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ICYMI: DARPA's drone snatcher and Pokémon: Minecraft edition
Today on In Case You Missed It: DARPA unveiled a UAV recovery systems that can catch a 1,000-pound drone but still fit comfortably in a standard 20-foot shipping container. The SideArm, as it's called, uses the same arresting-wire system that full-sized military jets use aboard aircraft carriers -- just, you know, upside down. We also take a look what happens when modders manage to stuff a full Pokémon game (in this case, "Cobalt and Amethyst") into the Minecraft universe. Modder Phoenix SC reportedly spent 31 months creating the add-on. It contains a brand-new storyline, 136 new Pokémon and about 70 hours of gameplay. Just make sure you catch this unofficial addition to the Pokémpire before Team Nintendo arrives. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @engadget or @mskerryd.
DARPA's SideArm system snares drones from mid-air
Even the longest-loitering drone needs to land sometime. But rather than risk damaging these multi-million dollar aircraft on improvised battlefield landing strips or aboard US Naval vessels, DARPA is developing a novel drone recovery system that snatches them out of mid-air.
Nova Mobile debuts rugged SideArm 2 UMPC
Nova Mobile seems to have been churning out a series of incremental upgrades to its original SideArm UMPC for a good long while now, but the company looks to be making a fresh start at CES, where it is set to debut the all new Side Arm 2. Like the original, this one is a fully ruggedized device, and includes a 7-inch touchscreen display, a full QWERTY keypad, an unspecified Atom processor, built-in GPS, a promised 10+ hours of battery life, and a wide range of configuration options, including SSD drives up to 64GB and optional 3G connectivity, to name a couple (WiMAX is apparently also on tap for Q2). No word on a price just yet, but you can be sure that Nova Mobile isn't going after a piece of the netbook market with this one.
