The Department of Energy is investing a maximum of $59M to support research and development efforts on mobile energy technologies for use in vehicles. The projects encompass multiple types of energy applications including electric drive systems, batteries, mobility systems, power trains, engines and fuels, the department said Wednesday.

Studies will revolve around six research topics including solid state batteries, electric motor research, energy-efficient mobility systems and alternative fuel technology integration. Researchers will also develop predictive modeling capabilities to co-optimize fuels and multi-mode engines and build high-efficiency power trains made of lightweight and high temperature-resistant materials.

“Through this funding opportunity we are looking to partner with the best and brightest minds across the country to drive early-stage R and D for vehicle technologies forward,” said Mark Menezes, the undersecretary of energy.

Admiral Bill Moran, the U.S. Navy vice chief of naval operations, called on the service “to harness the power of data” for the military to keep up with adversaries who are seeking digital advantages. 

“Gaining a digital edge will transform the way we fight in the future,” he said in a statement Tuesday on DefenseOne. “Imagine if we could eliminate the need for calendar-driven inspection cycles because we’ve adopted real-time digital feedback in our platforms and systems.” 

Current systems used by the Navy prevent information sharing and cross-talk, which leads to digital hoarding, a problem that puts the service behind adversaries in seeking digital advantage, according to Moran.

Moran called on Navy officials to demand sharing and use of information they collect and create daily. The Navy should also update databases and outdated technology to support naval missions. 

“We all want to move faster and embed technologies like artificial intelligence or machine learning into our weapons and platforms, from the keel up,” he said. “We must first commit, as a service, to move out with one data culture, inculcating trust and scaling learning across our institution, together.”

Glenn Gerstell, general counsel of the National Security Agency, said the adoption of 5G network and other tools like artificial intelligence could pose challenges for the federal government to promote citizen privacy, CBS News reported Wednesday. 

“There’s lots and lots of potential for mischief. There’s lots of potential for real benefit. But I think our society hasn’t even now, let alone in the future, figured out what privacy really means,” he told the publication. “We haven’t been faced with a technology like this, that has become this ubiquitous, this impactful, ever in the history of the world.” 

The rapid adoption, spread of faster, more stable mobile and web networks as well as AI, geolocation and facial recognition tools require “significant legislative action,” Gerstell said. However, the NSA official noted Americans are still protected by the Fourth Amendment during surveillance operations of the agency. 

Gerstell said there are multiple layers of oversight to secure privacy of citizens. The process involves the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the president’s intelligence advisory board and two congressional committees.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate teamed with Israeli police to develop an interactive 3D tool for visualizing crime scenes or car crashes, DHS said Tuesday.

The 3D-Hawk platform, designed by Israeli firm B-Design3D, is comprised of high-definition video equipment, a smart phone and a laptop containing software that converts footage into 3D models. The tool enables investigators to rapidly document evidence, access operations from any device and make use of 3D crime scene replicas.

“Israel is one of our strongest allies, and they have quite a bit of experience in many of the same first responder challenges and issues we deal with in our country,” said Milt Nenneman, first responder program manager for DHS S&T.

S&T and the Israeli government entered into an agreement to conduct joint research and development efforts for 3D visualization technology in 2015. S&T deployed three prototype systems to be used on a rotational basis by law enforcement agencies including the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, Ohio Highway Patrol and Fairfax County Police.

U.S. Army officials outlined new initiatives to build defense systems that would enable the military to “see” from thousands of miles to detect and track targets, C4ISRNet reported Tuesday. The service intends to develop a long-range penetrating capability to address the growing efforts of adversaries to create systems that could hit or affect the U.S., such as long-range missiles and advanced radar equipment. 

“Right now, we have a challenge with sensing deep in the United States Army. The chief’s No. 1 priority for modernization is long-range precision fires,” Maj. Gen. Robert Walters, commander of the Intelligence Center of Excellence, said during the recent AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Ala.

The Army wants to build a new multi-domain sensing system, artificial intelligence-based moving target identification sensors and a Terrestrial Layer System combining signals intelligence and electronic warfare system to observe enemy territory. The service also established an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance task force to help in multi-domain operations in 2018. 

“The ISR TF is working with long-range precision fires, assured precision, navigation and timing, and future vertical lift cross-functional teams to optimize existing intelligence capabilities, as well as to identify critical collection requirements from the space to the terrestrial layer that can provide targetable data in support of long-range precision,” said Army Spokesperson Cheryle Rivas.