DailyDirt: Weapons In The Sky

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Completely autonomous drones that can decide who or what to strike are still many years away from becoming a reality, but the military has already developed various unmanned aircraft that it's been using primarily for gathering intelligence (rather than for attacking targets). Here are a few more examples of some of the high-tech flying weapons that exist today.

• The $1.8 billion prototype Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator was recently launched into the air from a catapult. This marked the first-ever catapult launch of a drone from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. [url]
• The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, the most advanced stealth fighter jet in history, seems to have a problem with suffocating its pilots during normal flight. Since 2008, pilots would frequently and inexplicably suffer from what appeared to hypoxia -- in one case, a pilot hit a tree while landing and didn't even realize it. The cause of the problem was only recently identified as being due to a faulty valve on the pilots' life-support vest. You'd think that after spending almost $80 billion on these planes, it wouldn't have taken them almost five years to figure this out. [url]
• After 16 years and billions of dollars, the "Airborne Laser" project -- a 747 jumbo-jet equipped with a powerful laser that can shoot missiles out of the sky -- has finally been scrapped. Cost prohibitive and impractical, the Airborne Laser would likely have cost $92,000/hour to fly if it had worked. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: autonomous, aviation, drones, f-22, lasers, pilots, planes, prototype aircraft, weapons

DailyDirt: My Robot Lies Over The Ocean...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Autonomous robots are popping up everywhere. Some can fly, and some can drive. Others can swim across the ocean. Considering that there are still a lot of places in the oceans not yet explored, fish-like robots could gather amazing amounts of data and help us keep an eye on 70% of the Earth's (water-covered) surface. Here are just a few projects that are working on ocean-faring bots.

• Robot fish can mimic how real fish look and move -- and even be accepted into schools of real fish. If these robot fish can figure out how to become fish leaders, they could navigate large numbers of fish directly into fishing nets or away from man-made pollution. [url]
• A Raspberry Pi might be the brains of one of the first autonomous robot boats to cross the Atlantic Ocean without human intervention. This FishPi bot will be solar powered, propelled by a small motor (no sailing!) -- and hopefully it won't get eaten by anything on its trip. [url]
• Underwater gliders have already crossed the Atlantic and are being put to use for scientific, military and commercial applications. These robots are relatively cheap to make and could be produced by the thousands to monitor the oceans. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: autonomous, boats, fish, fishpi, locomotion, mimicry, raspberry pi, robots, sea gliders

DailyDirt: Underwater Robots For Fooling Fish & Finding Foul Waters

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The term "drone" usually refers to a robotic plane, but some robot researchers are developing underwater drones for exploring the oceans and going to some hard-to-reach underwater destinations. A few of these robotic fish projects also mimic real fish locomotion and appearance, so that the robots blend into their environment. Maybe someday these fake fish will replace the real ones in aquariums, and no one will notice....

• Get your own open source underwater robot capable of diving down to 100 meter depths for just $775 on Kickstarter. OpenROV runs on eight C batteries and runs for about an hour at 1m/s. [url]
• A fish-like robot inspired by notemigonus crysoleucas (a species of the Golden shiner) has been accepted into schools of the real fish. The creators of this robot envision the possibility of using remote-controlled fish robots to steer real schools of fish away from pollution (or maybe directly into fishing nets). [url]
• An ocean-going drone could help clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Marine Drone is a concept design for an autonomous robot that can collect plastic debris and other garbage floating around in the oceans. [url]
• The SHOAL project has developed a robotic fish that can detect pollution and monitor water quality. These autonomous robots can work together to cover a square kilometer area to a depth of 30 meters, running on rechargeable batteries that last about 8 hours, and the prototype robots cost about $32,000 each. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: autonomous, biomimicry, drones, fish, great pacific garbage patch, locomotion, openrov, pollution, robots, underwater
Companies: kickstarter

DailyDirt: Standing In The Alpha-Beta Parking Lot....

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

City planning in the future might have to take into account some technologies that sound like science fiction from the 1960s. Probably no flying cars, but there could be autonomous vehicles and less sprawl. Owning a car might not even be practical. In any case, parking lots will likely be long gone, and here are just a few links on some interesting parking situations.

• What goes well with a liveried chauffeur? Perhaps a parking spot that costs a million bucks. The first parking spot in NYC listed for $1 million is in a private garage at 66 E. 11th St. [url]
• One of the first automated parking garages opened in NYC in 2002 -- and it dropped a few cars before working out its bugs. But now, car owners don't have to worry about parking attendants (like Richard Edson) taking cars out for joyrides... [url]
• When cars can drive themselves, they'll just drop us off, circle the block and/or park themselves somewhere (hopefully in a good neighborhood). They could also meet up with their other robot-car friends at the automated parking garage and waste time chatting about power converters.... [url]
• To find some more bizarre/crazy stuff, check out some things that other StumbleUpon users have found. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: autonomous, cars, city planning, garages, nyc, parking

DailyDirt: Autonomous Vehicles

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Autonomous vehicles are getting better and better all the time as their software learns to navigate all kinds of terrain. Commercial airlines have been using autopilot systems for years, but nowadays more autonomous cars could be driving next to humans. It's either a really scary idea or a brilliant new way to commute. Here are just a few more links on robot vehicles that are being set loose.

• The 24 Hours of LeMons is an endurance race for clunker cars (no cars worth more than $500), but this year, they've added a prize for autonomous vehicles. The X Ceedingly Bad Idea Prize will award $50,000 to a driverless junker that can cross the finish line without hurting anyone. [url]
• Wired has interviewed several autonomous vehicle experts, which means a lot of hedged predictions on the future of self-driving cars on public roads. But automated airplane pilots seem to have gained more acceptance than replacing human drivers on the roads. [url]
• NATO troops in Afghanistan have successfully received resupply cargo from an unmanned helicopter. Kaman Aerospace's K-MAX can carry 3.5 tons of cargo about 250 miles, and it may help reduce human casualties (for one side of battle, at least). [url]
• To discover more interesting robotics-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

Filed Under: 24 hours of lemons, autonomous, cars, k-max, self-driving, unmanned helicopters, vehicles, x ceedingly bad idea prize
Companies: kaman aerospace

DailyDirt: Defend Yourself! (Or Give Peace A Chance...)

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is over)" song used to be routinely played on the radio towards the end of the year, but it seems that folks either "like" or "really hate" holiday songs (and that Baby Boomers are still in control of popular holiday music). In any case, if you received a shiny new "Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle" last weekend, here are some other advanced weapons that you might shoot your eye out with.

• Automated attack drones might sound like science fiction, but lethal autonomy is becoming more practical as technology provide better sensors and recognition software. Landmines already kill indiscriminately, so "smarter landmines" are better, right? [url]
• Build your own laser pistol at home, you scruffy-looking nerf-herder! Remember: Do not look at laser with remaining eye. [url]
• If you think Tasers are effective non-lethal weapons for police officers, then check out Photonic Security Systems' SMU 100 laser rifle which is designed to (temporarily) blind people from up to 500m away. Just watch out for rioters carrying around big mirrors.... [url]
• To discover more interesting tech-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: autonomous, diy, drones, lasers, non-lethal weapons
Companies: photonic security systems

DailyDirt: Robotic Planes... Seriously, And Don't Call Me Shirley.

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Human pilots get tired and need sleep -- and some airline pilots get some rest at "crash pads" when they're off duty. Knowing that might not be too comforting to many passengers, but who's willing to let a robot fly a few hundred people around? Autonomous planes are getting more advanced all the time, though mostly for unmanned missions with aircraft that couldn't possibly carry people on board. Maybe someday we'll have autonomous Jetson-cars... in the meantime, here are a few links to some interesting UAVs and flight automation.

• Northrop Grumman's X-47B is an autonomous combat aircraft that aims to be launching from and landing on aircraft carriers in a few years. Another trick will be aerial refueling, eliminating the limitation of onboard fuel capacity. [url]
• Would you believe the CIA developed a dragonfly robot in the 1970s as a super-secret intelligence gathering tool? Would you believe they also developed mobile phones hidden in shoes? Robotic fish? Cone of silence? [url]
• Last year, a solar-powered plane broke all the non-stop endurance records by flying for a week -- and it could have stayed up indefinitely. Cheap solar planes to replace telecommunication satellites would be a nice next step. [url]
• The safety of flight automation is being studied -- finding out that both human error and automation errors can cause serious problems. Nobody's perfect. [url]
• To discover more cool sites about aviation, check out what's currently flying around StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: autonomous, cia, dragonfly, pilots, planes, solar-powered
Companies: northrop grumman

DailyDirt: More Robot Helicopters

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Autonomous vehicles are just plain cool. Sure, there are robot cars that can drive themselves around -- but flying robots are really the bots to watch. In just a few years, little autonomous helicopters will be everywhere... watching your every move. Okay, maybe Big Brother isn't going to use flying cameras, but kids' toys are going to be really impressive soon. OLPC will be nothing compared to the programmable toys that will be in more and more homes. Just imagine a living room filled with blinking 12:00 clocks.... hmm. Anyway, here are a few more autonomous helicopter videos for your amusement.

• MIT has an indoor autonomous helicopter that can go where there's no GPS available. Even in unfamiliar buildings, this bot can map its indoor environment... and it looks like it'd be a great companion in a laser-tag arena. [url]
• At another university, Stanford's autonomous helicopter can go outside and learns how to fly by watching a human pilot. This isn't a quadrotor bot, so it's gotta fly with a bit more skill to perform its aerial stunts. [url]
• The University of Pennsylvania has a quadrotor bot that flips and can jump through hoops. If this bot turns into Skynet, at least it'll be easily overpowered by some Velcro.... [url]

Filed Under: autonomous, helicopters, quadrotors