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Army spy blimp to launch within weeks: 300 feet long, $500 million, 'multi-intelligent'

Sharif Sakr — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:04:00 EST

It can't go faster than 34MPH and it's already a year late for its planned deployment in Afghanistan, but Northrop Grumman's Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) is now set for its maiden flight. The test run is scheduled for sometime between June 6th and 10th over Lakehurst, New Jersey, whose residents ought to be forewarned that it is not a solar eclipse or a Death Star, but simply a helium-filled pilotless reconnaissance and communications airship that happens to be the size of a football field. After floating around for a while, the giant dirigible is expected to journey south to Florida, where it'll be fitted to a custom-built gondola that will carry the bulk of its equipment, and by which time her enemies hopefully won't have come into possession of an air force.

Army spy blimp to launch within weeks: 300 feet long, $500 million, 'multi-intelligent' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DARPA envisions disposable SeeMe satellites for on-demand reconnaissance

Zachary Lutz — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:33:00 EST

A new project from DARPA could successfully bring satellites to the same throwaway status as paper cups and Charlie Sheen's income (#winning). At $500,000 a pop, the orbitals would hardly be chump change, but the Pentagon insists these airborne systems could provide reconnaissance within 90 minutes of deployment and would deliver valuable tactical information to areas not covered by current satellites. Known as SeeMe, the systems would be launched in groups of 24 -- which equates to a $12 million cluster -- and would remain in orbit for 60 to 90 days, at which point they'd burn up upon atmospheric re-entry. Currently, DARPA is seeking contractors that can manufacture the systems rapidly at low costs, which can also "develop advanced technologies for optics, power, propulsion and communications to keep size and weight down." It's said to further discuss the project at a March 27th event known as Proposers' Day. In the meantime, we're going to hit the junkyard and see what we can cobble together.

DARPA envisions disposable SeeMe satellites for on-demand reconnaissance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iRobot 110 FirstLook hands-on (video)

Brian Heater — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:03:00 EST

iRobot's Bedford, Massachusetts headquarters is literally crawling (well, rolling) with robots of all shapes and sizes, from friendlier household fare like Scoobas and Roombas, to the 450-pound Warrior battlefield 'bot, which patrols the perimeter, looking for mock IEDs. The highlight of our trip this week, however, had to be the time we spent with 110 FirstLook. Sure, durability is job number one, when you're building products for the military, but the plucky little robot takes things to a whole new level.

At five pounds, you can pick the thing up and toss it -- in fact, the company encourages such action. The FirstLook was built to be thrown into dangerous areas, and it's rugged enough to smash through plate glass windows to get there. The 'bot has a patch of skateboard-like grip tape on its top, opposite the bendable antenna, so you can easily grab it with a single hand. You toss the FirstLook side arm, like a frisbee, and no matter what side it lands on, the rubber treads will cushion the blow a bit. If it happens to hit the ground upside down (with the antenna on the bottom), the triangle wings on either side can be slowly extended in either direction to right the robot. Same goes for when it bounces down a flight of stairs, unharmed.

Gallery: iRobot 110 FirstLook hands-on

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iRobot 110 FirstLook hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA's solar-powered Juno mission heads to Jupiter today, Orbiter finds water on Mars? (video)

Amar Toor — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:27:00 EST

NASA's Juno mission has been beset by delays for a while now, but the solar-powered excursion is finally scheduled to take off for Jupiter today, in the hopes of making history. Throughout the course of its five-year journey, the "armored tank" spacecraft will be powered exclusively by a trio of solar panels, each measuring nine feet wide and 30 feet long. Close to Earth, these panels will be able to generate 14 kilowatts of electricity, but as Juno ventures deeper into space, they'll crank out only 400 watts. Power, however, shouldn't be an issue, as NASA has outfitted the craft with energy efficient onboard computers, and has drawn out a route that will maximize its exposure to the sun. Juno should arrive at Jupiter by 2016 and, if all goes to plan, will ultimately travel farther than any solar-powered craft ever has. The agency expects their creation to set the record in April 2017, when it should be about 507 million miles away from the sun, eclipsing the 492 million mile mark likely to be set by Russia's sun-juiced Rosetta craft, in 2012.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has just delivered new imagery of the Red Planet's mountains, providing perhaps the strongest evidence that water still flows there. The images reveal long, finger-like tendrils that extend down steep slopes, including the rims of craters. They appear during the summer and fade away once winter arrives, suggesting the presence of a volatile material. Researchers failed to identify water above ground, but speculate that briny water may be flowing underground. Launch past the break to see the images, in all their eight seconds of glory.

Continue reading NASA's solar-powered Juno mission heads to Jupiter today, Orbiter finds water on Mars? (video)

NASA's solar-powered Juno mission heads to Jupiter today, Orbiter finds water on Mars? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese ball drone knows how to make an entrance (video)

Sharif Sakr — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:39:00 EST

Japan's Ministry of Defense is pretty good at its hovering drones, but we're not entirely convinced that this one will be fit for purpose. The RC reconnaissance scout reminds us of a spherical Iain M. Banks Culture drone, which is neat, except that this one's more conspicuous, dies after just eight minutes and was constructed not by an intergalactic artificial consciousness, but by a bunch of geeks who went foraging for parts in Akihabara. Nevertheless, it can do 40MPH and is surprisingly agile, as you'll see in the video -- watch out for the kissogram moment.

Continue reading Japanese ball drone knows how to make an entrance (video)

Japanese ball drone knows how to make an entrance (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iRobot agrees to provide US Navy with bomb disposal and recon bots in a deal worth up to $230 million

Vlad Savov — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:24:00 EST

iRobot may still be best known as the creator of the homely Roomba vacuum-cleaning drone, but savvy readers will know the company's endeavors span a pretty broad range of robot-related activities. One of those has now borne fruit in the shape of a multiyear agreement with the US Navy for the provision of "portable robotic systems" that can identify and dispose of explosives while also performing a bit of reconnaissance work in their spare time. The announcement doesn't tell us the particular model(s) or number of bots that will be provided, but there is clarification to say that iRobot will be responsible for providing spares, repairs, training, and accessories along with the hardware, with the total revenue for the company potentially swelling to $230 million over the full course of the contract, which lasts through 2015. Our guess is that the "throwable" robot shown off a couple of weeks back would be a good candidate for this task, though we doubt it'll be thanking us for endorsing it for such perilous work.

iRobot agrees to provide US Navy with bomb disposal and recon bots in a deal worth up to $230 million originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan's Ministry of Defense shows off flying surveillance drone

Donald Melanson — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:58:00 EST

It may not be quite as menacing as some other surveillance drones, but this new flying contraption recently unveiled by Japan's Ministry of Defense should at least get the job done for what seems like a somewhat limited purpose. That seems to be primarily for short treks of less than 30 minutes into dangerous areas, where the drone can take advantage of its GPS tracking and "high power" cameras to relay information back to the pilots on the ground. Unlike plane-style drones, this one can also move up and down and in every direction, much like a quadrocopter. Head on past the break to check it out in action courtesy of Japan's NHK network.

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Japan's Ministry of Defense shows off flying surveillance drone originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SolarEagle will soar in the stratosphere for five years, kinda looks like a coathanger

Trent Wolbe — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:23:00 EST

We like airplanes, but we've always felt really boxed in by the short flight times fossil fuels force us into. Apparently DARPA was feeling the crunch too, so they've slid Boeing a cool $89 mil to develop a plane that stays in the air for five years. The 435-foot-wingspan'd SolarEagle will, unsurprisingly, use photovoltaics to help keep it at 65,000 feet, where Boeing spokesman Pat O'Neil says it will "perform persistent communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions," which we hope means it will just be hanging around doing "how's the weather down there" tweets all day long. SolarEagle's first demo flight is slated for 2014.

SolarEagle will soar in the stratosphere for five years, kinda looks like a coathanger originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LIDAR-equipped robot maps dangerous areas in 3D so you don't have to

Joseph L. Flatley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:53:00 EST

Looks like the kids at MIT might have a little competition for their LIDAR-equipped 3D mapping drone. Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology have teamed up with the University of Missouri-Columbia for a prototype robot that uses light detection and ranging (similar to RADAR, but with lasers) to map areas and send the 3D data to a nearby laptop. The technology not only provides detailed info on floor plans and physical structures (such as possible structural damage) but it can also "see" people inside a space. There are many possible applications for this, from spotting terrorists hiding in caves to seeing if your new internet girlfriend really looks like her profile pic, or -- and this is especially important in the modern era -- seeing if your new internet girlfriend is actually a terrorist (we wondered why she wanted that first meeting to take place in a cave). "Once you have the images, you can zoom in on objects and look at things from different angles," says Dr. Norbert Maerz, associate professor of geological engineering at Missouri S&T -- an ability that we wish we had while browsing PlentyofFish.com.

LIDAR-equipped robot maps dangerous areas in 3D so you don't have to originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3D mapping drone fires lasers from a mile away (video)

Vlad Savov — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:40:00 EST

The MIT Technology Review has unearthed a new laser-based 3D mapping robot that can produce results similar to those obtained from $100,000 systems at about a fifth of the cost. Funded by the US Army, researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology have now demonstrated the Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mapping System (ROAMS, for short), which employs a mirror-based LIDAR system that bounces a laser off a rapidly rotating mirror and gleans environmental information from how long it takes for each pulse to bounce back. An array of video cameras and IR proximity sensors add to this recon bot's sentience, though you'll still need to be within a mile's range to operate it. So not quite yet ready for solo missions to Mars, but plenty useful for gathering data on our own planet. You'll find video and imagery of the results this machine kicks out after the break.

Continue reading 3D mapping drone fires lasers from a mile away (video)

Filed under: Robots

3D mapping drone fires lasers from a mile away (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EATR robots are coming, this isn't funny anymore

Vlad Savov — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:02:00 EST

Oh sure, we joke about rogue AI all the time, and we're aware that we'll probably pollute ourselves to death well before the robots get us, but who really thinks flesh-eating machines are a good idea? The (patently evil) scientists behind the EATR project -- no fair, they're making their own jokes now too -- have reached a new milestone in the development of the reconnaissance bot, successfully coupling a steam generator with a compact biomass furnace. It is now therefore possible for an autonomous machine to forage for and refuel itself with biomatter, otherwise known as soft, pulsating, yummy humans. They call it fuel versatility, as gasoline, diesel, and solar power may also be used if available, yet we'll offer no prizes for predicting which energy source these chainsaw-equipped robots will prefer.

[Via Switched]

Filed under: Robots

EATR robots are coming, this isn't funny anymore originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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COM-BAT swoops in to gather data on reconnaissance missions

Darren Murph — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:41:00 EST

The University of Michigan's COM-BAT most definitely isn't the first mechanical animal to get its inspirations from the bat, but it's probably the best equipped to play a vital role in modern day warfare. A select group of Wolverines have been blessed with a $10 million grant from the US Army in order to concoct a "six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat [that] would gather data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time." Purportedly, the critter will eventually boast a bevy of sensors, miniature microphones and detectors for picking up nuclear radiation and poisonous gases. Even more interesting, creators are hoping to implement "energy scavenging," which would enable the bat to stay charged from wind / solar energy along with vibrations and "other sources." So much for being nocturnal, eh?

[Via UberGizmo]

Filed under: Robots

COM-BAT swoops in to gather data on reconnaissance missions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Air Force takes delivery of micro unmanned aircrafts

Darren Murph — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:12:00 EST

Shortly after the Navy announced its intentions to utilize unmanned combat aircrafts, the US Air Force is making sure it doesn't get left behind by taking delivery of "its initial BATMAV micro unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)." Among the diminutive crafts is a legion of Wasp IIIs, which have a wingspan of 29-inches, weigh in at just one-pound apiece, and carry integrated forward and side looking electro-optical color / infrared cameras. The backpackable devices are meant to be hand-launched and aim to provide "real-time video imagery to a handheld controller used by tactical units" in reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition missions. Now, if only these things had an ultra-lightweight chaingun strapped under each wing and were available at the local BX, we'd be sold.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Filed under: Transportation

US Air Force takes delivery of micro unmanned aircrafts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boeing's unmanned A160T Hummingbird helicopter takes flight

Darren Murph — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:12:00 EST

It's been a few ticks since we've seen Boeing send an atypical aircraft into the friendly skies, but the firm's latest helicopter has successfully completed a 12-minute test flight without so much as a pilot on board. The A160T Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft is a turbine-powered "warfighter" that aims to provide "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance coverage" in locales that could make even the most calloused veteran queasy. During its time in the air, it reportedly met every objective set for it, and while we've no idea how soon this thing will be lifting itself up, it'll eventually reach speeds of up to 140 knots and stay airborne for up to 20 hours before returning to base for a pat on the wing.

[Via The Raw Feed, image courtesy of SkyControl]

Filed under: Transportation

Boeing's unmanned A160T Hummingbird helicopter takes flight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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