LADAR
Latest
US Navy Fire Scouts will automatically spot pirates, give 30 seconds to comply
War. What is it good for? Well, if new use of technology by the US Navy has anything to do with it, finding Pirates for a start. By upgrading its existing Fire Scouts with new 3D laser imaging tech, it's hoped that the drones will be able to recognize the small ships used by these unscrupulous seafarers. The system, known as LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging, also known as LADAR) uses millions of laser pulses reflected off an object to create the three-dimensional image, which could then referenced against known pirate ships from a database. Ultimately, human operators will make the final call, to avoid any ED-209 style mis-understandings. That said, if you're taking the dingy out past the Californian breakwaters this summer, you might want to keep the stars and stripes in clear view, as that's where the Navy will be running its initial trials.
CCP releases first video tutorial for exploration in EVE Online
Exploration is one of the more rewarding mini-professions a player can have in EVE Online. With the right skills you can scan down all types of hidden content, such as harvestable gas clouds, hidden asteroid belts, and combat encounters that take advantage of an explorer's skills like Archaeology and Hacking. The new exploration system that became part of EVE with the Apocrypha expansion last winter also made it possible for players to discover wormholes leading to uncharted space. However, exploration is also something a number of new players feel daunted by. (Truth be told though, the drag and drop system of manually guiding probes on a map and adjusting scan ranges is *far* easier than what many of the older players will remember from exploration pre-Apocrypha.) EVE Online currently has four different exploration tutorials in-game to help players get a handle on the profession, but sometimes it's easier to just sit back and watch how it's done. CCP has now released a video tutorial for exploration that teaches players how to scan down the hidden content. The EVE Online: Scanning Guide Tutorial is a tag team effort from EVE TV's CCP Charlie who goes through the steps while Stevie SG narrates. They show the viewer how it's possible to find a wormhole in just a few minutes. The video tutorial coincides with the free Zephyr exploration ship that players are receiving as a holiday gift from CCP Games. Stay with us after the jump for a video embed of the official Scanning Guide Tutorial for EVE Online.
EVE Evolved: Untangling the mystery of the Sleepers
When EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion was released, details on how wormholes and the 2500 new systems that came with them worked were sketchy. The advanced Sleeper AI found protecting these systems were a force to be feared, unknown and mysterious. There were no guides, no stories of encounters on the forums and anyone that had mounted a successful expedition was keeping their closely guarded secrets to themselves and raking in the ISK.My corporation (Pillowsoft) were among the first to launch their expedition, having previously prepared an Orca with a medium POS, fuel, equipment and everything else we thought we'd need. We set up in an unknown system and explored this new frontier with a cautious optimism. Over the months that followed, we learned a great deal about EVE's new wormhole systems and the Sleepers that lived in them. After striking gold many times and making each of our expedition members over a billion ISK richer, we began telling our story and giving up those secrets we had been so careful to protect. Today, a great deal is now known about the "unknown" wormhole systems and with ever more corporations launching their own expeditions, it's now more important than ever to research the Sleeper menace before venturing into the abyss.Join me for this extensive three-page article where I dole out the fruits of my research on wormholes and begin to untangle the mystery of the Sleepers.
CMU's Crusher military bot rumbles onto the scene
Although not quite as stealthy as some of the other spybots that we've seen, the 6.5-ton Crusher UGCV (Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle), with its 8,000-pound payload and one-kilometer range, is certainly more versatile than your typical robosnake or Packbot. Unveiled today by the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science's Robotics Institute, Crusher, like its predecessor Spinner, was commissioned by DARPA to provide combat troops with a durable cargo and surveillance option that can operate mostly autonomously even in rough terrain. Crusher is powered by a series of electric motors whose batteries are charged with a turbo diesel generator -- giving it a top speed of 26 miles-per-hour -- and manages to avoid obstacles using an array of cameras and ladar lidar. Although its first two years of service will be restricted to support role duties, Army and DARPA officials will use Crusher's performance during the probationary period to evaluate its potential use in combat as well. [Warning: PDF link]
