GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block]

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

(a) Goodwill

The changes in the carrying amounts of goodwill by segment from December 31, 2011 to September 30, 2012 were as follows:



	Energy & Security Sonar Solutions segment			GridSense segment		USSI segment		Power Generation Monitoring segment		Cathodic Protection segment*		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	527		$	2,708	$	1,402	$	—	$	—	$	4,637
Goodwill recorded in the acquisition of OmniMetrix (see Note 3)	—			—		—		1,517		413		1,930
Translation adjustment	(12		)	67		—		—		—		55
Balance as of September 30, 2012	$	515		$	2,775	$	1,402	$	1,517	$	413	$	6,622

* Results for the Cathodic Protection segment are included in "Other" in Segment Reporting (see Note 11).

(b) Intangibles

The changes in the carrying amounts of and accumulated amortization of intangible assets from December 31, 2011 to September 30, 2012 were as follows:



	Energy & Security Sonar Solutions segment						GridSense segment					USSI segment					Power Generation Monitoring segment					Cathodic Protection segment**
	Cost			A.A.*			Cost		A.A.*			Cost		A.A.*			Cost		A.A.*			Cost		A.A.*			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	519		$	(274	)	$	2,748	$	(543	)	$	2,565	$	(235	)	$	—	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	4,780
Acquisition of license	—			—			—		—			150		—			—		—			—		—			150
Intangibles recorded in the acquisition of OmniMetrix (see Note 3)	—			—			—		—			—		—			4,385		—			1,196		—			5,581
Amortization	—			(61		)	—		(243		)	—		(107		)	—		(221		)	—		(84		)	(716		)
Cumulative translation adjustment	(11		)	7			41		(9		)	—		—			—		—			—		—			28
Balance as of September 30, 2012	$	508		$	(328	)	$	2,789	$	(795	)	$	2,715	$	(342	)	$	4,385	$	(221	)	$	1,196	$	(84	)	$	9,823
Weighted average estimated useful lives in years	6						10					20					13					9

* Accumulated amortization

** Results for the Cathodic Protection segment are included in "Other" in Segment Reporting (see Note 11).

The composition of intangibles in each of the Company's segments are as follows:



Segment		Type of Intangible
Energy & Security Sonar Solutions		Naval technologies
GridSense		Software and customer relationships
USSI		Sensor technologies and license
Power Generation Monitoring		Technologies, customer relationships and non-compete agreements
Cathodic Protection*		Technologies and customer relationships

* The Cathodic Protection segment is included in "Other" in Segment Reporting (see Note 11).

In April 2012, USSI and Northrop Grumman Guidance and Electronics Company, Inc. signed a license agreement involving several of Northrop Grumman’s fiber-optic technology patents. The license agreement calls for an initial payment of $150 and for a royalty payment of 10% of the net selling price of each unit of licensed products used or sold during the term of the agreement, subject to an annual minimum royalty of $50 for the first ten years of the license term.

Amortization expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2012 amounted to $401 and $716, respectively. Amortization expense with respect to intangible assets is estimated to be $1,010, $978, $897, $855 and $855 for each of the years ending September 30, 2013 through 2017.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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