May 26

DARPA putting scopes that ‘see’ wind turbulence into the hands of snipers

Posted in: military, Today's Chili, wargadget
It’s been years since DARPA put out its original RFI for a “one shot” sniper system, and if you’re the type that prefers to kill at extremely long ranges we have some great news for you. The program, which is developing laser scopes that detect and compensate for wind, seems to be somewhat on track (which must really freak DARPA out). It was hoped that the technology would let shooters take down targets at 2,000 meters while enduring forty mile-per-hour crosswinds. Currently, we’re looking at something like 1,100 meters and eighteen mile-per-hour winds — still no mean feat. The next step? To get fifteen field-testable prototypes into the hands of soldiers by next year, to the tune of $7 million.

DARPA putting scopes that ‘see’ wind turbulence into the hands of snipers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 23

DARPA program will detect your anomalous behavior, eliminate you

Posted in: Today's Chili, wargadget

Crime prevention is boring — crime prediction, on the other hand, is tres exciting! Indeed, we’ve seen a few pre-crime projects in the past, but very little that existed outside the realm of cockamamie. That is, until we laid eyes on a new project from DARPA called SMITE (or Suspected Malicious Insider Threat Elimination). This one actually seems — dare we say it? — feasible. Details are sketchy (they’re still in the RFI stages) but essentially the idea is to create a database of actions that correspond to “malicious” behavior; for instance, espionage. It’s hoped that behaviors can be detected before they lead to an actual crime, which leads to all sorts of ethical and philosophic questions that we quite frankly don’t have the energy to ponder on a Friday afternoon. Luckily for all of us, this is DARPA we’re talking about — so chances are this won’t go anywhere. But if it does? As The Register kindly points out, the “e” in SMITE stands for “elimination.” Nice. [Warning: PDF source link]

DARPA program will detect your anomalous behavior, eliminate you originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 May 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

SantosHuman’s Virtual Soldier recruited by Ford for assembly line detail

Posted in: Ford, Today's Chili, wargadget
Future Combat Systems has given us plenty of fun over the years, from Land Warrior high-tech uniforms to field ready Xbox 360 controllers, and while the program was scuttled early last year, the technology keeps popping up all over the place. For instance, Ford’s just announced that it’ll be using SantosHuman’s virtual soldier, a biofidelic (true to the human body) computer simulation, to predict long-term ergonomics and safety concerns on assembly lines. Developed at the University of Iowa for the DoD, this guy has a complete biomechanical muscular system and physics engine capable of registering body strength, fatigue, motion, and strain. From easing the physical strain of soldiers to helping our beleaguered auto workers — that’s what we call progress. Now how about a little help for all of us long-suffering tech bloggers? PR after the break.

Continue reading SantosHuman’s Virtual Soldier recruited by Ford for assembly line detail

SantosHuman’s Virtual Soldier recruited by Ford for assembly line detail originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 01:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

HP developing wrist PC for military, finally putting that flexible display to good use

Posted in: HP, military, Today's Chili, wargadget
Looks like that flexible plastic display Hewlett-Packard has been talking up since 2008 is finally ready to hit the big time. According to Carl Taussig, director of information surfaces at HP Labs, the company is developing a wrist PC at the behest of the US military. Behind the display, a thin strip of metal-coated plastic (merely 50 microns thick) is printed with transistors for, you know, displaying stuff. The thing will be solar powered and, like the display, the solar panels will also be printed, using a technology called PowerFilm. With any luck a prototype should be ready within a year. Now, can we get a PIP Boy already?

HP developing wrist PC for military, finally putting that flexible display to good use originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 19

Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, military, OLED, Today's Chili, wargadget
Cubic Corporation is a defense contractor that’s been kicking around in some form or another since the early days of the Cold War, although you’re more likely to know them as the operator of the New York City MetroCard system. What brings ’em to our space, you ask? Another cutting edge wargadget, of course! Indeed, the company has just been contracted to supply 27 of its COMBATREDI training systems to the Florida Army National Guard (to the tune of $4.8 million). The combat simulator features a hi-def, helmet mounted OLED video display for a 60 x 45-degree field of view, an integrated 3D stereo headset for sound, and a wireless “surrogate” rifle that performs like a real one, right down to the need for fresh magazines and various firing modes. The user’s movements are tracked by way of a REDITAC tactical computer worn on the back, with a suite of sensors that can also determine where he’s looking, and whether he’s standing, kneeling, or lying on the ground. Of course, the company is selling this as the most realistic way to train our troops yet, although we can see it for what it really is: possibly the most bad-ass first-person shooter ever. PR after the break.

Continue reading Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels

Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 23

Boeing X-37B autonomous space shuttle launched last night, due back ‘whenevs’

Posted in: military, Robots, space, Today's Chili, Transportation, wargadget

Boeing’s X-37B, the test craft that’s been kicking around for the last decade or so, has finally made it into orbit. Formerly a NASA project, we’ve heard little about the thing since it passed into DARPA hands in 2004 — and statements like those of the Air Force’s Gary Payton don’t help much: “in all honesty, we don’t know when it’s coming back for sure.” How’s that for autonomous? Also uncommented upon, yet tantalizing, are the military’s intentions for the unmanned vehicle, which can remain in orbit 270 days at a time. Spy drone? Orbital weapons platform? Plaything for our future robot overlords? (Let’s hope it’s not the last one.) The success of the mission will depend on a couple things, namely: how the return trip goes (it should make it back to California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base via autopilot… sometime) and whether the thing can be re-launched quickly enough. Ideally, the craft should be ready for another flight in fifteen days. Another test is planned for 2011.

[Thanks, One Love!]

Boeing X-37B autonomous space shuttle launched last night, due back ‘whenevs’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 18

F-35B supersonic jet’s first mid-air hover (video)

Posted in: military, Today's Chili, wargadget
VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) is no great shakes in a wargadget these days — and a craft like the F-35B, with its short-take off and vertical-landing capabilities might be even less shocking — but jets that stop whatever they’re doing mid-air to just hover awhile? That’s another story entirely. The $83 million-plus, supersonic stealth jet did just that yesterday, according to Lockheed Martin. The flight began with a conventional takeoff and the aircraft hit about 200 knots before the pilot switched her into STOVL, culminating in a zero airspeed hover 150 feet above the runway. This is the first “mid-air hover” by the aircraft, and if development continues at the pace most of these programs do it should see active service sometime around Engadget’s 25th birthday. Video after the break.

Continue reading F-35B supersonic jet’s first mid-air hover (video)

F-35B supersonic jet’s first mid-air hover (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 18

DARPA sets sights on cameras that understand

Posted in: camera, research, robot, RobotApocalypse, Robots, Today's Chili

DARPA wants to let you all know that its plans for the robot apocalypse are still going strong. The agency’s got IBM working on the brains, has an RFI out on the skin, and is handling propulsion and motor control in-house. Next up? Eyeballs. In order to give its robots the same sort of “visual intelligence” currently limited to animals, DARPA is kicking off a new program called The Mind’s Eye with a one-day scientific conference this April. The goal is a “smart camera” that can not only recognize objects, but also be able to describe what they’re doing and why, allowing unmanned bots and surveillance systems to report back, or — we’re extrapolating here — make tactical decisions of their own. To be clear, there’s no funding or formal proposal requests for this project quite yet. But if the code does come to fruition, DARPA, please: make sure autoexec.bat includes a few Prime Directives.

DARPA sets sights on cameras that understand originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 16

Military looking to build autonomous, bunker-busting killbot

Posted in: RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, wargadget
We remember hearing something in the 1990s about SDI (or “Star Wars”) actually being a tool to fight UFOs, and that places like Area 51 contained vast underground bases positively teeming with ETs. We didn’t think much of it then, and neither do we now — although this request for information posted over on the FBO website has given us pause. The query is officially for info regarding “robotic underground munition technology,” meaning that Defense Threat Reduction Agency would really, really like to get its hands on an autonomous bunker-busting robot capable of being dropped on a target and digging into (and then blowin’ up) whatever it is that lies beneath the ground. Features specified include: a survivable underground communication system, capabilities to efficiently overcome natural and man-made obstacles, viable passive and active defensive and offensive systems, vehicle control logic to avoid, traverse, neutralize or defeat natural and man-made obstacles, and more. One one hand, this does sound like a bit of “war on terror” overkill, but again we don’t really expect the federal government to throw tons of money at a grandiose and over-expense project that will never come to fruition. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.

Military looking to build autonomous, bunker-busting killbot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 11

DARPA looking to develop iPhone and Android apps, App Store

Posted in: Android, app, AppStore, iPhone, military, Today's Chili, wargadget
Sure, in the past we’ve got a hearty chuckle out of initiatives that involved Redfly terminals and Clippy variants, but the question remains: how can we get cutting-edge tech into the hands of soldiers faster? We’ve recently come across some RFIs for DARPA projects aimed at developing apps and an App Store for Android and the iPhone OS, with two in particular — Mobile Apps for the Military (DARPA-SN-10-27), and Transformative Apps (DARPA-BAA-10-41) — catching our eye. The agency is calling for apps for battlefield, humanitarian, and disaster recovery missions, including command and control, mission planning, surveillance, reconnaissance, and language translation. Of course, if you start taking commercial smartphones out to the field there’s the small matter of network coverage — if you thought that getting a reliable connection in midtown Manhattan was an issue, what about downtown Kabul? Looks like DARPA also has plans for a military that brings its own towers with them, light-weight mobile base stations that could create a “secure mobile tactical network … compatible with commercial smartphones.” What do you think? Looking to help your country out, make a bit of money, or maybe a little of both? Check the links below to start your lucrative career as a military contractor. And tell ’em Engadget sent you.

[Thanks, Sriram]

DARPA looking to develop iPhone and Android apps, App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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