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virtual reality
Iowa State Researchers Turn UAVs into Virtual Reality Simulator
Iowa State University researchers further blurred the line between wartime operations and video games this week when they revealed a "next generation control interface" for military UAVs. The $4.2 million system, currently under development at the university's Virtual Reality Applications Center, will provide ground control UAV stations with views of the drones, the surrounding terrain, and overall battlefield. If the program sees complete success, it will allow a single operator to control multiple UAVs, and monitor each of their on-board instruments, cameras and, naturally, weapons. The system does this using a combination of eye-tracking, voice control and interactive large screen displays—in other words, the kind of rig many uber geeks already use to play an online FPS. More »
gliders
High-Flying Solar Power Zephyr Glider Breaks Own World Record With 3.5 Day Flight
Last we heard from the U.K.'s high altitude Zephyr glider, it was unofficially breaking the record for longest unmanned flight. That was back in 2007, when the record was a paltry 30 hours, and the Zephyr was able to manage a 54 hour flight, thanks to its solar powered batteries. On Friday, the Zephyr flew that and them some when it completed an 84-hour flight without issue. Military types are no doubt licking their lips at the news, as the plane was designed to support troops in the field with continuous surveillance and communication support from its perch on high at 60,000 ft. [Telegraph]
RISE OF THE MACHINES
First All-UAV Air Force Combat Wing Takes to the Skies Sans Pilots Over Iraq
Last week, the 174th Air Force Fighter Wing flew its last manned combat sortie over Iraq in F-16s, which have now been mothballed in favor of MQ-9 Reapers. This makes it the first combat-specific wing to ditch conventional aircraft entirely and toward a force of all unmanned robo-drones piloted from the ground. Welcome to the Skynet era, everyone! More »
military
We already have plenty of robot sentries/killers in the sky, so Israeli defense firm G-NIUS felt it important to tip the balance a little over to the four-wheeled category (joining the DARPA Urban Challenge folks) with its Guardium UGV. Designed mostly for border patrol and recon missions, the Guardium's onboard telemetry can receive GPS coordinates for adapting its pre-programmed routes on the fly and avoid obstacles on its own. And judging by the video, it's pretty damn fast.
More »
Autonomous Guardium UGV Buggy Tirelessly Patrols Danger Zones So You Don't Have To
We already have plenty of robot sentries/killers in the sky, so Israeli defense firm G-NIUS felt it important to tip the balance a little over to the four-wheeled category (joining the DARPA Urban Challenge folks) with its Guardium UGV. Designed mostly for border patrol and recon missions, the Guardium's onboard telemetry can receive GPS coordinates for adapting its pre-programmed routes on the fly and avoid obstacles on its own. And judging by the video, it's pretty damn fast.
More »
airplanes
How the Cormorant Submarine-to-Air Plane Works
After the START II—the second strategic weapons reduction treaty with the former URSS—was signed, the US Navy had to reconvert many of their Ohio-class nuclear submarines, giving new uses to their missile bays. They talked with Lockheed Martin about it, who came up with the idea of the Cormorant: a Halo-looking plane that launches from a submerged submarine, does its mission stealthily and then returns to the water, where it's retrieved by a robot. As the video shows, the idea looks out of a sci-fi movie: More »
8:30 AM on Thu Jul 31 2008
By Jesus Diaz
29,713 views,
110 comments
Latest by ldsdj: "Hi, I'm Bob Ruszkowski, and I think paper airplanes are the stuff of the FUTURE!" more »
uavs
Curly-Winged UAV Will Leech From Power Lines, Fly Forever
The next version of the DevilRay unmanned aerial vehicle will feature the ability to dock to and recharge from power lines. Made by Defense Research Associates, the UAV uses down-curled wingtips to make such a low-speed maneuver possible. The four-foot wide, propeller-driven flying wing will use "inverse capped helix winglets" to take advantage of the wingtip wind vortexes that form during flight, providing stabilization in lieu of a tail. More »
spying
Voyeur Security Drone is For Spying At Sea, Not at Your Neighbors
This helicopter mini-drone has been developed by the Navy to help it counter water-borne threats, despite its provocatively lurid name. Made by Lite Machines, the battery-powered Voyeur weighs just four pounds, stands 27-inches high and is actually designed to be suicidal. It's meant to hop out of sonobuoy tubes, patrol for threats for a while and then sink itself. Much more economical than helicopters or jets wasting fuel by attempting to ID surface targets (has the Navy's gas bill gone up at the moment too?) Plus it looks waaay more creepily sci-fi. [Danger Room]
military tech
World's Smallest UAV Weighs 10 Grams, Flaps Like a Bird
AreoVironment is building the world's smallest UAV, called the Nano Air Vehicle, that has moving wings instead of a propeller or engine. DARPA has given the company $636,000 and six months to demonstrate an ultra-small UAV that will be under three inches long and under 10 grams. More »
uav
