Hasta La Gadget!

The military world is definitely moving towards the adoption of robots and robotics, ensuring that there will be a lower loss of life on the battlefield, not to mention robots being more efficient at certain tasks without having to grow weary or tired even as they work round the clock. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been a mainstay in the US Army for some years now, and the Predator drone is a prime example, but what happens when you take that concept and draw more inspiration from nature? You will most probably end up with what you see above – the Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MAV), which works in the way of an eagle, as it is capable of grabbing objects on the fly with the elegance of an eagle that swoops down from high above to snatch an unsuspecting fish from the water’s surface.

These days, MAVs and UAVs are increasingly being equipped to pick up, transport, and drop off payloads, but to check out a MAV that sports such a precise form of grasping while in mid-flight is definitely something of an eye opener, and for some, an act that will require one to pick up one’s jaws from the floor afterwards. University of Pennsylvania research team members Justin Thomas, Joe Polin, Koushil Sreenath and Vijay Kumar, were the ones who programmed the quadrotor MAV after observing movements of an eagle in nature videos.

They realized that birds of prey tend to reduce the velocity of its claws dramatically in relation to its prey, doing so by sweeping its legs back at the point of impact so that it can grasp its intended target without having to slow down an iota. As the MAV tips the scales at a mere 500 grams, a design that can accommodate an appropriately light weight arm and gripper would serve the advancement of this idea well.

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[ Micro Unmanned Aerial vehicle grabs “prey” like an eagle copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

TrackingPoint certainly lives up to their name as a company. Basically, they are a precision guided rifle development company that operates right out of Austin, Texas, and they have come up with a new kind of breakthrough technology which is said to have transferred the wonders of jet fighter lock-and-launch technology onto a combat rifle. That is clearly something amazing to consider, no? We are talking about the average shooter actually being capable of achieving sniper-level accuracy, now how about that?

Jason Schauble, the president of TrackingPoint, has had his fair share of challenges in the past. Not only that, with him being a retired special ops Marine captain who actually picked up not only the Silver Star but Bronze Star medals as well in Iraq, you know for sure that Schaubel is more than qualified to apply his “bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty” in order to elevate TrackingPoint as a company to a whole new level, especially when it comes to the exciting world of advanced tactical weapons.

TrackingPoint touts that their patent pending Intelligent Digital Tracking Scopes (tracking scopes) will enable an unskilled to hit long-range targets in an accurate manner, and this is made possible thanks to the tracking scope’s view being a magnified view of the target along an axis parallel to the rifle barrel. The shooter will first “tag” a target, picking out a desired impact point on the target’s surface. The electronic display will then mark that spot with a red dot, and it will remain fixed on the target even as the direction of the rifle changes.

Should the shooter fire the gun at this point, one would end up with a miss, as bullets never follow a straight path due to the effects of gravity, atmospheric drag, parallax, and cross-winds. The TriggerPoint XS1 prototype will show off the target tag and firing solution alongside windage correction for a far more accurate result. No idea on pricing, but whispers have it that it will cost anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 a pop.

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[ TrackingPoint lock-and-launch technology arrives on a combat rifle copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Many years ago I used to teach skeet shooting, it was quite an entertaining job and it kept me on my toes, because almost everyday there was a very real possibility of getting shot by someone who wasn’t really listening as well as they should. Shooting was also a very expensive sport, so after I left, I didn’t get to shoot as much anymore.

Well the folks over at Gander Mountain, the hunting and fishing superstore, have recently completed a multi-million dollar virtual firearms academy. Gander Mountain built this simulated gun range inside its Lake Mary, Florida store — which already has a traditional gun range!

With both a 300° and a 180° simulator as well as a virtual range, Gander Mountain offers many different scenarios designed for full-immersion virtual reality training. Whether it be for self defense or law enforcement training, or simply for the sport of it, Gander Mountain’s shooting action surrounds you with five 8′ x 10′ screens, allowing threats to actually approach you from behind!

These scenarios are all instructor assisted and they’re judgment based, not only teaching your body but training your mind in order to improve your decision making skills, and improving your reaction times and overall marksmanship. With multi-directional audio and real firearms that have been modified for laser fire , the sounds and and real feel recoil make this video-game-on-steroids about as realistic as it gets.

Range time at Gander Mountain starts at around 35 bucks,which is far below the cost of the real deal, and you can do more shooting in a lot less time, without having to reload any pesky bullets, oh yeah… and not getting shot is a nice benefit too! Check out Gandermtnacademy.com for videos and for more information on additional facilities.
[ 300° Simulator – Not Your Kid’s Shooting Game copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]