Dec 14

US Army Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications program putting smartphones in soldiers’ hands this February

Posted in: Android, Apple, ios, iPhone, Today's Chili, wargadget
Earlier this year, DARPA put out RFIs with an eye on developing military apps and an app store for iOS and Android, and now the US Army’s Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications (CSDA) program will put handsets, network equipment, and other equipment including tablets, e-readers, and pico projectors into the hands of the First Army Brigade this February. Additionally, the Army plans to start issuing Common Access Card (the ID cards used to log on to DoD computers and networks) readers for the iPhone in January and for Android in April. According to Rickey Smith of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, “We’re not wedded to a specific piece of hardware. We are open to using Palm Trios, the Android, iPhone or whatever else is out there.” But we must admit — we are encouraged that this time around you haven’t mentioned Celio’s REDFLY.

US Army Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications program putting smartphones in soldiers’ hands this February originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 12

US Military bans removable media again, this time probably for good

Posted in: military, Today's Chili, usb, usb drive, UsbDrive

The US military has officially solidified its reputation as a flake, by banning the use of all removable media including thumb drives, CDs and DVDs again on its Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRnet) after relaxing the same policy in February. To prove they meant business this time, senior officers in each branch relayed the orders and reaffirmed personnel would risk of court-martial if they failed to comply. This seems silly to us considering Uncle Sam feels comfortable giving some cell phones access to secure data, and we all know how much damage losing one can cause. But then again, if history and Transformers are any indication, sometimes it’s these little things that cause bigger breaches than anything Cyber Command focuses on stopping.

US Military bans removable media again, this time probably for good originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceWired  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 27

Modified radar gun identifies suicide bombers up to ten meters away

Posted in: Today's Chili, wargadget
William Fox of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and John Vesecky, his colleague at UC Santa Cruz, are working on a modified radar gun that can identify suicide bombs worn under the clothing. To do this, they cataloged the most common arrangements of looped wires used to construct “suicide vests,” and developed software that can identify the radar cross-section of each. So far, results have been pretty good: according to New Scientist, “telltale factors in the polarisation of the reflected signals” allowed them to correctly identify volunteers dressed as bombers up to ten meters away, roughly eighty-five percent of the time. Of course, even with a success rate this high, such a system would be prone to kicking up false positives. In order to minimize this, the devices would have to combined with other technologies, such as smart surveillance camera systems and infrared imaging.

Modified radar gun identifies suicide bombers up to ten meters away originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 07:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNew Scientist  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 11

Mega Hurtz gun-wielding robot has a menacing look, unfortunate name

Posted in: military, robot, Today's Chili, video, wargadget
Sure, we know how this works: cities need to justify their budgets for continued funding from state and national governments, so they buy expensive — and often unnecessary — high-tech toys for their police. And when your town’s ready to make that transition from Barney Fife to SWAT, why not call Inspector Bots? The paramilitary nature of its Mega Hurtz Tactical Robot isn’t softened by the delicious pun in its name, and if you don’t believe us ask any nogoodnik who’s had to face down its turret-mounted 20RPS Modified Mil-Sim Paintball Gun / Assault Rifle, capable of firing off twenty non-lethal (but extremely painful) pepperball rounds per second. The beast is billed as a “heavy duty 280 lb two-man-portable monster” that can record audio and video, be controlled by a remote operator, and has night vision capability. But that ain’t all! Not only does it feature a welded steel chassis designed to demolish doors and concrete walls, it also looks really awesome in the video… even if it doesn’t make the streets safer. See for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Mega Hurtz gun-wielding robot has a menacing look, unfortunate name

Mega Hurtz gun-wielding robot has a menacing look, unfortunate name originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceInspector Bots  | Email this | Comments

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Oct 28

Northrop Grumman’s CaMEL ‘bot features one .50 caliber gun, loads of class

Posted in: military, robot, Today's Chili, wargadget
When the dream factory that is Northrop Grumman needed to up the “wow factor” at its Association of the U.S. Army’s Washington conference booth, it did what plenty of CES exhibitors wished they could do: it weaponized. Hence, the deadliest CaMEL yet. The acronym stands for Carry-all Mechanized Equipment Landrover — think of the BigDog robot, but with treads instead of legs. The motorized platform will hump up to 1,200 pounds of gear at seven miles per hour, and as Spencer Ackerman at Wired points out, over sixty of them have been sold to the Israeli military. But the above pictured CaMEL is the only one floating around with armaments: in this case, a .50-caliber M2 machine gun. The gun is fired remotely, via touchscreen controls, and the platform itself could support any number of weapons including the M249, the MK19 grenade launcher, or 30mm cannon. Which kind of proves a pet theory of ours: if you build it, eventually someone will mount a gun on it.

Northrop Grumman’s CaMEL ‘bot features one .50 caliber gun, loads of class originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 13

Elbit wins $68 million defense contract to supply OLED-equipped HUDs

Posted in: OLED, Today's Chili, wargadget

We still haven’t heard about any takers for the company’s “hunter-killer’ robot, but Elbit Systems has just scored a big contract for some of its other military gear. It’s just announced that it’s received a five-year $68 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, which will see it provide the Army, Navy, Marines Corps and Coast Guard with its AN/AVS-7 heads-up display system components. While complete details are obviously a bit light, the HUDs apparently incorporate an eMagin OLED microdisplay, and are said to “increase situational awareness and safety by allowing pilots to fly ‘head out of the cockpit’ during day and night operations.” Head on past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Elbit wins $68 million defense contract to supply OLED-equipped HUDs

Elbit wins $68 million defense contract to supply OLED-equipped HUDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Raytheon’s Sarcos XOS 2 military exoskeleton just does the heavy lifting — for now

Posted in: interview, military, Today's Chili, video, wargadget

Raytheon’s XOS 2 has a right hook that can rip straight through a wall, but Dr. Fraser Smith assures us that death-dealing variants are still a good ways off. We caught up with the good doctor earlier today, who’s been working on the military-grade exoskeleton for eight years, and quizzed him on the hows and whys of building a would-be Iron Man. Find out what we learned after the break, and see the mean machine in our gallery below!

Gallery: Raytheon Sarcos XOS 2 exoskeleton – press pics

Continue reading Raytheon’s Sarcos XOS 2 military exoskeleton just does the heavy lifting — for now

Raytheon’s Sarcos XOS 2 military exoskeleton just does the heavy lifting — for now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Operation Cyber Storm III underway, makes digital certificates cool again

Posted in: security, Today's Chili, wargadget
Fans of cyberwarfare (which we are, if only because we like to imagine that it looks like Battlezone) take note: following hot on the heels previous Cyber Storm I and II and Cyber ShockWave wargames, the Department of Homeland Security is sponsoring a little something called Cyber Storm III. Starting yesterday, the three-day exercise simulates more than 1,500 different types of attack, with a special emphasis on identities, trust relationships, and digital certificates. As Brett Lambo, director of Homeland Security’s Cyber Exercise Program, told AFP, “we’re kind of using the Internet to attack itself. At a certain point the operation of the Internet is reliant on trust — knowing where you’re going is where you’re supposed to be.” The exercise will test the National Cyber Incident Response Plan as well as the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. But you can breathe easily: the operation is focusing on defense, not offense (for now).

Operation Cyber Storm III underway, makes digital certificates cool again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourceYahoo News  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 18

SMU and DARPA develop fiber optics for the human nervous system

Posted in: research, Today's Chili
The Department of Defense and Southern Methodist University have teamed up to develop prosthetics that use two-way fiber optic communication between artificial limbs and peripheral nerves to essentially give these devices the ability to feel pressure or temperature. The technology is called neurophotonics, and it will someday allow hi-speed communication between the brain and artificial limbs. But that’s just the beginning — the work being done at SMU’s Neurophotonics Research Center might someday lead to brain implants that control tremors, neuro-modulators for chronic pain management, implants for treating spinal cord injuries, and more. And since we can’t have a post about DARPA-funded research without the following trope, Dean Orsak of the SMU Lyle School of Engineering points out that “[s]cience fiction writers have long imagined the day when the understanding and intuition of the human brain could be enhanced by the lightning speed of computing technologies. With this remarkable research initiative, we are truly beginning a journey into the future that will provide immeasurable benefits to humanity.” Truly.

SMU and DARPA develop fiber optics for the human nervous system originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Dallas Observer  |  sourceSMU Research  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 06

U of M laser mimics helicopter heat signatures to thwart missiles

Posted in: laser, Today's Chili, wargadget
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new laser-based countermeasure for aircraft, and unlike others we’ve seen (and we’ve seen a few) this technology aims to “blind” missiles rather than knock ’em out of the sky. The system uses a mid-infrared supercontinuum laser to mimic the heat signature of a helicopter, and it has no moving parts — making it rugged enough to last a long time on rotor-based aircraft. The school has even spun off a company, Omni Sciences, to develop the thing, and has received some $1 million in grants from the Army and DARPA to build a second-generation prototype. Of course, questions remain: is it really a wargadget if you can’t blow something up with it? And even if it is, where’s the fun in that?

U of M laser mimics helicopter heat signatures to thwart missiles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGizmag  | Email this | Comments

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