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In-Q-Tel, the venture investment firm created by the CIA to identify, adapt, and deliver useful new technologies to the intelligence community, announced it has established a strategic partnership and technology development agreement with Looxcie Inc., maker of the first "wear-and-share" video camera.

The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate design and development of next-generation videocams, making use of Looxcie's intellectual property.

"Looxcie has established itself as a market leader in wearable videocam technology and we are impressed with the unique capabilities offered by the company," Steve Bowsher, managing partner at In-Q-Tel, said in a prepared statement. "Our partnership with Looxcie will provide our government customers with an opportunity to utilize and build upon this innovative product."

[ Read about DARPA's competition to develop unmanned aerial vehicles for real-time surveillance. See Drones Fail 'Perch And Stare' Contest. ]

In-Q-Tel said in the statement that the technology is being developed for the Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate.

Looxcie's wearable videocam is available through selected RadioShack stores across the country. Free mobile apps for the device are available through the company's website.

This is not the first time that In-Q-Tel has invested in technology available to retail and commercial customers. In May, the venture firm entered into a similar agreement with Walleye Technologies Inc., which developed a hand-held, microwave-based "see-through-walls" device. The digital images produced can be downloaded, stored, and transmitted. In-Q-Tel's investment will provide the funds for Walleye to begin manufacturing its devices, as well as open doors at government agencies that may have use for its capabilities.

In February, In-Q-Tel entered into an agreement with Mersive, a provider of visual computing software that enables the creation of large-scale, high-performance displays. Mersive's software is used by providers of commodity projector hardware to create displays, and with developers of visualization, command and control, and simulation and training software to enhance the display experience.

Since its founding in 1999, In-Q-Tel has expanded its scope of operations to support several agencies within the intelligence community, including the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The agreement with Looxcie, to benefit DHS, is an example of this expansion.

The Office of Management and Budget demands that federal agencies tap into a more efficient IT delivery model. The new Shared Services Mandate issue of InformationWeek Government explains how they're doing it. Also in this issue: Uncle Sam should develop an IT savings dashboard that shows the returns on its multibillion-dollar IT investment. (Free registration required.)