Part of the reason is that the equipment needed to detect seismic vibrations (and thus short-circuit human sensory inadequacies) has become cheap.

ECONOMIST: Extra sensory perception

What began with hopes of rescue turned into a body recovery operation after monitoring equipment failed to detect any signs that Jeff Bush survived the fall into the hole, according the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

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Modern airports and airplanes have equipment including radars and sensors to detect such weather phenomenon and warn pilots.

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In practice, quantum-key-distribution systems rely on sophisticated optical equipment to prepare, transmit and detect the individual polarised photons that make up the key.

ECONOMIST: Secure cryptography is only as safe as its weakest link

Dr Shields's device, however, is a simple modification of the sort of equipment that is already used to detect multiple photons, and should thus be easy to deploy.

ECONOMIST: Quantum information technology

The equipment in the RHIC is able to detect exactly which particles and nuclei are produced, and they can do so quickly.

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Two police helicopters, one with thermal imaging equipment, were also used to try to detect any trace of an animal.

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He said the equipment that he witnessed in operation did not detect "metal objects, mobile phones, or batteries the way in which a full body search would".

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Telehealth and telecare, which covers everything from specialist equipment to help a patient monitor their condition to sensors in the home to detect falls, has been piloted quite successfully in several areas.

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