G technology on a really broad platform," Grzybicki said. "This isn't San Francisco or Silicon Valley, and it's not Manhattan. It's starting here ...

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Small cell technology is large endeavor for state - Crain's Cleveland Business

The goal is to roll out similar plants across the world and even install small versions on board dredgers, which can trawl the water, sucking up plastic waste and turning it into fuelto power the ships.

Plastic is notoriously difficult to recycle - and only 12 per cent of household waste is reprocessed. The rest is either burntor goes to landfill. The new system aims to turn dumped plastic into a valuable commodity.

This could really be a game-changing technology, said Adrian Haworth, of Recycling Technologies.

There is a worldwide need for it. Only a small amount of plastic is recycled - most ends up in landfill or in the ocean. We need to stop this happening in the first place.

Eventually we hope to be able to mine landfill sites for plastic, and weve had a discussion with a dredging company, with the idea that they would collect the plastic in ports and turn it into fuel on board.

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Our seas have become a plastic graveyard - but can technology turn the tide? - Telegraph.co.uk

DES MOINES, Iowa

The Valley West Hy-Vee store in West Des Moines introduced new technology this week to help its customers choose the quickest checkout lane.

With the new Feloh system, shoppers can look for the green light indicating the line has one person in it, at most.

I hate guessing how long each line is going to take and committing to a certain line, and then regretting not picking the other lane, shopper Nola Morris said.

But customers wont need a birds-eye view anymore to spot the fastest-moving lane.

We have sensors above every register that are detecting how many people, how many carts, how many items are in each line, said Jacob Richards, founder of the Omaha-based company IndaFlow.

The light turns yellow, then orange as the checkout wait grows longer.

If we start seeing light indicators turning yellow or orange, that is our cue to starting calling up help, store director Brian Bieker said. Sometimes, it might be making sure we get a bagger on that check lane.

A small sensor mounted on the ceiling above each register takes all the guesswork out of the equation.

You can definitely tell which lane is open and which lane is not open because before, you couldnt really tell, shopper Liann Mork said.

Its so great. You dont have to think or count how many groceries that the person in front of you has, Morris said.

Feloh uses object recognition technology, similar to the technology used for Googles self-driving car, to track customers and wait times, which managers then use to help schedule cashiers more efficiently.

Creating conveniences for our customers is of the utmost importance, and that includes providing shorter checkout wait times, said Jen Kopriva, district vice president of Hy-Vees north-central region, in a statement. We are excited to debut this technology in the Des Moines market with a goal of moving our customers through checkout faster so they can continue with their day.

The Valley West Hy-Vee is the only store in the metro using Feloh. Hy-Vee locations in Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs are expected to start using the new checkout lights later this month.

WEBVTT You don't need a birds eye view any more to spot the quickest check out lane. NOLA MORRIS 20:21 I HATEGUESSING HOW LONG EACH LINE ISGOING TO TAKE AND COMMITTING TO A CERTAIN LINE AND THEN REGRETTING NOT PICKING THE OTHERLINE. Valley West HyVee can that for you with its new Feloh system. JACOB RICHARDS/INDAF LOW 1:50 WEHAVE SENSORS ABOVE EVERYREGISTER THAT ARE DETECTING HOW MANY PEOPLE, HOW MANY CARTS, HOWMANY ITEMS ARE IN EACH LINE AND THEN WE USE A GREEN, YELLOW AND ORANGE LIGHT TO SHOW CUSTOMERSWHICH LINE IS SHORTEST. Customers should look for the green light... That means there is one person in line at most.19:02 OH RED LIGHT OVER THERE The light turns yellow then orange as the check out waitgrows.BRIAN BIEKER/HYVEE 7:35 IF WE START SEEING LIGHT INDICATORS TURNING YELLOW OR ORANGE THAT OUR CUE TO START CALLING UP HELP. SOMETIMES IT MIGHT BE WEGET A BAGGER ON THAT CHECK LANE.This little sensor mounted on the ceiling, above everyregister, takes all the guess work out of the equationLIANN24:35 YOU CAN DEFINITELY TELL WHICH ONE IS OPEN BECAUBEFORE YOU COULDN'T REALLY TELL NOLA 20:38 ITS SO GREAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO THINK OR COUNT HOWMANY GROCERIES THAT THE PERSONIN FRONT OF YOU HAS. Feloh uses object recognition technology,similar to google's self- driving car, to track customers and wait times. And managers canuse that information to helpschedule cashiers moreefficiently. 18:46 THANK YOU,

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Technology identifying fastest checkout lanes comes to metro - KCCI Des Moines

By Anna Irrera | NEW YORK

NEW YORK Exchange operator Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) plans to set up a venture capital arm to invest in financial technology companies that can help grow its own businesses, two people familiar with the plans told Reuters.

The amount Nasdaq would invest could not be learned, though one person described it as "modest" relative to its broader earnings and capital plans. Nasdaq generated $2.3 billion in net revenue last year.

Nasdaq is best known for running stock exchanges around the globe, but it is also one of the largest providers of technology to other exchanges and companies involved with trading.

A venture arm would formalize some of the investing Nasdaq has already been doing in early-stage financial-technology companies. It was one of the earliest supporters of blockchain, a record-keeping tool that some expect will fundamentally change the cost, speed and accuracy of trading.

The move would also align with plans set out by Nasdaq's new chief executive, Adena Friedman, who wants to increase the company's focus on technology.

"Areas of focus for us in terms of big projects are all around technology," Friedman said last month on CNBC. "It's a matter of making sure that we continue to take all of the new technologies that are available in the marketplace and ... offering them to our clients."

Nasdaq's current investments include San Francisco-based blockchain startup Chain.com and artificial-intelligence company Digital Reasoning.

In the venture capital arm under discussion, Nasdaq would go beyond investment dollars to help companies develop technology faster, one of the sources said. The two sources were not authorized to speak publicly.

Nasdaq is not the first financial firm to set up a venture arm as a way to stay competitive. CME Group Inc (CME.O), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) , Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC) are among those that have similar units.

(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Additional reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Alan Crosby)

When Samsung Electronics remotely disabled the last of its flawed Galaxy Note 7 smartphones last month, it further blurred the lines between who ultimately controls your phone, or computer, car or appliance: you, or the companies that make it work?

Snap Inc, owner of the popular Snapchat app, said it expected to spend $1 billion over the next five years to use Amazon.com Inc's cloud services, in addition to the $2 billion cloud contract it already has with Google .

SYDNEY Macquarie Group and ING Direct on Friday said they would start using Apple Inc's mobile payment service in Australia this month, hoping to snatch market share from the major retail banks through digital technology.

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Nasdaq plans venture arm to invest in financial technology: sources ... - Reuters