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UK government wants to end mobile deadspots with 'national roaming'
Mobile operators might be doing more to put an end to signal blackspots in rural areas, but large parts of Britain's countryside remain underserved. BBC News reports that in a bid to change this, the government is thinking about forcing carriers to share their networks in these areas as part of a new "national roaming" initiative. As you may expect, networks are against the idea, arguing that it would offer less incentive to build more mobile towers and could result in extra costs being pushed to customers. Nevertheless, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid wants to implement a system where you'd switch to an alternative network if your carrier's is not available, just like when you travel abroad. Worryingly for providers, the government could pressure them into sharing their networks using existing legislation, meaning they might not have a say in it anyway.
Rescue robots map and explore dangerous buildings, prove there's no 'I' in 'team' (video)
We've seen robots do some pretty heroic things in our time, but engineers from Georgia Tech, the University of Pennsylvania and Cal Tech have now developed an entire fleet of autonomous rescue vehicles, capable of simultaneously mapping and exploring potentially dangerous buildings -- without allowing their egos to get in the way. Each wheeled bot measures just one square foot in size, carries a video camera capable of identifying doorways, and uses an on-board laser scanner to analyze walls. Once gathered, these data are processed using a technique known as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), which allows each bot to create maps of both familiar and unknown environments, while constantly recording and reporting its current location (independently of GPS). And, perhaps best of all, these rescue Roombas are pretty team-oriented. Georgia Tech professor Henrik Christensen explains: "There is no lead robot, yet each unit is capable of recruiting other units to make sure the entire area is explored. When the first robot comes to an intersection, it says to a second robot, 'I'm going to go to the left if you go to the right.'" This egalitarian robot army is the spawn of a research initiative known as the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance Program, sponsored by the US Army Research Laboratory. The ultimate goal is to shrink the bots down even further and to expand their capabilities. Engineers have already begun integrating infrared sensors into their design and are even developing small radar modules capable of seeing through walls. Roll past the break for a video of the vehicles in action, along with full PR.
Bug-bot video reveals swarming drones, extreme rocking
We know that you love swarming bug-bots as much as we do, so of course we were thrilled to tell you about BAE Systems' MAST project the other day. Luckily, the Army-contracted company didn't stop at mere photos to scare the living daylights out of humanity, they also created a really cheesy, yet deeply frightening video to go along with them. Enjoy a glimpse of the Skynet-controlled / shredding-guitar future of warfare after the break -- and don't say we didn't warn you.
BAE Systems working on spider-bots, other ways to scare you to death
Do you enjoy gangs of tiny, spider-like robot insectoids swarming all over your house, car, or personage? If you answered "yes," you're going to love what BAE Systems is cooking up. The company recently received an infusion of $38 million from the US Army Research Lab to fund the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) consortium; a team of scientists and researchers hell-bent on developing an "autonomous, multifunctional collection of miniature intelligence-gathering robots that can operate in places too inaccessible or dangerous for humans." Sure, that description (and accompanying photos, straight from BAE) does give you the impression that whoever came up with this really liked Minority Report, but won't it make you feel safer at night knowing a swarm of metallic spiders are looking out for you? No? Huh, weird.[Via The Register]
Ericsson's Tower Tube concept radio mast ain't ugly
After all this time, and after all these complaints, could the solution to ugly cellphone masts have been as simple as a concrete radome? That is essentially all Ericsson's Tower Tube concept is: a glorified case for the ugly antennae that connect your daily calls. Apparently, construction of the radome releases 20% less CO2 than traditional steel structures, and the concrete is secure enough to not require extra site fencing, and will therefore occupy significantly less space than the masts we currently live alongside. Sounds like a win-win to us. Let's get 'em built![Via Just Amp]
Ted and Gadget weep as MAST tether project fails to deploy
While a number of recent space-based experiments have proven quite successful, it must not have been Ted nor Gadget's day. The daring duo that made up the MAST project was supposed to "test the survivability of a thin, braided tether in space," but due to a glitch in the restraint system that "kept Ted from pushing away hard enough to keep unreeling the tether from its spool," the once hopeful mission has come to an ill-fated close. Rather than reaching a full kilometer, the tether was only able to reach a few meters before coming to a stop, but the team at Tethers Unlimited aren't calling it quits just yet. They did admit to not knowing precisely what caused the costly mishap, but the crew also suggested that they'll try to use the small amount of data they did gather to analyze "how a short tether behaves in microgravity." Don't worry fellas, there's always next time.
Inspector Gadget tackles 'The Case of the Experimental Space Tether'
One thing we love about scientist-types is their nerdy humor, so when researchers launch a trio of satellites next month to test the feasibility of space tether propulsion, the 'gadget' tasked with 'inspecting' the line will obviously be referred to as bumbling cartoon detective Inspector Gadget. The mission -- called MAST (for Multi-Application Survivable Tether) -- is scheduled to begin April 17th with a payload launch on a Dnepr rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, after which the Washington state-based Tethers Unlimited's two anchor sats (less-cleverly dubbed Ted and Ralph -- um, hello, Penny and Brain...) will gradually separate until they've pulled the kilometer-long line taut. That's when Inspector Gadget goes into action, traveling back and forth across the triple-braided tether at a snail-like .006 mph, all the while using its built-in camera to search for damage caused by radiation, micrometeoroids, and other nasty space stuff. Eventually the company is hoping to use its research to create orbiting systems that can fling other satellites into deep space, but seeing how the last Dnepr rocket crashed and burned on liftoff in 2006, Team Tether is probably best off taking this endeavor one step at a time.
