artilery
Latest
USB BB gun sports barrel-mounted webcam, ensures home security
While there's certainly a variety of options to keep watch and protect your property from curious intruders, the latest branch of vCrib gives a new meaning to being on guard. Crafted by the designer of the Virtual Crib home automation software, the USB BB gun sports automatic firing, manual reloading, and the ability to fire based on commands given remotely on a PC. Moreover, the weapon actually packs a webcam on the barrel, allowing users to login via computer, tilt / swivel the gun with simple mouse flicks, and fire away if you spot any intruders within its broad line of sight. It shouldn't need mentioning that we'd make absolutely sure our landlord was cool with mounting a remotely-controlled weapon in the window, but if you need to take home security into your own hands (without actually being at home), be sure to click on through to see this controversial creation spittin' hot fury.
Pentagon plans ultrasonic curtain to muffle loud tanks
Although Macroswiss' giraffe pole could certainly lend our soldiers a hand in peeking across enemy lines, someone with a good bit of execution authority would rather we take a more direct approach to encroaching on the baddies. A Pentagon-based budget layout has revealed plans for an "ultrasonic curtain" to be constructed in a presumed attempt to "significantly" muffle vehicles and loud machinery in order to get our troops closer to foes without being noticed. While the actual construction plans aren't entirely laid out, the device will purportedly use "directed ultrasound technology to enable the capability to significantly reduce sound emissions from large scale tactical military hardware," and they hope to lower noise by "at least 30-decibels" in order to allows troops to operate in close proximity to the enemy without being detected aurally. Of course, cracking trees and unforeseen sneezes could still remain a problem, but there are already plans in place to "validate the theoretical models in laboratory settings," estimate the power required to sustain such a sound shield, and to design a finished product that can cover "a truck-sized vehicle." Sadly, it doesn't seem that this project will be integrating the invisibility cloak already discovered, so a flurry of bubble boy jokes is bound to arise. Wired]
Solid state laser sustains 67-kilowatts, approaching battlefield status
We know what you're thinking: when you've got eight-Megajoule railguns, aircraft-mounted tactical lasers, and xenon-based paralysis inducers, what good is a feeble solid state laser blaster? Presumably hoping to see a Star Wars-esque warzone in the not too distant future, a team of researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have crafted a Solid State Heat Capacity Laser (SSHCL) that can sustain 67-kilowatts of average power in testing, besting their previous record of just 45-kilowatts. Chemically powered lasers, on the other hand, have been able to achieve megawatts of power for some time now, but the solid state variety is much less burdensome and could be used on the battlefield without a constant source of chemical fuel flanking the soldier's belt. The SSHCL is said to generate a "pulsed beam which fires 200 times a second at a wavelength of one micron," and the "magic 100-kilowatt mark" that would enable it to become a satisfactory weapon could purportedly be reached within the year. While we're down with giving our troops crates of real-world rayguns to beam down the baddies, we've got a sneaking suspicion that someone's going to put an eye out while oohing and aahing at the light show these things emit. [Via Slashdot]
Radio-controlled airgun picks off unsuspecting rodents, children
While it's no big deal when militaries establish sentry gun perimeters to protect their own backyard, crafting a slightly less dangerous version for your own property deserves its share of credit. While USB rocket launchers (even ones with lasers) are fairly potent at livening up your mundane office environment, their short range (and harmless nature) won't do you much good if you've got rodents (or mischievous kids) rummaging around your grasslands. Enter the RC Airgun, a remote controlled shooter that can be dictated from afar to take out any unsuspecting trespassers whenever you deem worthy. While details of its construction are scant, we certainly applaud the engineering efforts here, so be sure to click on for a few more pics, or hit the read link for some sweet video action.[Via Slashgear]
