Wednesday, February 27, 2008

YouTube - Flyborgs

 

Noel Sharkey Professor of computer science is demonstrating autonomous behavior, evolution and swarming.  His work might be more interesting from the point of view of evolution than it is for robotics. 

 

YouTube - Flyborgs

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Killer robots pose latest militant threat: expert | Reuters

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Killer robots could become the weapon of choice for militants, a British expert said on Wednesday.

Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield said he believed falling costs would soon make robots a realistic option

Killer robots pose latest militant threat: expert | Reuters

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Air Force Technology - Neuron - Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle Demonstrator

 

Neuron is the European Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator for the development, integration and validation of UCAV technologies and is not for military operational deployment. Dassault unveiled a life-size model of Neuron at the 2005 Paris Air Show. The operational UCAV is expected to be a larger design than the Neuron demonstrator.

Air Force Technology - Neuron - Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle Demonstrator

 

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Dying Satellite's Toxic Danger: Way, Way Low | Danger Room from Wired.com

This note backs my suspicion that this is a military maneuver.   

I continue to maintain that the Bush Administration should make public the real calculations of the risk.  NASA published such  estimates, by the way, for the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory — placing the probability that someone would be killed in an uncontrolled deorbit at 1 in 1,000.  (Thanks to Yousaf Butt at the Union of Concerned Scientists for pointing this out.)

Dying Satellite's Toxic Danger: Way, Way Low | Danger Room from Wired.com

US: Satellite Shoot-Down Not Offensive - washingtonpost.com

 

In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies abroad, diplomats were told to draw a clear distinction between the upcoming attempt and last year's test by China of a missile specifically designed to take out satellites, which was criticized by the United States and other countries.

"This particular action is different than any actions that, for example, the Chinese may have taken in testing an anti-satellite weapon," McCormack told reporters. "The missions are quite different and the technical aspects of the missions are quite different."

Other than intent, he said the key difference is that the Pentagon's planned shoot-down will be done at a much lower altitude than that of the Chinese, whose 2007 destruction of a satellite left a large debris field in orbit. The U.S. plan, it is hoped, will leave little in the way of debris that could complicate efforts to place future satellites in orbit.

U.S. officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, persuaded President Bush to order the shoot-down.

For my own part, I believe this is an anti-satellite test in retaliation for the test by the Chinese.  It is amazing that this hydrazine fuel that has been used many, many times comes up as an issue in this situation, and that we have no other solution than blowing the satellite to pieces. 

 

US: Satellite Shoot-Down Not Offensive - washingtonpost.com

Live Search Videos: uss lake Erie

 

Live Search Videos: uss lake Erie

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

ABC News: New Weapon in U.S. Arsenal: 'Small' Bomb

smallDiameterBomb 

The latest weapon in the arsenal of the U.S. Air Force is the Small Diameter Bomb, or SDB. As its names suggests, it is a very small bomb, carrying less than 40 pounds of explosives.

This is a reflection of a more information specific warfare.

ABC News: New Weapon in U.S. Arsenal: 'Small' Bomb

 

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Friday, February 15, 2008

US to Try to Shoot Down Spy Satellite - washingtonpost.com

This is a test of the US ability to shoot down satellites, a key ability in war with any peer competitor.  Words to the contrary are just that.  No one can seriously believe that the presence of hydrazine, which according to wikipedia has been used in rockets since World War II is the reason for this shoot down.  It is a step in the direction of war capabilities in near space. 

Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, persuaded President Bush to order the shoot-down.

US to Try to Shoot Down Spy Satellite - washingtonpost.com

 

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

NewsDaily: TopNews -- Russian bomber buzzes Nimitz

 

The Russian Tupolev 95 propeller bomber flew over the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier twice early Saturday, the Daily Mail reported Monday. The British newspaper noted the incident came amidst diplomatic salvos Russia has tossed regarding U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic that Moscow considers inflammatory.

This must be music to the ears of the military/industrial complex.  Our old predictable enemy is back.  Extremely expensive military toys that have the advantage of never really being used can be justified again.  The language of the old, cold war soldiers is being spoken. 

NewsDaily: TopNews -- Russian bomber buzzes Nimitz

Monday, February 11, 2008

VIDEO: Israel Aerospace Industries Heron UAV in flight-29/06/2007-London-Flightglobal.com

VIDEO: Israel Aerospace Industries Heron UAV in flight-29/06/2007-London-Flightglobal.com

UAVs SubscribeYou are in: Home › UAVs › News Article DATE:11/02/08 SOURCE:Flight International Israel special - Israel broadens UAV use with advanced designs By Arie Egozi Future manned aircraft procurement programmes will have to be adjusted based on the capabilities of advanced unmanned aircraft vehicles now under development, the Israeli air force admits. Most of the UAVs under development in Israel and in use with the IAF are highly classified, and will stay that way for years to come. "The UAVs that the Israeli armed forces are using on a daily basis are a super force multiplier," says a senior source at the Israeli ministry of defense, adding that some of the programmes make UAVs "not just a substitute for manned aircraft, but a tool with dramatically enhanced capabilities". Investment In addition to programmes funded by the MoD, Israel's two main manufacturers, Elbit Systems and the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries, are investing their own research and development money in advanced UAV systems. One partially unclassified project is IAI's Heron 2 or Heron TP. The IAF is test flying this large UAV, which it has dubbed "Eitan". According to an IAF source, the test flights will continue through 2008 "before series production begins". Industry and air force sources frequently refer to UAVs as a satellite substitute, and when the prototype Eitan was unveiled in late 2007 at Tel-Nof air force base it was fitted with what appeared to be the housing for an advanced multi-sensor payload. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop, and 13m (43ft) long with a wing span of 26m, the Eitan has a maximum take-off weight of 4t. The aircraft is designed for autonomous take-off and landing, a feature of most UAVs developed in Israel. Sources estimate the Eitan has an endurance of over 70h and a ceiling of 45,000ft. Its composite fuselage is designed to carry large-volume payloads, and the new UAV will perform some long-range missions now accomplished by manned IAF aircraft.

Welcome to www.dailyrecord.com - Morris County - Soldiers using anti-armor weapon developed at Picatinny

 

The M72A7 is a lightweight, shoulder-launched, disposable munition meant to defeat lightly armored vehicles and other hard targets at close ranges. It fires a 66mm high-explosive, anti-tank rocket. With a weight of approximately 8 pounds and a length of about 30 inches, it allows rapid engagement of stationary and moving targets to a maximum range of 350 meters, according to Gary Barber, team leader and project officer for Shoulder-Launched Munitions at Picatinny.

Welcome to www.dailyrecord.com - Morris County - Soldiers using anti-armor weapon developed at Picatinny

Monday, February 04, 2008

WSMR says unmanned vehicles ready for frontlines



Unmanned vehicles will be seen on the frontlines sooner then expected with the acceleration of unmanned systems evaluation at White Sands Missile Range.


The U.S. Army Program Manager of the Future Combat Systems announced


Jan. 17 that the Future Combat Systems Brigade Combat Team will start evaluating and training Soldiers to use the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle and the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Originally these systems weren't scheduled for evaluation until 2011, but under the accelerated program evaluations will begin early this year.


The Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle, nicknamed the packbot, is a compact remote vehicle that can enter confined spaces and buildings and transmit video back to provide soldiers with tactical intelligence. The Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a compact man-portable air vehicle that can provide video feeds to soldiers, providing them with a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. Both vehicles have had a lot of positive reviews from soldiers using preproduction versions in Iraq and Afghanistan.


While both unmanned systems have preproduction variants already seeing combat in Iraq, these new versions will have increased functionality that will provide


The Class I UAV will be upgraded with an early version of the Army's Joint Tactical Radio System. The JTRS is an advanced radio system that according to Boeing, which is developing the system, will allow the Army to establish an ad-hoc wireless network anywhere in theater. Unlike normal radios, this new system will be able to transmit virtually any kind of data, allowing even the smallest tactical unit to share information with nearly any other unit in the Army network. Mounting this system on the Class I UAV means that the UAV will be able to transmit real time video and fly above obstructions to extend the range of a unit's communications.


In total 25 Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles and 11 Class 1 UAVs will be evaluated on their abilities and effectiveness in the field. "Part of the evaluations will be leader training, where the Army will seek opportunities on how to use the UAV for such operations as route clearance and base security," said Richard Fisher, deputy product manager future force unmanned aircraft systems.





Army leaders will begin to learn how to fight with these weapons. 

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