The armor works via piezoelectrics, which essentially turn mechanical energy into electricity (and vice versa). Two piezoelectric sensors are placed within the armor, one that turns a small electric charge into a tiny vibration, and another that turns the vibration back into an electric charge. If the armor plate is damaged, some of the current won't be recycled at the second sensor, and a computer can then tell exactly what shape the armor is in.
But the smarts don't stop there. Different bullets register different amounts of electricity with the piezoelectric sensors. Using data from those electric charges, TARDEC researchers are developing complex algorithms that can determine what size round is striking the armor, giving soldiers the added benefit of knowing what kind of weaponry the enemy is packing. Meanwhile, though the amount of electricity generated from each bullet strike is very low, researchers are looking at ways to harness it, perhaps using it to power other kinds of sensors.
The combination of knowing what the enemy is throwing at them and what kind of damage it's doing should help soldiers make better battlefield decisions. Though currently being developed for body and ground vehicles, the technology could easily be integrated into naval vessels and aircraft, making the whole of America's fighting fleet a little bit smarter.
]]>What you gonna do when the sea lions come for you?
The sea lion demonstrated his minesweeping skills by swimming down to a fake mine and putting a clamp onto the device, so that handlers from the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific could reel it in. The sea lion has also learned to attach leg cuffs to enemy divers, immobilizing them and allowing human sailors on the surface to pull in the intruders. A special sea lion harness can also carry cameras that provide live underwater video.
The U.S. Navy has now begun using its sea lions to patrol for terrorists or other underwater saboteurs at a base in Washington State.
The fine Navy tradition involving sea mammals also includes using dolphins to mark underwater mines during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Daily Telegraph notes that the Navy's ranks now include 28 California sea lions, 80 Atlantic and Pacific bottlenose dolphins, and a Beluga whale.
Now Hollywood just needs to add sea lions, dolphins and Navy lasers to a revised underwater fight scene ala Thunderball, and it has the next Bond film's climactic piece.
[via The Daily Telegraph]
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The project, dubbed “News At Seven,” goes beyond simply regurgitating news stories gleaned from the Web. The system can generate opinionated content like movie reviews or pull the most relevant facts from a box score to pen a hometown sports story. The AI is even learning to crack wise, injecting humor into reports. But don’t take our human-generated word for it, check out the NSF video below.
]]>What's this real-world alert doing in my Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer session?
The Emergency Management Office hopes to expand the screeching alerts beyond TV channels and radio, given that many among the younger generations now spend their time gaming instead. That plan was announced last week at the Interop technology conference in New York City.
The initiative comes as part of a broader New York State program that goes by the name of Empire 2.0. Other fun parts of the program include monitoring Facebook posts to try and spot early signs of suicidal behavior, and dispensing info to the public via Twitter. Homeland Security has also begun using the online game Second Life to train 700,000 first responders.
This probably gives new meaning to the Bad Boys 2 quote, "Sh*t just got real."
[Information Week] via Gamasutra]
]]>European reentry technology to launch from a Russian missile sub for its maiden flight test
A superconducting coil would generate the magnetic field that envelops the spacecraft and protects its leading edge during reentry. Then comes the test: a Russian submarine-launched ballistic missile called the Volna would loft the experimental flight into suborbital trajectory, so that the test vehicle could dive back into the atmosphere at Mach 21.
The technology's development is headed by Aerospace giant EADS Astrium, which has also tinkered with an orbital debris shroud and a gravity tractor to deflect killer asteroids. Both the German DLR space agency and the European Space Agency have also signed onto the project.
NASA has played with inflatable heat shield technology that could cut down the weight load for Earth or Mars missions. But the U.S. space agency would probably also join in our excitement over the impending debut of Europe's magnetic variant.
[Flightglobal via The Register]
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Rossy disappeared from live television feeds just a few minutes into the flight; he was next seen swimming next to his parachute in the Atlantic as a rescue helicopter prepared to winch him out of the drink. He appeared to be unhurt, but the reason for his ditching is unclear; the Twitter feed following the crossing noted clear skies and calm sea, though it also reads "winds were certainly difficult today."
Rossy had planned to cross the 24 mile expanse across the Strait of Gibralter at 140 mph after leaping from a jump plane over Tangiers, Morocco. He should have arrived at his landing site at Atlanterra in southern Spain 13 minutes later, but that landing will have to wait for another day (and perhaps another wing).
The 6.5-foot carbon-fiber wing straps directly to Rossy’s back, is powered by four small jet engines and is controlled by the shifting of his body, so needless to say, there was plenty that could have gone wrong. Before the flight, Rossy told the media “there’s always plan B. I can ditch the wing and open the parachute. If I land in the water, there are people to come get me.”
Unfortunately, it was a plan B kind of day.
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Now, thanks to the Takanishi Laboratory at Waseda University in Japan, robots have learned a new trick: how to jam.
Waseda University had created robots that play musical instruments before, but simply replaying a recorded piece wasn't enough. Researchers created an algorithm that allows the robot to combine visual cues from its cameras with audio cues from its mics to actually respond to a human partner. So far, the robot can only mimic what a human plays, but eventually, the researchers hope the robot can begin improvising and deviating from mimicry. One day, this bot will really swing.
In the video below, a human saxophone player plays a couple of notes, and the robot responds. The playback isn't perfect, and the robo-flutist hardly gives Roland Kirk a run for his money, but this is the first step towards a truly hep bot.
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Continuing a student project she began at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Rapacki has created a cheap robot arm that can serve as a door-opening assistant to wheelchair bound humans, or as the primary arm for mobile robots. The trick was finding the right material for the fingers, something hard enough to grasp the handle, but supple enough fit a range of shapes.
Rapacki created the arm to use only one motor, utilizing a slip clutch to allow the arm to twist and push (or pull) at the same time. Altogether, the arm only cost $2,000 to build.
Now if only she could do something about the height of elevator buttons...
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The Iraqi and Afghan conflicts have challenged conventional training simulation methods, in which simulations are based upon anticipated battle scenarios rather than actual conditions in the field. But in the two current conflicts, the enemy changes his tactics, munitions and methods often; the Taliban fights one way, Al-Qaeda may fight another, and no two IEDs need be exactly the same to produce casualties.
The joint training counter-IED operations integration center connects with troops remotely via military networks or deploys trainers that bring the latest intel and simulations to the field. Using surveillance videos from actual IED attacks, they can turn around a 3-D simulation in a week – some in just a few days – based on the latest insurgent tactics. If the insurgents change their methods, the programmers simply alter the game to mirror those changes, giving soldiers a more realistic training experience.
For instance, working with these simulations drivers in a convoy can familiarize themselves with routes through an area while learning the telltale signs of the particular IEDs most recently used there. If insurgents have recently switched from burying their devices to stashing them in waste bins, that change can be programmed into the game, preparing soldiers for the specific mission at hand. The counter-IED training team is even integrating pyrotechnics into the games to enhance the simulations. And you thought Modern Warfare 2 was cool.
]]>The Plymouth Rock project could be a stepping stone to Mars
While neither NASA or the White House has signed off on -- or even offered funding to study -- such a mission, briefing charts put together by Lockheed Martin, maker of the space agency's next-gen passenger spacecraft, detail how a mission might work. It's not as far-fetched, or far away, as one might think, with a mission to an NEO possible in a 2020-2025 time frame.
In Lockheed's scenario, aptly titled "Plymouth Rock," a two-person Orion craft would hook up with an unpiloted sister craft loaded with extra water, oxygen and other supplies. Orion would not land on the NEO itself, but would post up nearby while astronauts use jet backpacks to reach the object's surface. That's right: jetpacks.
Once there, scientists could gather compositions samples of the rock and set up other scientific equipment that could be left behind on the NEO. That information would be extremely valuable to science, not to mention give scientists the upper hand should a worrisome rock ever come hurtling directly toward earth.
Right now it's only an idea on a briefing board, but both NASA and aerospace industry wonks feel like the mission is not only feasible, but could offer invaluable experience as a stepping stone between current low earth orbit excursions and forays deeper into space.
Did we mention there will be jetpacks?
[SPACE]
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