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US Army will test a smart grenade launcher that hits hidden targets
After years of work, Orbital ATK (born from Orbital Sciences) is close to delivering a clever weapon that could help American soldiers in very tricky situations. As of early 2016, the US Army will start acceptance testing for the XM25, a smart grenade launcher that can defeat enemies behind cover. In normal use, all you have to do is point at an enemy (up to 1,640 feet away) and let the XM25's laser rangefinder decide when your grenade explodes. If a target is hiding, however, you can dial in extra distance (up to 2,300 feet away) and explode the grenade in mid-air. Troops theoretically don't have to expose themselves to line up a shot -- they just pick a close-enough point and pull the trigger.
US Army's new anti-drone gun blasts UAVs from a kilometer away
Engineers at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey successfully concluded a demonstration of its new anti-UAV platform recently by, you guessed it, blowing a pair of airborne drones clean out of the sky from a kilometer away. However, unlike other anti-drone weapons like the Phalanx or C-RAM systems which throw walls of hot, explosive lead at incoming threats; or the laser-based HEL-MD, this new weapon takes a more old-school approach: lots of big friggin' bullets.
ICYMI: portable laser cannons, robotic tackling dummies, and fungus furniture
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It, Boeing unveils a drone-destroying laser cannon the size of a travel trunk. Also up, North Korea shows us all how calisthenics are done, a guy makes an ottoman out of mushrooms, and Dartmouth College unleashed a robotic tackling dummy upon its football team. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd. And if you just want to heap praise on your handsome guest host, feel free to hit him up @mr_trout.
US Army wants to send small, cheap satellites to space
The military has been conjuring up one idea after another in an effort to improve its personnel's ability to communicate, such as putting LTE on a ship and launching a WiFi router to space. This time, the US Army is in the midst of testing nanosatellites that will provide coverage for soldiers' radios wherever they are. The Army's having trouble providing a means of communication between soldiers in rural areas, and these small satellites called SMDC-ONE (ONE stands for Orbital Nanosatellite Effect) can solve that issue. "It's basically a cellphone tower in space," Dr. Travis Taylor, a senior scientist of the Army's space division said, "except it's not for cellphones, it's for Army radios." His team made sure SMDC-ONEs are tough enough to survive harsh conditions, but since the devices are small, they could still be displaced by space junk or ruined by adverse space weather.
Military AI interface helps you make sense of thousands of photos
It's easy to find computer vision technology that detect objects in photos, but it's still tough to sift through photos... and that's a big challenge for the military, where finding the right picture could mean taking out a target or spotting a terrorist threat. Thankfully, the US' armed forces may soon have a way to not only spot items in large image libraries, but help human observers find them. DARPA's upcoming, artificial intelligence-backed Visual Media Reasoning system both detects what's in a shot and presents it in a simple interface that bunches photos and videos together based on patterns. If you want to know where a distinctive-looking car has been, for example, you might only need to look in a single group.
Army exoskeleton prototype helps soldiers learn to shoot
Foot soldiers thrive on their shooting skills, but learning expert marksmanship can take a long, long time. US Army researchers could soon have a robotic shortcut to improving those skills, however. They're working on MAXFAS, an arm exoskeleton that uses cable-activated arm braces to correct involuntary arm shakes while you're shooting -- think of it like a stabilized camera. The carbon fiber body is light enough that it doesn't weigh you down, and it's smart enough to detect the differences between purposeful movements (such as aiming) and tremors.
The US military is developing Star Wars-style hoverbikes
Last time we heard from Malloy Aeronautics, it was testing hoverbike technology with a robot-carrying drone. A few months later, it's partnering with a Maryland-based defense company to develop a hoverbike for the US military. Working with Survice Engineering Co., the UK aeronautics company will set up shop in Maryland as part of "an ongoing research and development contract." The duo will also work with the US Army Research Laboratory on the project that aims to create "a new class of Tactical Reconnaissance Vehicle (TRV)."
Syrian government supporters hack the US Army's website
The Syrian government's digital supporters aren't letting up on their attacks against the US. Officials have confirmed that hackers linking themselves to the Syrian Electronic Army both defaced the US Army's website and steered visitors to a page championing the regime. The military rejects the intruders' claims that they compromised internal databases, noting that there's no classified or personal data at risk. Still, the Army isn't taking any chances -- it temporarily took down its website to make sure things didn't get any worse. However light the damage might be, it's safe to say that the feds' cyberdefense efforts just took another bad blow. [Image credit: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images]
DARPA to develop best practices for 3D printing
Just as steel's physical properties change depending on how it's produced, so too do 3D printed materials. However, unlike steel, we don't yet fully understand how different these newfound techniques affect the resulting printed item. Sometimes a printed item -- even if it's made from something common like aluminum -- ends up having a very different microstructure had it been created with traditional, subtractive methods. You can see an example of that below. Heck, even using the same material on different printer models can result items with wildly divergent properties. But DARPA is looking to change that. The DoD's advanced research agency announced Friday that it is launching an Open Manufacturing program to create comprehensive reference documentation for 3D printing and usher in an era of productive predictability.
'Ballistic Wallpaper' bombproofs US combat shelters
At a recent DoD Lab Day, the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) unveiled a unique defensive product. Dubbed "ballistic wallpaper," this amalgamation of kevlar fiber threading and flexible polymer film is designed to protect American soldiers when they take shelter in an urban warzone.
New military goggles combine nightvision and thermal imaging
Nightvision and thermal imaging play similar -- but very distinct -- roles on the modern battlefield. Soldiers utilize night vision to illuminate their darkened surroundings while thermal imaging is employed to illuminate darkened targets. But until now, soldiers have had to carry separate imaging systems for each, which negatively impacts how quickly they can switch optics and acquire their targets. BAE Systems, however, announced Monday a new kind of optic that packs the functionality of both into a single unit.
The US Army wants you to look at code it uses to spot cyberattacks
Believe it or not, the US government doesn't always keep its cyberwarfare code a secret. The Army Research Lab has quietly posted the source code for Dshell, a tool it uses to both spot and understand cyberattacks against the Department of Defense. The hope is that this open-door policy will not only help other countries and companies defend against hackers, but help improve the US military's own safeguards -- if you have a knack for digital security, you could spot flaws or offer improvements.
Hackers plead guilty to stealing code for unfinished Xbox games and military software
Surprise, surprise: the government doesn't take kindly to being hacked. The United States Department of Justice announced today that four members of an international hacking group have been indicted for stealing over $100 million of software and intellectual property, and two of the accused have already pleaded guilty. Using a mix of SQL injection and stolen passwords, the group reportedly hacked into internal networks owned by Microsoft, Epic Games, Valve, Zombie Studios and the U.S. Army. Their target? Video games and specialized pilot training software.
Future Army helmets make for cooler soldiers, terrified enemies
It's hard to look at the US Army's latest helmet and not think of Halo, but the design does serve a purpose beyond gaming chic. Its latest "soldier of the future" concept would not only protect grunts in high heat and humidity, but also shield them from chemical and biological agents. While much bulkier tech already exists for that, such a model would use a fan embedded directly into the filtration system to suck air from the side of the mask and blast it across the nose. Tests done on an M50 gas mask modified with the tech proved it to be just as effective as with bigger units, but more comfortable for GI's during intense drills. The design is just a render for now, but if the army is going to look to video games for design inspiration, we think they should go bigger.
MIT and US Army crafting uniforms with full-body fiberoptic sensors
Militaries want soldiers to carry an increasing amount of tech on to the battlefield, but that isn't necessarily convenient -- or comfortable. MIT and the US Army have started early work on uniforms with fiberoptic sensors that would alleviate much of that burden. By weaving in microfibers cut from a mix of specialized, fluidized materials, the partnership can build data links that cover the entire body without breaking or adding significant bulk. They could serve as basic elements of a communication system, but MIT has broader ambitions: the sensors could track wounds through heat signatures, and just might prevent friendly fire incidents by sending a don't-shoot signal when targeted with a laser sight. The fibers still have to get much thinner before the Army can offer smart uniforms as standard issue, but the wearable tech may keep soldiers nimble and, just possibly, save a few lives.
DARPA threat detection technology uses a camera to see targets, software and soldier brains to identify them
DARPA aids our military in myriad ways, from designing one shot, one kill weapons to creating robotic pack mules to carry soldiers' gear. It's also been building tools for soldiers to better survey their environment and identify threats, and its latest such tool is called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS). CT2WS is comprised of a 120-megapixel electro-optical video camera with a 120-degree field of view feeding a laptop running cognitive visual processing algorithms. Those algorithms identify potential targets in the video feed, which are shown to a soldier wearing an EEG cap that monitors brain signals. You see, the human brain is particularly good at perceiving threats, and CT2WS looks for the particular brain wave that occurs when we see one. The human component drastically improves the accuracy with which the system can identify enemies from afar. How accurate? Testing in desert, tropical and open terrain showed that without a solider/EEG filter, the system had 810 false alarms out of 2,304 threat events in an hour. Incorporating the filter resulted in only five false alarms per hour, plus it was able to identify 91 percent of the potential targets successfully. Not good enough, you say? Add commercial radar into the mix and the army becomes omniscient -- the system then identified 100 percent of the test targets.
Army seeking proposals for casualty-carrying UAVs
Combat is a grizzly business, and despite the best efforts of medical evacuation crews, it's not always feasible to send rescue teams into the fray. The US Army is seeking to address this with "autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)" (read: drones) for dropping off medical supplies and picking up injured troops. In its latest request for research and development proposals, the Army calls not for new tools, but for the repurposing of current aircraft to do the job. Preferred candidates in the already unmanned class include the A160 Hummingbird and the K-MAX, while one of the suggestions for remote-control modification is the infamous Black Hawk. Makes the AR.Drone seem a little wimpy, doesn't it?
US soldiers to wear blast sensors in Afghanistan, collect shock data
Starting next month, around one thousand frontline personnel in Afghanistan will begin testing the Soldier Body Unit, a sensor kit for recording the effects of explosions on the human body. While that's not the most pleasant of subjects, the blast sensors have been rushed out to collect as much data as possible before soldiers head home in 2014. The US Army's Rapid Equipping Force and the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which developed the sensors, hope to gather info on concussions and traumatic brain injuries to improve aftercare. This will also be used at source to stop super-soldiers heading back out after a concussion and increasing the probability of an even worse injury. Further sensors will be carried on military vehicles, to help measure the effects of IED blasts on passengers. Adding two pounds in extra equipment probably won't make the Soldier Body Unit too popular, but it's thought the kit could weigh in at half a pound once it's been refined.
Android Army: US soldiers to leverage portable battlefield network and smartphones
Smartphones: the future of wartime communication? That is the goal of the US Army through the development of its portable wireless network, dubbed Warfighter Information Network-Tactical or WIN-T. The Army hopes to leverage WIN-T to bring near-instant digital communication to the battlefield by outfitting soldiers with Motorola Atrix handsets running a heavily modified version of Android. An exposé by Wired explains that the system's main goal is information and intelligence sharing; between both soldiers and central command. Friendly troop positions, suspicious vehicles or persons and surveillance video from unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) can all be mapped and shared with servicemen and women in the field. It's been a dream of the Pentagon since the mid-nineties, but has only recently become monetarily and technologically feasible due to advances in smartphone processing power. It's nerdy, it's fascinating... and this is the stuff the Army is willing to talk about. Hit the source link for the full write-up.
US Army breaking up with A160 Hummingbird drone-copter, says it's too high maintenance
It's not me, it's you. The US Army's dalliance with Boeing's A160 Hummingbird drone got one step closer to Splitsville after the military branch issued a stop-work order for the project. Initially scheduled to see action in Afghanistan starting this July, the chopper-drone turned plenty of heads thanks to a DARPA-developed Argus-IS imaging system with a 1.8-gigapixel camera capable of spying on ground targets from 20,000 feet. The honeymoon period between the Army and the A160 is apparently over, however, thanks to a host of issues. These included wiring problems as well as excessive vibration that caused an A160 to crash earlier this year due to a transmission mount failure. The problems not only increased risk and caused delays, but also led program costs to helicopter out of control -- a big no-no given Uncle Sam's recent belt-tightening. In the meantime, the Army is reportedly checking out the K-MAX, though it's important to note that this unmanned chopper specializes in cargo and doesn't have the A160's eyes.