Delta Air Lines is investing $50 million to end lost or delayed luggage with a global RFID, or radio-frequency identification, tracking system. Essentially, the RFID tag will attach to the bag the same as current luggage tags, but instead of telling airlines where to send the bag if lost, it’ll work to prevent the bag from ever being misplaced. Delta plans to have the system online in 344 airports this fall.
As politicians, judges, and correctional facility administrators look for ways to curb recidivism and prepare former inmates for reintegration into society, distance learning has emerged as a viable option.
For the first time in state history, Maryland’s state government website was named the best in the country by the Center for Digital Government’s Best of Web competition.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has announced the winners of the Use of Blockchain in Health IT and Health-related Research Challenge.
The Federal Communications Commission issued a plan to provide Alaskan broadband carriers with fixed amounts of support over the next 10 years to provide Internet to all parts of Alaska, despite dissent from commissioners.
The Federal Aviation Administration will replace existing air traffic control procedures in Southern California with new satellite-based procedures as part of its Next Generation Air Transportation System.
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s First Responders Group is creating software designed to help search-and-rescue groups. In a partnership with dbS Productions, FRG developed FIND to track lost individuals, some of whom may be children or people with disabilities.
With the implementation of a robust Geographic Information Services (GIS) to provide mapping and analysis services, the city continues to further “smart city” and IoT initiatives across the nation.
Jon Froehlich at the University of Maryland is working with a team of graduate students on Project Sidewalk, an online tool through which users can view their Washington, D.C., neighborhoods with Google Street View and label areas that may be inaccessible to those with impaired mobility.
To combat economic troubles, state, regional, and local governments are looking to an unexpected industry–high-tech statups. Alaska, which has been losing jobs in mining and logging, is among those states.
