(Credit:
ODF)
Release the fleas! SWAT and other urban assault teams could soon be deploying packs of all-seeing, hopping robots armed with mini missiles to ferret out the bad guys.
The EyeDrive unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) uses remote-controlled 360-degree panoramic video technology and a patented Point & Go sensor guidance mode to run down and "instinctively eliminate" human targets at ranges of up to 90 feet, according to ODF Optronics.
Built-in navigation allows multiple units to work in robotic unison, thus doubling, and even tripling, indoor reconnaissance capacity, according to the Israel-based company. In fact, the standard kit comes with two complete units. It could replace K-9s in attack mode and other dangerous duties (PDF).
This 5-pound all-terrain mini mite can be tossed--or dropped--from up to about 10 feet and is dual-side operable, which means it's self-righting. The "hopper" feature is optional. It allows the EyeDrive to hop over 3-foot obstacles, enhancing its observational capabilities, according to the developer.
ODF plans to produce an armed version in cooperation with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, another Israeli outfit, that could carry up to 16 miniature rockets. What constitutes miniature? Four .3-inch diameter rockets in a quad launcher only weigh a little over half a pound, and that includes 40-gram warheads.
The USS Winston S. Churchill follows a suspected pirate vessel in the Indian Ocean.
(Credit: U.S. Navy)Pirates have grown mighty bold around the Horn of Africa of late--so bold that the Navy is reportedly considering the deployment of 30-foot, armed robo-boats to challenge the dusty buccaneers. Surely they'll mend their ways.
Pirate RPG round stuck in metal hull. No word on how Hypalon inflatable tubes would hold up to similar abuse.
(Credit: U.S. Navy)The Navy began testing the Israeli Protector unmanned surface vehicle (USV) last year. There is a civilian version of these rigid-hulled inflatables built by Rayglass Boats in New Zealand, a common enough sight around any harbor that's even used as the official chase boat for the America's Cup. But you'd hardly equate these with the unmanned version.
Extensively tweaked by defense contractors RAFAEL, BAE Systems, and Lockheed Martin, the Protector looks to be a full-on armed plug-and-play, anti-terror surveillance and reconnaissance marauder (PDF). It comes equipped with a stabilized mini-Typhoon, remote-controlled weapon station (PDF) cameras, radar equipment, and Toplite electro-optics.
And in this corner: Somali pirates generally operate out of a brace or more of what look to be 6- to 9-meter outboard-driven, open-fishing skiffs. Armed with RPGs and AKs, they either surround and intimidate a ship into stopping or lure them in with false distress calls, according to the International Maritime Bureau. In any case, it seems fair to assume that they would dearly like to get their hands on a remote-controlled Protector.
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