Military tech

You're one-half the brains behind a hit TV show, you've developed special effects for Hollywood for years, and you appear on T-shirts and are known as a positive nerd role model. Great, but what do you do with your spare time?

If you're Jamie Hyneman of the show "Mythbusters," you put your formidable brain power to use helping the U.S. military come up with next-generation lightweight vehicle armor, that's what.

And he's doing just that, reportedly coordinating with the Office of Naval Research to help develop the armor to be used on vehicles in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hyneman's task is to come up with an ultra-lightweight armor that won't encumber vehicles, but can still withstand shrapnel and blast damage from improvised explosive devices while protecting those inside the vehicle. … Read more

"Fire the laser!" may sound like something straight out of "Star Wars," but that phrase could one day be common on U.S. Navy ships.

Northrop Grumman and the Office of Naval Research recently concluded a series of successful solid-state laser defense firing tests aboard the decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer USS Paul F. Foster (a remotely driven self-defense test ship). The Maritime Laser Demonstrator zapped away at an assortment of objectives at the Pacific Ocean Test Range off the central California coast, including land-based targets and remotely driven small boats that traveled at various speeds.

It was the first time a laser of such strength had been fired from a moving ship at sea. This is also the first system to be integrated with a Navy ship's radar and navigation system, ensuring a much higher level of accuracy. The U.S. Navy collaborated with the Office of the Secretary of Defense's High Energy Joint Technology Office and the Army's Joint High Powered Solid State Laser program to bring this once-imagined weapon to life. … Read more

Durable, rugged, and stylish are words that don't often go together, especially when laptop bags are involved. Industrial designer Spencer Nikosey, who's based in Los Angeles, may change this perception with his range of backpacks and satchels for portable computers.

As part of his Killspencer brand, Spencer designs and makes bags that range from messenger satchels to a large carryall, all with specialized laptop or iPad compartments. Some models standout models include his Special Ops Backpack and Desert Sand iPad 2 Case, the former fitting laptops not larger than a 15-inch MacBook Pro.

What sets Killspencer bags apart are the tough materials they're said to be made of--military fabrics from various wars. There's Korean War-era cotton canvas, a material used by soldiers in the 1950s; desert sand-coated cotton canvas used in the Vietnam War; and our favorite, a military truck tarp that's been "used in combat."

Like Acme Made, another well-known premium laptop bag manufacturer, Killspencer carriers command a premium. The iPad 2 Case will set you back $150, while larger models range from $285 to $450. The bags are available online and ship internationally.

(Source: Crave Asia via Uncrate) … Read more

Smugglers sometimes use freight containers to get people into foreign countries. TiaLinx has a new radio frequency detection system that penetrate the stuctures' steel walls and "hear" even the slightest breath.

The California-based defense contractor keeps churning out UAVs and robots that can detect breathing targets, and its Owl1-A system can be deployed on cargo cranes that load and unload containers.

The Owl uses very sensitive ultrawide band radio frequency beams that penetrate walls and reflect off human bodies. An integrated digital signal processor gets the data and results are displayed on the operator's laptop.

TiaLinx says the system can be used for air, sea, and land shipping, and may reduce the need for large, expensive X-ray scanners. The scanner is light enough for handheld use, the company says.

It might also be great in a game of hide-and-seek. … Read more

TOKYO--Japanese authorities are planning to use a Honeywell T-Hawk micro air vehicle to check radiation levels at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, while unmanned drone helicopters from France are also joining the effort.

Small enough to fit in a backpack, Honeywell's T-Hawk can do vertical takeoffs and landings and hover in place while monitoring a target. The U.S. government apparently proposed it for checking radiation levels at spent nuclear fuel pools at the plant, according to a Kyodo News report.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been trying to cool the spent fuel in the pools with water. Radiation around the pools is believed to be very high, hindering workers' efforts to restart cooling systems. There are over 10,000 spent fuel rods at the site.

The 17-pound T-Hawk can fly to 10,000 feet and work in 20-knot winds, with a top speed of 46 mph and operating time of 56 minutes. It can operate autonomously or by remote control. Check out the vid below for details. … Read more

Retired U.S. Navy sonar experts have helped create a novel portable device to detect, diagnose, and monitor strokes. The brain-imaging system uses a simple headset and laptop--and decades of submarine technology--to home in on brain activity that signifies trouble.

The headset is equipped with six highly sensitive accelerometers. Instead of peering out through the rounded bow of a submarine, they are oriented inward toward the brain.

The brain's machinations (veins expanding and contracting, aneurysms wobbling) each have their own unique vibrations that cause slight skull pulsations. The headset sensors measure these movements to look for irregular blood flow in much the same way submarines measure motion and generate signals that are processed, analyzed, and matched to objects.

Data on the type and location of brain vascular abnormalities is then rapidly sent to the PC.

"As sonar sorts out whales and other objects from vessels, the device sorts out cerebral abnormalities such as aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs, an abnormal connection between veins and arteries), ischemic strokes, and traumatic brain injury from normal variations in physiology," said Dr. Kieran J. Murphy, director of research and deputy chief of radiology at the University of Toronto and University Health Network in Toronto, in a release (PDF).

Murphy is presenting trial data on the device--developed by Mountain View, Calif.-based Jan Medical--at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago this week. … Read more

The average American uses GPS to navigate a road trip or find cheap gas on the way home from work. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army has long been busy coming up with ways to harness GPS for warfare. Soldiers in Afghanistan have a new, very dangerous GPS gadget in their arsenal: 120mm GPS-guided mortars.

The Army loves acronyms, of course, and as such the GPS shells are known as APMI, or Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative cartridges. Translation: Fast Accurate Bombs, but FAB wasn't going to fly as a nickname for these weapons.

The usual method for using mortars is … Read more

iRobot is introducing a new pint-size spybot that users can throw or even submerge in water before it starts roving around and doing surveillance.

The 110 FirstLook is a rugged little remote-controlled machine that's 10 inches long and weighs less than 5 pounds. It has four cameras and IR lights for night work, as well as a pair of flippers to overcome obstacles and right itself (see vid below).

With a top speed of 3.5 mph, FirstLook can roll around for 6 hours per charge or operate for 10 hours while stationary. It's controlled from a wrist-mounted touch-screen remote, seen above. … Read more

Just when you thought you might be able to outrun the Cougar20-H surveillance robot that can detect human breathing, developer TiaLinx has launched a flying version that can do the same.

The Phoenix40-A is a mini-UAV with six rotors that can detect motion and breathing when searching for hidden people.

Like the Cougar20-H, it has an ultra-wideband radio frequency sensor array and can also detect motionless live objects. It also has video cameras for site surveillance.

Developed with U.S. Army funding, the Phoenix unmanned aerial vehicle can be remotely controlled from ground or air with a laptop or joystick, … Read more