This is an interesting concept from Israel's Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies.
It is designed to carry up to 4 casualties, and fly up to 10,000ft high at speeds of 150kts.
So what happens when there is no-one with the casualty to load him into the UAV?
| 
|
It may only be 4" across (diagonally) and 320x240 pixels at the moment but this flexible transparent OLED display has massive implications for how we use and interact with technology in the future.
No more pecking away at a smartphone or trying to use a tiny keyboard and 5" screen on the latest ultra-ultra-portable device: just unroll your full size monitor and keyboard and work productively.
Want to check your email, the latest twitters, or surf CNN? easy, the monitor is on your sleeve.
Time to watch TV? just roll down the blinds on your window and the TV rolls down with it.
Troops in Iraq being able to check each others locations on an overhead map display sewn into their uniform and the nearby medic getting the same view with vital signs superimposed.
Ok, we're still a long way from anything like that but the prototype being shown off by LG and Universal Display is a big step in the right direction.
Press Release follows.
| |
Yes it's an AC-130 Hercules with a frickin laser beam but officially it is known as the "Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser" and it's alive and working after many years of development.
Last week the chemically-powered laser was fired successfully 50 times in ground tests, and now the plane is being prepped for a flight test before the end of the year where it will silently zap a bunch of cars and buildings from inside a rotating turret at ranges of more than 10 miles away.
The main downside to this laser is that is is chemically powered, which means that vats of nasty toxic chemicals get stored on the plane, but if this system is proven to be successful then it will be a good interim weapon until we have electrically powered lasers strong enough to do the job.
| |
Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT) is a charity that runs a program called "Segs 4 Vets" where they help injured servicemembers (including many amputees) regain their mobility through the donation of Segways and training in their use.
As of December 31st 2007 DRAFT has given 81 Segways and they hope to present another 250 in 2008.
I don't ask for donations from my readers to help maintain this site (the google ads on each page take care of that) but I would like to take this opportunity to ask anyone reading this to considering donating to DRAFT and helping give something back to those that have sacrificed almost everything for their Country.
This ladies and gentlemen is the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle. The Reaper is currently deployed over the skies of Afghanistan (and occasionally Pakistan).
Not content with just spying on the bad guys like it's older brother the Predator, the Reaper is used to actively hunt down Taliban insurgents and Al Qaeda terrorists with it's 4 hellfire air-to-ground missiles and 2 laser-guided bombs.
The Reaper is 36ft long, has a wingspan of 20ft, normally flies up to 25,000 ft high at speeds of up to 250mph, and can stay in the air for up to 28 hours. Unit cost is around $8m.
High-tech American gadgetry keeping the terrorists cowering in caves instead of planning attacks on civilians around the world. I love it!
| |
Ok, it isn't bullet-proof and it can't fly but Raytheon's Sarcos Exoskeleton can carry 200lb and is agile enough to climb stairs.
It isn't really practical yet and appears to be connected to power and computer via a thick set of cables but they have come a long way since they started on the exoskeleton in 2000.
My guess is that in about 10 years we will see these deployed with our military - not as laser wielding Terminators but as cargo loading assistants as in the movie Aliens.
(large photo gallery at raytheon)
| |
People look at Topol-M ICBM passing by during a rehersal for the nation's Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 5, 2008. Victory Day, in honor of the end of WWII, will be celebrated on May 9. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER NEMENOV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)
The Topol-M missile is 75.5 feet long, 6.4 feet in diameter, weighs 104,000lb, is know in the west as the SS-27 Stalin, and carries six 550 kiloton nuclear warheads.
This version with a mobile launcher entered service in 2006 and between silo and mobile launched Topol-M missiles there will be 62 in service by the end of 2008.
The Topol-M has a range of 6,900 miles and is thought to have propulsion enhancements designed to help it avoid US anti-ballistic missiles.
| |
The British Royal Navy's new Astute class of attack submarines are doing away with the traditional periscope and instead will be fitted with an optronic mast designed by Thales UK.
The mast (SHU: Sensor Head Unit) will pop-up, capture a 360-degree scan of the surrounding area, and disappear back beneath the waves before enemy ships have a chance to detect it. It is pressure-proof, can operate in a wide range of temperatures, is blast hardened, and contains stabilized high-performance cameras and optics as well as environmental sensors.
(via gizmag)
| |
DARPA has announced two test flights of it's Hypersonic Technology Vehicles next year in May and October.
Both will be launched by Minotaur solid-fuel rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base and will impact near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.
If these flights are successful the next flight demonstrator may be the reusable Blackswift plane and we will be a step closer to getting anywhere on the planet in just a few hours.
(via flightinternational)
| |
PC Magazine recently got sent a destroyed hard drive by eDR solutions to show off their hard drive crusher.
The hard drive crusher drills a hole through the spindle of the hard drive which according to eRD "creates ripples in the platters making it impossible to recover the data".
This 19" x 13.5" x 12" gadget runs off a standard AC outlet and can destroy 60 drives an hour with the actual crushing taking just 10 seconds.
The hard drive crusher costs $11,500 plus an extra $895 for a hand pump to use if the power is out. For that sort of money they seem to be targeting the military and embassies as customers.
I know how I destroy hard drives: I take them to the range and put about 20 7.65x51mm NATO rounds through them - it's fun and I know the military can use the same solution and spend $10 on ammo instead of $11,500 on a crusher.
(via gearlog)
| |
A couple of days we told you about i-LIMB - a bionic hand that is already being used by disabled servicemembers, and now another bionic hand has shown up on the scene.
The Fluidhand seems to have similar features to the i-LIMB and we say the more bionic hands out there helping amputees lead more normal lives the better (and I for one welcome our new bionic overlords!).
| |
Touch Bionics is showing off their prosthetic hand that looks to be almost as good as the real thing. The best thing is that the case study they use on their website is a former US Army soldier injured in Iraq.
The i-LIMB is the first fully articulating bionic hand that is commercially available (for $17.5k) and has 5 individually power digits controlled my myoelectric muscle signals from the remaining part of the users arm, each digit also has advanced sensors that determine the correct amount of grip to use in order to hold something without crushing it.
Lets hope more of these find their way to injured servicemembers.
Read about US Army Sgt Juan Arredondo at Touch Bionics
(via ubergizmo)
| |
A major difference between the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and previous wars is that in these wars we have been able to save a vast number of injured soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who would otherwise have died from their injuries.
This is due in part to better protective gear and in part to the excellent prompt medical care our troops receive.
The downside to this is that we have high numbers of badly injured servicemembers who need ongoing medical care along with assistance adjusting to injuries such as severe burns and loss of limbs.
With that in mind that Defense Department just launched a really worthwhile program: establishing the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine with a five-year $250m budget to "harness stem cell research and technology in finding innovative ways to use a patient’s natural cellular structure to reconstruct new skin, muscles and tendons, and even ears, noses and fingers".
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the war on terror our servicemembers put their lives on the line for every American and they deserve the best care and rehabilitation money can provide.
(full press release after the jump)
| |
ShinyPlastic is brought to you by Search Network and edited by Mark Mitford:
Mark is a thirty-something guy living near Boston who loves to own the latest gadgets from brilliant to bizarre and from commonplace to cutting edge.
He used to work as Group Product Manager at a $20 billion Nasdaq 100 technology company so he knows what it takes to create a top gadget or product and make it a success.
Companies don't pay to have their products mentioned here, we are honest and open in our reporting, and this site is supported solely through online advertising.
If you like ShinyPlastic please bookmark us or subscribe to our feed.
