Hasta La Gadget!

If there’s one thing you want your multi-million dollar electromagnetic railgun to be, it’s reliable, and the US Navy announced today that it’s reached a key milestone towards that goal. It’s now successfully fired its prototype gun 1,000 times, which translates to as many as 15 shots per week. In recent years, those tests have generally been conducted at a 1.5 megajoule launch energy, which the Navy puts into perspective by noting that “a one-ton vehicle moving at 100 mph has approximately one megajoule of kinetic energy.” Eventually, the Navy hopes to install even more advanced and far more powerful railgun weapons systems on ships, although the project’s future remains a bit up in the air given some recent funding battles in the US Senate.

Continue reading US Navy’s electromagnetic railgun hits testing milestone: 1,000 shots fired

US Navy’s electromagnetic railgun hits testing milestone: 1,000 shots fired originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Acer ground-bot from Mesa Robotics does way more than your average 4,500-pound semi-autonomous mule. In addition to carrying kit and providing that extra bit of ballistic steel-deflecting cover, it also scans for IEDs using ground-penetrating radar and then autonomously switches into “flail” mode when it finds one — digging up and detonating that critter with barely a break in its 6MPH stride. Did we mention it also acts as a landing pad for small drones? No? That’s because the video after the break says it all. Cue obligatory guitars, game controllers and armchair gung-ho.

Continue reading Mesa Robotics’ mini-tank is perfectly happy on point (video)

Mesa Robotics’ mini-tank is perfectly happy on point (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 04:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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America’s armed forces have added some major tech to their arsenal lately, from smartphones for soldiers to giant surveillance blimps. And now, AAI has unveiled a new tool for battlefield commanders in the form of giant touchscreen tablet. Its screen is three feet by two feet and employs surveillance information to give those in charge an overhead view of a war zone that shows the position of both good guys and bad. Icons represent troops, air support, and spy drones, which are then deployed by tapping and dragging them on the touchscreen. Such input doesn’t actually control battlefield assets, but it does send orders to the appropriate personnel so they can be executed, and soldiers confirm receipt of the order via instant message. The company’s still trying to sell the system to the Army, but we’d imagine that such drag and drop warfare will appeal to Uncle Sam. Who knows, perhaps all those hours spent honing your Starcraft skills can soon be put to good use defending the country.

[Image credit: Spencer Ackerman]

Giant tablet lets commanders control war with the swipe of a finger originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This giant military spy blimp is really hard to miss originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen lasers with the potential to spot explosives, and now a team of researchers is focusing its beams on roadside bomb detection. Chemistry professor Marcos Dantus of Michigan State University has led the production of a laser that has the “sensitivity and selectivity” to accurately identify improvised explosive devices. This particular bomb-sniffing laser emits short pulses that make molecules vibrate and longer pulses used to “listen” to the resulting “vibrational cords,” these so-called cords are used to distinguish telltale molecules from the harmless sort. The research is being funded in part by the Department of Homeland Security. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading New bomb-sniffing laser could be used to locate IEDs

New bomb-sniffing laser could be used to locate IEDs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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