TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS

XploSafe awarded $1 million contract

STILLWATER — XploSafe has been awarded a $1 million contract by the Department of Defense Health Program to develop a chemical vapor sampling technology that is wearable.

The Stillwater-based company’s Small Business Innovation Research contract is for two years.

The technology is aimed at protecting military personnel who are exposed to a broad range of potentially toxic compounds, XploSafe said Monday.

“The development of a “universal passive dosimeter” is crucial to safeguarding the health of military personnel and detecting emerging problems before they become critical,” XplSafe President Allen Apblett said in a statement.

XploSafe will conduct extensive operational, fieldtesting and long-term stability testing, the company said. Test studies are planned to establish the utility of the dosimeter in real-world conditions.

Through a subaward, XploSafe will employ students from Oklahoma State University. Central Tech with campuses in Drumright and Sapulpa along with Meridian Technology Center with a campus in Stillwater will serve as test partners.

Ice cream promo marred by app glitch

OAK BROOK, ILL. — A McDonald’s promotion for free ice cream cones to celebrate National Ice Cream Day went awry because of a glitch with the fast food giant’s mobile app. McDonald’s offered a free vanilla cone to its app users Sunday. But after several users complained to McDonald’s on Twitter that the app wasn’t working, McDonald’s told them to instead simply ask the cashier to honor the promotion. McDonald’s tweeted that the company was trying to resolve the issue and promised to have its app “back online soon.” A representative for the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company apologized Monday for the “technical issues” and said the app is working again.

Judge defines data needed in gender pay case

NEW YORK — An administrative law judge has ruled that Labor Department officials investigating gender pay bias had asked Google for data in a way that’s too broad and intrusive on employee privacy.

Google must still provide data, including contact information, on 8,000 employees — just not data on the more than 25,000 workers originally sought.