Month: November 2022

AVIATION

Cignal LLC Awarded Phase 3 Funding by DHS S&T SVIP

Cignal, a technology startup that develops advanced simulation and high-performance computing (HPC) environments to rapidly train Automated Threat Recognition (ATR) and artificial intelligence (AI) systems, announced recently that it was awarded Phase 3 project funding by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP).

In continued collaboration with S&T’s Screening at Speed Program, Cignal will test and validate the accuracy, utility, and realism of volumetric, synthetic X-ray computed tomography (CT) data that are generated within its platform, such as weapons, stream-of-commerce objects, and prohibited items. Cignal also will perform research and development into On-Person Screening (OPS) systems to identify a pathway for integrating millimeter wave (mmWave) transmission and simulation into Cignal’s patent-pending compute and rendering engine. These efforts are essential to Cignal’s goal of solving critical national security problems in aviation security and screening.

“We’ve developed the Cignal Engine to help the industry develop, train, and test advanced AI systems that improve detection while maintaining efficiency and speed at the checkpoint,” saidEric Fiterman, Cignal chief technology officer. “We’re pleased to continue our work with DHS S&T in our Phase 3 project, which allows us to build on our successes with checkpoint CT and apply them to OPS systems. This will provide comprehensive data services for additional checkpoint screening systems and more advanced detection models.”

During its Phase 3 project, Cignal will use the Cignal Engine, which is a flexible suite of HPC software components and environments that enable the dynamic training, evaluation, and deployment of next-generation ATR systems for emerging and complex threats. The Cignal Engine permits users to create new screening paradigms, digital twins, novel objects, and new AI and machine learning (ML) models to protect the public and critical infrastructure. Using this engine and its innovative compression techniques, Cignal created the industry’s first volumetric million-bag dataset with automated labels, which supports advanced X-ray and X-ray CT systems and AI/ML training for large-scale, trillion-parameter ATR models.

Advanced screening, inspection, and security ATR and AI systems need a constant source of balanced training datasets to deliver better detection capability and differentiate legitimate commerce from threats and illicit activity. However, data in these use cases typically resides in the non-visible spectra, such as X-ray, gamma ray, infrared, and mmWave. Traditionally, acquiring training or test data for these spectra is time-consuming and expensive, and it can easily exhaust memory, compute, and storage budgets. Cignal’s innovative approach to data creation allows these non-visible datasets to be generated, shared, and stored faster, with fewer limitations and at a greatly reduced cost, for device manufacturers, researchers, and government personnel responsible for securing ports, transportation infrastructure, mail and cargo systems, and more.

About Cignal LLC

Cignal LLC makes advanced simulation and high-performance computing environments to help next-generation Automated Threat Recognition systems, artificial intelligence models, and human screeners in protecting the public and critical infrastructure against emerging and complex threats. Cignal’s flexible engine for security, screening, and inspection can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or at the edge, and it provides users with full control over their data. Cignal LLC is headquartered in Central Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit http://www.cignal.co or contact innovation@cignal.co.

(Research reported in this press release was supported by the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate under Award Number 70RSAT22T00000014. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Homeland Security.)

Driver Arrested for Attempted Murder After Crashing into LA County Sheriff Recruits

Nicholas Gutierrez was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer after he reportedly drove his SUV into the wrong lane and then crashed into a group of Los Angeles County law enforcement recruits as they exercised on a training run. Twenty-five recruits were injured, five of them critically.

The incident happened north of Los Angeles in suburban Whittier, Calif. The crash was described as “chaotic,” and authorities said it looked like an airplane wreck. Seventy-five recruits were running in a line accompanied by two black-and-white police cars and eight road guards wearing reflective vests as a safety precaution, sheriff’s authorities said.

Drill instructors, who are sworn deputy sheriffs, were also running with the group, but were not injured, said Sheriff’s Capt. Patrick Macdonald. “It is unprecedented that something like this would happen, when a vehicle would actually travel southbound and then cross oncoming traffic to the extreme east side to hit recruits,” Macdonald said.

Some of the recruits said they heard the vehicle accelerating. It was estimated to be going about 30-40 miles per hour, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

Driver Crashes into Atlanta Area Charter School

A driver who crashed into an Atlanta area charter school, Ivy Preparatory Academy injuring three students was charged with aggravated assault, according to local police.

The driver, Obinna Aguocha, 39, drove or crashed into a classroom where 22 fifth graders were studying. Three student were taken to local hospitals but reports said none of the injuries were life-threatening and were released later that day.

Reports say Aguocha began honking his horn and then “purposefully” drove into the the building.

Migrant Ship Allowed to Dock in France

France allowed the Ocean Viking rescue ship that was carrying more than 200 migrants and refugees rescued in the Mediterranean to dock at their port of Toulon. This followed terse communications with Italy over the fate of the vessel.

Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said that the Italian government’s ban on the boat was “incomprehensible” and “selfish”. “In this context, France decided on an exceptional basis to make up for the Italian government’s unacceptable behavior and to invite the ship to come to the military port of Toulon,” Darmanin said at a news conference.

Of the 234 people on board, including 57 children, France agreed to accept a third, Germany another third and the rest are to be taken in by other European Union countries.

The situation caused France to say they will discard an agreement with Rome to take in more than 3,000 migrants and refugees who had come to Italy previously. France also says it will reinforce controls at its borders with its southeastern neighbor. “France very deeply regrets that Italy has decided not to behave like a responsible European state,” Darmanin said and added, “there will be extremely strong consequences” for France’s bilateral relationship with Italy over the issue.

Air Canada and United Airlines Expand Relationship to Make Transborder Travel Easier

Air Canada and United Airlines announced a joint business agreement for the Canada-U.S. transborder market, building on their long-standing alliance, that will give more flight options and better flight schedules to customers traveling between the two countries. Customers will be able to connect to 38 codeshare destinations in the U.S. and eight of the most popular cities in Canada — all while enjoying the benefits of the carriers’ MileagePlus and Aeroplan loyalty programs. The agreement will also strengthen and grow both carriers’ networks and help accelerate their COVID-19 recovery.

“United is a world-class airline and we are pleased to significantly expand our well-established partnership to further enhance the customer journey between Canada and the U.S. by offering more choice, greater convenience and an improved airport experience,” said Mark Galardo, senior vice president of Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada. “This agreement marks a new phase in our evolving relationship that will speed the recovery from the pandemic and strengthen both carriers. It will also enable us to optimize our hubs and schedules and to broaden our global network connectivity to maintain our leadership in the market.”

“With this new agreement, we are further strengthening our long-standing partnership with Air Canada,” said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of Global Network Planning and Alliances at United. “As international travel continues to recover, this expanded partnership will provide an enhanced experience for all transborder travel.”

Customers who search for flights between the U.S. and Canada on United’s or Air Canada’s websites and apps will find more flight options scheduled at more convenient times. Codeshare between the two carriers will also be expanded and members of both the MileagePlus and Aeroplan programs will have more accrual and redemption options.

In 2019, the U.S.-Canada transborder market was the second largest international passenger air transportation market in the world and the largest international market for both Canada and the U.S., as measured by seats.

Air Canada and United already cooperate in the transborder market, according to the terms of their existing U.S. antitrust immunity. Under the joint business agreement, subject to compliance with U.S. and Canadian regulatory and antitrust requirements, the two airlines will now be able to:

  • Coordinate their networks and schedules, enabling the carriers to offer customers more choice, including more flights throughout the day and more access to each airline’s seat inventory.
  • Enhance codeshare on transborder flights, excluding certain U.S. leisure markets and territories. The carriers anticipate customers will be able to connect to 46 transborder codeshare destinations with more than 400 daily frequencies in 2022 – with opportunities to add more codeshare destinations for domestic routes within Canada and the U.S.
  • Sell seats on each other’s transborder flights and share revenue on flights between hub markets (where regulatory authorities and antitrust requirements allow), allowing the carriers to grow their overall capacities.
  • Align customer policies for greater consistency and enable the seamless provision of onboard products, establish airport co-locations where available and provide extra value to each carriers’ frequent flyer programs.
  • Allow the two carriers to work closer together to advance their sustainability objectives.

The implementation of an expanded partnership builds on the existing close cooperation of the two carriers and previously acquired regulatory approvals. United and Air Canada are also founding members of Star Alliance and a transatlantic joint business agreement with the Lufthansa Group.

Stellantis Issues Warning on Cars with Takata Air Bags

The parent company of Chrysler, Stellantis, and the U. S. government warned drivers of 276,000 older vehicles to stop driving them. The Takata air bags that were installed in those models have exploded, apparently, causing death in at least three recent cases.

The effected models include the Dodge Magnum wagon, Dodge Challenger and Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans all from the 2005-2010 model years.