Sep 29

Flying Humvee a step closer to reality, still seems like a really bad idea

Posted in: Today's Chili, Transportation, wargadget
It looks like AAI Corp has, indeed, landed the contract for feasibility studies of the Transformer flying Humvee project, which as far as we can tell takes a lightly armored (if armored at all) four man vehicle and puts it in the air, practically begging to be hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. And if that doesn’t sound sketchy enough, keep in mind that among the design considerations are gas tanks in the craft’s wings which, as Spencer Ackerman at Wired points out, would make really obvious targets. The testing should last about a year, and cost DARPA a cool $3 million. If all goes well, AAI could have a partial prototype in 2013.

Flying Humvee a step closer to reality, still seems like a really bad idea originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:46:00 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.

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Sep 27

Raytheon revamps Sarcos exoskeleton, creates better, faster and stronger XOS 2 (video)

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

When we first laid eyes on the Sarcos XOS military exoskeleton three years ago, its sheer power and dexterity left us in awe… but as you can see immediately above, that wasn’t enough for Raytheon. Today, the defense contractor’s unveiling the XOS 2, a lighter, stronger robotic suit that uses 50 percent less power for dropping and giving us several hundred pushups. Video and a press release after the break don’t specify the suit’s military duties (they’re focused on instilling the notion that the XOS 2 is a real-life Iron Man) but we can definitely imagine these causing some serious damage if Hammer Industries decided to weaponize that high-pressure hydraulic frame.

Update: We previously stated that the suit didn’t need to be tethered to a power source for operation, but that information was incorrect.

[Thanks, SmoothMarx]

Gallery: Raytheon Sarcos XOS 2 exoskeleton – press pics

Continue reading Raytheon revamps Sarcos exoskeleton, creates better, faster and stronger XOS 2 (video)

Raytheon revamps Sarcos exoskeleton, creates better, faster and stronger XOS 2 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 14

DARPA seeks out remote controls for soldiers’ minds

Posted in: Today's Chili, wargadget

DARPA is always on the lookout for the newest, zaniest gadgets but this time, we think it’s gone too far. According to the Department of Defense’s recent blog post, the military is interested in developing remote control techniques using ultrasound… for soldiers. Arizona State University neuroscientist William Tyler has been working on the project for several years, and now, DARPA is getting involved as well. Tyler and his team have developed a transcranial pulsed ultrasound capable of stimulating brain circuits from outside of the brain, and it can target deeper parts of the brain than past devices. The prototypes are small enough to be placed inside of a helmet, and the plan is to improve its spatial resolution with DARPA’s new infusion of funding. We know they’re probably looking to do cool stuff like make soldiers think they’re nice and cool when they’re actually frying in the sun, but we can’t help but get the creeps from this one.

DARPA seeks out remote controls for soldiers’ minds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

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Sep 03

Stealth’s rugged USB keyboard is extremely tough, extremely pricey

Posted in: keyboard, military, rugged, Today's Chili, wargadget

There are no hard and fast rules in the gadget game, but there is one bit of wisdom we generally stand by: everything benefits by being ruggedized. Sure, we know this speaks to a deep-seated need to smash things, drown things, run ’em over in a truck or shoot them — and we’re not making any excuses. Housed in vandal resistant stainless steel, the Stealth KYBX-400-DT-BL-TB-USB keyboard feature an optical trackball mouse, and NVIS-compliant red adjustable backlighting (just the thing for when you dig out the night vision goggles). If that weren’t enough, the whole thing is environmentally sealed to NEMA 4, 4X, IP65 specifications (whatever that means). Yours now for $695! Get a closer look below.

Gallery: Stealth Desktop Industrial Keyboards

Stealth’s rugged USB keyboard is extremely tough, extremely pricey originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 31

DARPA’s Transformer TX ‘flying Humvee’ project gets off the ground

Posted in: Today's Chili, Transportation, wargadget
Sometimes it feels like the Military-Industrial Complex only exists to keep us entertained with tales of laser weapons and robots that eat enemy combatants — not that we’d complain if it did! And for today’s fantastical wargadget, we have nothing less than a flying Humvee. The Transformer TX project calls for four-man vehicle that drives like a jeep and then takes off to avoid roadside bombs (or impress the ladies). While DARPA has yet to say who will be awarded with the contract for the conceptual design stage of the project, Popular Mechanics has done some digging and it looks like Lockheed Martin and AAI Corp are both on the short list. While the former has declined to talk about its offering, AAI’s incorporates something called “slowed-rotor / compound,” where a rotor provides lift on takeoff, and when it achieves a certain speed wings take over. We’ll be waiting for our review unit, but in the meantime you can get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading DARPA’s Transformer TX ‘flying Humvee’ project gets off the ground

DARPA’s Transformer TX ‘flying Humvee’ project gets off the ground originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 27

MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV resists its human opressors, joyrides over Washington DC

Posted in: robot, RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, wargadget
A Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV strayed into restricted airspace above Washington DC after departing Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland on August 2, the result of a software logic flaw that caused the operator to momentarily lose contact with the drone. Programmed to circle when communications are severed, the chopper failed to follow its failure protocol, instead heading twenty-three miles on a north/northwest trajectory — which could have had serious consequences had it been equipped with 70mm Hydra rocket pods or Hellfire tankbuster missiles. Although this type of incident is rare, it is not unheard of: last September the Air Force had to take down an MQ-9 Reaper in Afghanistan when it failed to adhere to failure protocols after dropping communications with the ground. At least, that’s what we’d like to believe… the alternative scenario is too frightening to consider.

MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV resists its human opressors, joyrides over Washington DC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 24

Raytheon’s ‘pain ray’ to be installed in LA County jail, Charlie Sheen contemplating move to Portland

Posted in: Today's Chili, wargadget

Raytheon‘s been cranking on its 10,000 pound Silent Guardian for years now, and we always try to keep abreast of its… progress. The device, popularly known as a ‘pain gun,’ is a non-lethal weapon designed to deliver an overwhelming heat to say, members of a mob scene or rioters at a prison, causing an immediate flight response. The Air Force, which helped test the device, has assured the world of its safety, and recently the devices went on sale. So what’s next for the Silent Guardian? Installation at the LA County jail in Castaic, where a large scale riot recently broke out, injuring more than 20 people and lasting well over an hour. Now, we’re in no position to form an opinion about whether the pain ray is going to help situations like these or not, but we’re pretty sure of one thing: it’ll likely have little to no effect the next time Britney Spears is brought in.

Raytheon’s ‘pain ray’ to be installed in LA County jail, Charlie Sheen contemplating move to Portland originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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