Hasta La Gadget!

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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Rail guns play a major part in nearly every fanciful battle of the future, whether it be giant robots fighting for control of the Inner Sphere or the last remaining member of Noble Team holding off the Covenant invasion for as long as possible. They’re the stuff of geeky dreams, and thanks to the US Navy they’re closer to deployment than ever. Three years ago our sea-borne force managed an 8 megajoule blast, now its researchers have more than quadrupled that: 33 megajoules accelerating a projectile using magnets. That power means speeds of Mach 7 for the slug and a current range of 100 miles, though the hope is for at least double that by the time these things start finding themselves mounted on the decks of battleships in 2025. At that point they’ll reduce the need for rooms full of powder charges and the associated dangers that come along with explosive shells, but will instead need to make way for what looks to be a warehouse full of capacitors. There’s a video of the thing in action below, and you’ll be sorry if you miss it.

[Thanks, Jacob L.]

Continue reading Navy’s prototype rail gun projectile hits mach 7 at 33 megajoules, our hearts skip a beat (video)

Navy’s prototype rail gun projectile hits mach 7 at 33 megajoules, our hearts skip a beat (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies has just moved into 72,000-square feet of shiny new facilities in Playa Vista, California — on the same grounds which once served as the headquarters for Howard Hughes’ aircraft company. Funded by the US Army to develop virtual reality technology, the ICT’s work is now found on 65 military sites across the country. Before your brain starts wandering towards thoughts of Call of Duty on military-grade steroids though, keep in mind that much of the institute’s innovations revolve around simulating surrogate interactions with so-called “virtual humans”. For example, thanks to advanced AI language programming, soldier patients projected on life size semi-transparent screens help teach doctors about treating combat trauma, while virtual Army personnel characters such as Sergeant Star can interact naturally with soldiers in leadership training exercises.

Still, that shouldn’t imply ITC doesn’t dabble in good ole’ fashion combat simulation work. In fact, it’s currently running a training exercise on three military bases designed to prepare soldiers for an insurgent ambush within a highly-realistic virtual town reconstructed from satellite imagery. No, it may not sound as wild as robotic exoskeletons, flying Humvees or ultrasound-based mind control, but it does make your life on The Sims seem totally fake. To judge for yourself, check out the video overview on the next page.

Continue reading USC Institute for Creative Technologies gets new building to amp up its military VR work

USC Institute for Creative Technologies gets new building to amp up its military VR work originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one’s been talked about since the middle of last year (at least), but it looks as if the time for contemplating is over and done with. It’s bruited that the Israel Defense Forces will be moving forward on a plan to light up a new cellular system that will blast out SMS-CB alerts to citizens if and when a missile is fired in the direction of Israel. Just over $7 million will be invested, with the application itself being jointly designed by eVigilo and Ericsson. If all goes well, it’ll be operational in June of 2011, and it’s just one aspect of the country’s effort to consolidate all emergency alerts into one centralized system. We’re told that the blasts would be sent in a variety of languages, and there’s even potential to send ’em to TVs, radios, websites and “billboards.” And unlike various other SMS emergency alert systems that have been implemented, these would actually differ based on how the threat was forecasted to affect different geographic regions. Something tells us eVigilo’s going to become a multinational company in no time.

Update: eVigilo pinged us with a few extra details surrounding the service. For starters, it’ll be using SMS-CB (read: not standard SMS) in order to circumvent core networks that tend to collapse during emergencies. This will enable the messages to bypass any congestion and hit all users at around the same time. The alerts would be delivered geographically, not to a specific number of users, with tests proving that “millions” could be reached within 20 seconds over 3G. Besides broadcast over mobile networks, the company will also connect to the national TV network using DVB and offer also DAB reaching digital radio subscribers. Additional capabilities will be given through multicast over IP (Billboards, Variable Message Signs and social networks).

Israel to activate SMS-CB missile alert system next year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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