International   

Britain unveils 007-inspired tech-facility

LONDON: British officials unveiled a real-life version of James Bond's secret gadget factory on Tuesday as part of a plan to fight terrorism, complete with bomb-detecting robots and remote-controlled chemical agent scanners.

The Counter-Terrorism and Technology Centre, west of London, has a 15-person staff from the Ministry of Defence, academia and the private sector to develop technology for domestic and foreign use.

"Terrorist threats evolve rapidly, so the centre will respond not just to current threats, but also anticipate threats as they emerge and develop," said Ken Brigden, its director.

The centre, based at Britain's Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory, also will coordinate the Ministry of Defence's technical response to attacks, such as the July 7 bombings of London's bus and subway network that killed 52 people along with four suicide bombers.

Academic specialists at the centre also plan to research terrorists' behavioural patterns, going through hours of surveillance footage of suspected extremists to study facial twitches and gestures that may shed light on their psychological disposition. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

55 killed in Karachi park blast
Sharon declared incapacitated
Musharraf urges Muslims to move on path of development
Prodi vows to form strong regime
Twelve killed in LTTE mine attack
Canada lists LTTE as terrorist group
U.K. law against "sham'' marriages struck down
Britain unveils 007-inspired tech-facility
Disease creation for the market
Pupils die in rocket attack
Iran has enriched uranium: Rafsanjani
Probe enters Venus orbit
E.U. halts aid to Hamas Government
Three Gorges project gets top rating
FMT: Pakistan for dialogue
Pakistan claims fisherman killed by Indian Coast Guard

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu