When you see the camera
icon, click to see available photo !
[Credits] [NIST Update Archives]
[Media Contacts] [Subscription Information] [NIST Update Search]
Forensics
Beware Criminals! NIST
Unifies Different Ballistics ID Systems
Crimefighting
might have been elementary for Sherlock Holmes, but today's
law enforcement professional depends on the speed, accuracy
and nearly unlimited access to data provided by his or
her computer. Sometimes, however, there can be too much
of a good thing.
Both
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms use computerized
systems to compare digitized pictures of unique scratches
and imperfections on fired bullets or spent cartridges
to similar images in a massive computer database. Matches
link bullets or cartridges to a specific gun, providing
solid leads that may help identify criminals.
Unfortunately,
the FBI's Drug-Fire and the system supported by the ATF,
called IBIS (for Integrated
Ballistics Identification System), are not compatible.
Among the problems: different lighting used to photograph
forensic samples and different mathematical algorithms
used to analyze the images. So, the Office
of Law Enforcement Standards within NIST's
Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory
was called upon to bridge the gap.
To
address the major obstacle separating the two systems,
NIST specified how the IBIS and Drug-Fire manufacturers
could include the other's photographic lighting as an
option. Now, an IBIS setup can produce data that can be
assessed by a Drug-Fire counterpart, and vice versa. With
this accomplishment in hand, NIST is finalizing a standard
to address the dual-system capability and will complete
tests later this year to ensure interoperability.
For
more information, contact Bruce
Field, (301) 975-4230
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301) 975-3025 
MEP
Montana,
Pennsylvania Centers Help Retiree Find Gold in Grit
A
handy new cleaning device for hot tubs is keeping people
across the United States in hot water, thanks to the assistance
of two affiliates of NIST's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
The
product, called the Grit-Gitter(TM), is a small, bulb-shaped
apparatus that operates with just a squeeze of the hand.
Without having to leave the comfort of the tub, a bather
can vacuum sand, small pebbles and other particles out
of the water. The Grit-Gitter(TM) was first devised several
years ago by Montanan Mike Stoner, the retired owner of
a hydraulics software company.
To
get the Grit-Gitter(TM) from the idea stage to the marketplace,
Stoner turned to the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center.
MMEC staff provided guidance on product design and launch,
and then put Stoner in touch with another MEP affiliate,
the Plastic Technology Deployment Center in Pennsylvania.
With
help from the two MEP centers, and the advice and support
of Stoner's local business colleagues, the first Grit-Gitter(TM)
was ready for sale by November 1998. Feedback from retailers
indicated that the device outsold competing models 10
to 1 during a seven-week test period. This encouraged
Stoner to recently take the Grit-Gitter(TM) to two national
trade shows where he received several large orders.
The
NIST MEP is a nationwide network of manufacturing extension
centers helping smaller manufacturers in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Smaller manufacturers
can call (800) MEP-4-MFG (637-4634) to reach the MEP center
serving their region. For more information on MMEC, contact
Deborah Nash,
(406) 994-4507. For more information on the PTDC, contact
Shelley Readel, (814)
898-6139.
Media Contact:
Jan Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Information
Storage
New Standard Files
Double Copying Under 'Obsolete'
A
large group of corporations and government agencies recently
completed work on the development of a new standard for
specialized computer programs that manage vast amounts
of stored information called File Storage Management Systems.
Some
large enterprises have millions of data files stored on
thousands of tapes, and often these files must be transferred
from one FSMS to another. Until now, this has been a laborious
and costly job involving the copying of all the files
from one FSMS to a standard format and then copying the
collection to a second FSMS. The new standard allows systems
to transfer the files directly, bypassing the two duplications.
Many
companies involved in communications, computers and computer
storage devices participated in developing the standard,
including AT&T Laboratories, BDM Inc., International
Business Machines Corp. and Storage Technology Corp. Government
agencies that store massive amounts of information, such
as NASA, the Library of Congress and the National Weather
Service, also participated in the effort.
The
work was carried out under the auspices of the Association
for Information and Image Management International. The
new standard has been approved for industry by the American
National Standards Institute as ANSI/AIIM MS 66. It specifies
the format and content of metadata ("data about data"
that describes how, when and by whom a particular set
of data was collected, and how the data are formatted).
The approval of this standard is expected to give a significant
boost to the FSMS industry.
For
more information, contact Fernando
Podio, NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 8951, Gaithersburg,
Md. 20899-8951, (301) 975-2947.
Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661
Laboratory
Accreditation
Testing Lab Expert
Named NACLA Administrator
Joseph
F. O'Neil has been appointed chief administrator of the
National
Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation, a year-old
industry-government partnership devoted to streamlining
the now complex US system for assuring the competence
of testing laboratories. Also executive director of ACIL
(formerly the American Council of Independent Laboratories),
O'Neil was selected by the NACLA Board of Directors to
guide the non-profit organization as it builds membership
and prepares to implement a formal peer-review system
for assessing the competence of laboratory accreditors
and for achieving international acceptance of test results.
Currently,
more than 150 accreditation bodies operate in the United
States. They provide independent assurance that laboratories
are qualified to produce reliable test results in their
area of specialization, such as dimensional measurements
or energy efficiency. Testing laboratories have complained,
however, that they often must undergo several accreditations
to prove compliance with duplicative requirements--an
unnecessary cost for them and, ultimately, their customers.
"NACLA
has the potential to significantly improve the US laboratory
accreditation situation," says O'Neil. "It can
create a level playing field for qualified accreditors,
greatly reduce the amount of unnecessary duplication,
and serve as the nation's single point of contact for
international accreditation interests and activities."
The
NACLA secretariat is housed at NIST in Gaithersburg, Md.,
which also provides financial support.
For
more information on NACLA, contact the partnership's secretariat
at P.O. Box 4045, Gaithersburg, Md. 20885-4045, (301)
975-6472, fax: (301) 963-2871, secretariat@nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Mark Bello,
(301) 497-3776
Laboratories
Hebner to Leave
NIST for Lone Star Electronics Post
NIST
Director Ray Kammer has announced that one of NIST's most
versatile administrators, Robert Hebner, will leave the
agency in August. Hebner, who currently serves as acting
director, Electronics
and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, will join the
University of Texas at Austin, where he will hold a joint
appointment as director of the Center for Electromechanics
and as a member of the Electrical Engineering Department.
Hebner
received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Missouri
in 1971. The following year, he joined the National Bureau
of Standards (NIST's predecessor) as a presidential intern.
Since that time, Hebner has advanced through increasingly
responsible positions at NBS/NIST, including six years
as EEEL deputy director (1990-1996), nearly three years
as NIST acting deputy director (1996-1997, 1997-1999),
and 11 months as NIST acting director (1997).
Hebner's
activities with other agencies have included assignments
at the Office of Management and Budget, Sandia National
Laboratories
and the Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency. He has contributed to the development
of electrical measurements and standards for the electrical
utility industry, served on the advisory committees for
two NATO Advanced Study Institutes, and is the author
or co-author of more than 50 technical papers and reports.
Hebner
is a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and the American Physical Society, and is a
fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers. He is a past president of IEEE's Dielectrics
and Electrical Insulation Society. His awards include
the Department of Commerce Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals
and the 1990 IEEE Harry Diamond Memorial Award for outstanding
technical contributions in the field of government service.
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301) 975-3025
Manufacturing
Virtual Reality
Symposium Really Takes Place in November
Within
the last decade, virtual reality the ability of computers
to recreate environments and situations so that they are
sensed as real by human participants has exploded into
our lives. Things as diverse as simulated field training
for the military, interactive videos for the classroom
and telepresence systems connecting laboratories are among
VR's recent successes.
Industrial
applications of VR, such as tele-collaboration, training,
information management, product/process design and reengineering,
and factory/production line design, are making their impact
on how businesses operate. At the upcoming Industrial
Virtual Reality Symposium on Nov. 1-2, 1999, at the University
of Illinois at Chicago, one can learn about new developments
in this exciting area and find out how research institutions
and companies are contributing to the evolution of the
technology and its applications.
Symposium
topics include computational aspects of VR applications
in manufacturing, current state of software technologies,
current state of hardware technologies, distribution and
logistics applications in manufacturing, layout and location
applications in manufacturing, manufacturing education,
manufacturing process design, product design and prototyping,
telepresence and tele-robotics, and volumetric visualization.
The
symposium is hosted by NIST and the University of Illinois
at Chicago. It is the sister event to the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers Symposium on Virtual Environments
for Manufacturing at the ASME International Congress and
Exposition in Nashville, Nov. 14-19, 1999.
For
more information on the symposium, check out http://www_ivri.me.uic.edu/
on the World Wide Web. To register, contact Lori
Phillips Buckland, NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 3461,
Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-3461, (301) 975-4513.
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301) 975-3025
Go back to NIST News Page