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military posts

Power generating backpack is a gift from the gadget gods, Uncle Sam

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 6th 2009 at 5:49AM

Without a doubt, the military is home to some of the best gadgets. Fortunately for us, the non-lethal stuff often makes it into the hands of consumers after companies finish milking the government of its R&D budget. Case in point: this electricity-generating backup. Designed for the military, the kinetic energy pack is suspended on a rail that generates electricity as you walk. The power generated will charge a standard US Marine-issue lithium ion battery pack or can be directly routed to whatever device you want to charge. The obvious benefit would be limitless power in the field freeing troops from carrying extra batteries on long missions. A power meter on the shoulder strap lets you monitor performance while a three-stage resistance device lets you regulate the power output. A braking mechanism lets you lock down the pack when you want to keep the pack steady. Otherwise, it looks like it'll generate about 8 watts of power while walking or 44 watts of power when running. Do want. See it in action after the break.

[Via besportier]

Continue reading Power generating backpack is a gift from the gadget gods, Uncle Sam

US looking to deploy long-endurance hybrid airship over Afghanistan

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 6:15AM

We may see more airship proposals than actual airships 'round these parts, but it looks like this massive dirigible from Lockheed Martin will indeed be taking flight sooner rather than later, and could see action in Afghanistan by mid-2011. Dubbed the LEMV (or Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle), the airship is apparently "optionally manned," and can stay aloft at 20,000 feet for up to 21 days at a time, while also carrying a payload of up to 2,500 pounds. That relatively fast deployment is aided in part by the fact that the airship is basically a larger version of Lockheed's P-791 (twice as big, in fact), which has already flown six times and, as you can see in the video after the break, is pretty massive in its own right.

[Via The Register]

Continue reading US looking to deploy long-endurance hybrid airship over Afghanistan

Video: Precision Urban Hopper leaps over fences, makes enemies cringe

by Darren Murph posted Sep 15th 2009 at 10:46AM

It's only been a few months since we heard from the whiz kids over at Boston Dynamics, and honestly, we've been waiting on pins and needles to see what miracle would emerge from its labs next. Said outfit has just been awarded a contract by Sandia to build the next generation of the Precision Urban Hopper, which will be a four-wheeled jumping robot that can navigate autonomously. When it rolls into battle, it'll also be equipped with a single jumping leg, giving it the ability to hop over fences, giant humans, Gort or anything else that's 25 feet tall. Best of all, testing and delivery is scheduled for late 2010, so if you were planning on getting on our bad side, you should probably have a look at the video past the break. Chances are you'll be second guessing that urge.

[Via TG Daily]

Gallery: Precision Urban Hopper leaps over fence, makes enemies cringe

Continue reading Video: Precision Urban Hopper leaps over fences, makes enemies cringe

US Army wants 2.3 gigapixel camera for aerial surveillance

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 20th 2009 at 5:36PM

DARPA may have already gone to the trouble of building a 1.8 gigapixel camera as part of its ARGUS-IS project (pictured above), but it looks like the US Army is setting its sights a little higher, and it's now soliciting proposals for a 2.3 gigapixel camera that would be used for some super-wide aerial surveillance. While obviously still quite a ways from becoming reality, the Army hopes the system will be both smaller and lighter than previous systems, work in the infrared range to boot, and capture images at a rate of two frames per second. The key bit, however, is of course that 2.3 gigapixel sensor, which should let the camera provide continuous coverage of a range of about sixty-two square miles at a resolution of 0.3 meters, or just enough to make out the outline of your tinfoil hat.

Infrared sensors hit 16 megapixels, can now spy on an entire hemisphere

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 13th 2009 at 5:12AM

Aerospace and defense manufacturer Raytheon wants everyone to know it has developed the world's first 16 megapixel infrared sensor, which is set for a life of orbiting the Earth and generally being a lot more useful than lesser models. With its higher resolution, the unit is able to cover an entire half of the planet without "blinking" to relocate its focus, and should be warmly received by meteorologists, astronomists and military types, all craving for a bit more real-time reconnaissance. We advise wide-brimmed tin foil hats to shield your body heat from these Sauron-like satellites while working on those plans for a global uprising of the proletariat.

[Via TG Daily]

Raytheon sells its first 'pain ray,' and the less lethal arms race begins

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 6th 2009 at 11:14AM

As you are no doubt aware, one of the perks of being in the corporate security field is that you get to try out things that would come across as, well, unseemly if put in the hands of the government. While there's been some controversy over the possible use of Raytheon's 10,000 pound "portable" Silent Guardian by the military, it appears that at least one private customer has no such qualms. We're not sure exactly who placed the order -- news of an "Impending Direct Commercial Sale" was just one bullet point of many at Raytheon's recent presentation at a NATO workshop on anti-pirate technologies. The company itself is being mum on the subject, saying that it would be "premature" to name names at the present time, but rest assured -- this is only the beginning. As soon as these things are small enough to fit in your briefcase or glove compartment, every nut in your neighborhood will want one. In the mean time, looks like you're stuck with the Taser. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via Wired]

US Air Force says decision-making attack drones will be here by 2047

by Laura June posted Jul 28th 2009 at 4:28PM

Leave it to the military to dream big. In its recently released "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047" report, the US Air Force details a drone that could fly over a target and then make the decision whether or not to launch an attack, all without human intervention. The Air Force says that increasingly, humans will monitor situations, rather than be deciders or participants, and that "advances in AI will enable systems to make combat decisions and act within legal and policy constraints without necessarily requiring human input." Programming of the drone will be based on "human intent," with real actual humans monitoring the execution, while retaining the authority and ability to override the system. It's all still extremely vague, with literally no details on exactly how this drone will come into existence, but we do know this: the Air Force plans to have these dudes operational by 2047. We're just holding out to see what those "classified" pages are all about. [Warning: read link is a PDF]

[Via PC World]

Read -Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047

Hitachi develops biometric payment system, uses it to sell junk food

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jul 22nd 2009 at 1:13PM

Looks like Hitachi has made some serious headway on the biometric payment system we first heard about way back in the halcyon days of 2007. According to the Mainichi Daily News, the company is currently testing its Finger Vein Authentication System internally, with the device serving as a method of payment for vending machines and the like. Once it's proven that employees are able to get their Koala's March and Hi-Chew without incident, the plan is to up the ante, with high precision ID systems that combine finger vein and finger print authentication systems for military use.

iKey's AK-39 wearable keyboard is about as weapon-like as it sounds

by Donald Melanson posted Jul 14th 2009 at 5:42PM

iKey's churned out plenty of rugged keyboards in its day, but it looks to have really stepped up its game with its new AK-39 wearable keyboard intended specifically for military use. Among other things, this one conforms to full MIL-461 standards, is able to be used in environments with harsh electromagnetic interference and, of particular importance, it's designed to be used with a glove, and in either left or right-hand configurations. As for the keyboard itself, you'll get a basic 39-key layout, an integrated pointing device that uses Force Sensing Resistor (or FSR) technology, and some adjustable green backlighting that is, naturally, also available with night vision compatibility. No word on pricing just yet, nor is there any indication that iKey will actually sell these to the general public.

[Via Test Freaks, thanks Nicholas R]

Israeli military develops robot snake for battlefield, children's nightmares

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jun 9th 2009 at 6:03PM

While this is by no means the first time we've seen a robotic snake prototype, it ain't every day that we find one so close to deployment. This self-propelling, two foot long robot can crawl along the ground, climb through debris, and even stand erect to give the operator a better view through the forward-mounted camera. The Israeli Defense Force says it will use this thing for "routine surveillance and reconnaissance." And if this is not enough? In that case, the prototype can be wired with explosives -- making it, in the words of the Jerusalem Post, a "suicide snake." Fun! And rather upsetting. No proposed price or timetable yet, but you can see the thing in action for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Israeli military develops robot snake for battlefield, children's nightmares

US Army equipping all Windows PCs with Vista by end of 2009

by Ross Miller posted May 23rd 2009 at 3:01PM

While a good number of its machines are already running the OS -- about 13 percent at this point -- the United States Army has mandated that before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, 2009 that all of its Windows-powered computers must switch from XP to Vista, presumably and hopefully with Service Pack 2. Additionally, all Office 2003 users will have to upgrade to the 2007 variant, but thankfully, someone with a little Vista experience made sure to omit standalone weapons systems from the mandate -- you know, because there's not really time to click through eight confirmation boxes when launching a time-sensitive homing missile. All jesting aside, we're flummoxed that the Army didn't just wait for Windows 7 to roll out in a few months before making this decision, but hey, what's a few more billion in upgrade costs next year, right?

[Via HotHardware]

Boeing to develop microwave-based airborne EMP weapon

by Nilay Patel posted May 18th 2009 at 11:37AM

Boeing's been busy with the high-tech death lately -- just a week after the company announced the Phantom Ray fighter UAV, it's back in the news with a high-powered airborne microwave weapon designed to knock out enemy electronics. The goal is to more or less destroy the enemy's tech with out having to set off one of those pesky nuclear explosions necessary for an EMP, and Boeing plans to test the tech out both in the air and on the ground several times over the next three years as part of the Air Force's Counter-electronics High power microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) project. We'll be ready with the popcorn.

[Via The Register]

DARPA working on "Silent Talk" telepathic communication for soldiers

by Laura June posted May 14th 2009 at 5:41PM

We're no strangers to crazy DARPA projects around here, but this one especially strikes our fantastic fancy. The agency's researchers are currently undertaking a project -- called Silent Talk -- to "allow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals." That's right: they're talking about telepathy. Using an EEG to read brain waves, DARPA is going to attempt to analyze "pre-speech" thoughts, then transmit them to another person. They first plan to map people's EEG patterns to his / her individual words, then see if those patterns are common to all people. If they are, then the team will move on to developing a way to transmitting those patterns to another person. Dream big, that's what we always say!

Robot that can jump twenty-five feet in the air coming to the US military

by Laura June posted May 8th 2009 at 10:17AM

Boston Dynamics -- which previously made a robot called the BigDog -- has been enlisted by Sandia National Laboratories (a US government-funded lab) and DARPA to make a new, hopping robot. Called the Precision Urban Hopper, the robot's goal will be to be capable of jumping over large obstacles in city combat situations. It will boast one extremely tough leg to assist it, in addition to its four wheels. The Hopper is supposedly going to be able to jump 25 feet in the air once completed. So far, only a very small prototype (pictured above) is finished, but Boston Dynamics is due to present its next model sometime during 2010.

Multiple Kill Vehicle dies lonely death at the hand of bureaucracy

by Laura June posted May 7th 2009 at 8:37PM

Remember that truly insane insanity that was the Missile Defense Agency's MKV-L (Multiple Kill Vehicle)? The one we saw back in December after it had completed its first round of test flights? Well, the project -- which sought to cobble together a bunch of missiles using a single booster, producing the ultimate killfest -- has sadly been shelved by a recent spate of projected Pentagon cutbacks for the 2010 US Defence budget. Crazy murderbot, we hardly knew ye, you candle in the wind. Video of it in action after the break.

Continue reading Multiple Kill Vehicle dies lonely death at the hand of bureaucracy