Military tech

Robots will play a greater role in fighting wars in the future, and BigDog wants a piece of that action.

BigDog is both the silliest and scariest military robot out there. The recent video below from creator Boston Dynamics provides a retrospective on the DARPA-funded quadruped, which is designed as a load-carrying mule for soldiers.

The vid shows six years of BigDog evolution from 2004 through 2010. The 240-pound, all-terrain cyber-canine can tackle slopes up to 35 degrees, rubble, snow, mud, and water, and can carry a 340-pound load. That's handy since the average soldier load has increased dramatically in recent years.

You can't hear it in the video, but it sounds like a go-kart because it runs on a one-cylinder Leopard go-kart engine.

Its sensors include stereo vision, GPS, a gyroscope, and LIDAR--you can kick it and it'll keep on trucking. The machine once set a record for traveling 12.8 miles without stopping or refueling. It can run at speeds up to 4 mph.

No doubt BigDog is impressive, even awesome in its relentlessness, but also ridiculous. Boston Dynamics once had fun "weaponizing" the brute, perhaps inspired by that jocular BigDog Beta video by a pair of spandex-clad parodists.

One serious follow-up to BigDog is the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), also designed to lighten the load for dismounted troops.

"That machine will carry 400 pounds of payload on 20-mile missions in rough terrain, where wheeled vehicles can't go," says Marc Raibert of Boston Dynamics. "We have a lab prototype that we will show soon, and expect the first field prototype ready in summer 2012."

And since Boston Dynamics is working on other animal robots for the military that could conceivably run as fast as 70 mph, it's hard not to wonder whether BigDog could have the last laugh and the joke will be on us. … Read more

Technology development firm Cambridge Consultants has created a military targeting system that can track 5-inch shells traveling more than 1,000 mph, allowing gunners to improve their shooting.

The system, which the company calls the first of its kind, is based on a 3D holographic radar known as the Land and Surface Target Scorer (LSTS). It can track highly mobile targets in a cluttered radar field.

In recent trials at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, the radar system was mounted on a tethered pontoon to track projectiles in a 360-degree, 1,000-foot coverage zone.

The LSTS tracked the trajectory and burst points of inert projectiles fired by a naval gun at a rate of one per three seconds. A laptop showed the results in near real time. … Read more

A New Hampshire company says it has developed a stealth boat that can reduce water friction by a factor of 900 by producing a layer of gas around its underwater hull.

Juliet Marine Systems recently released photos of its Ghost boat, claiming it can travel up to 60 mph. The craft could be used to protect Navy and other ships from pirate attacks and other enemies.

The Ghost produces an effect in the water called supercavitation. Seen in some torpedoes, it can occur when an object moves fast enough through water to lower the pressure and create a gas bubble, reducing drag.

Juliet says the Ghost is the first supercavitating craft of its kind, and a 150-foot version is under construction in collaboration with a defense contractor. … Read more

If you're going to fight an Islamic insurgency, you'd think there would be more practical tools than an airship.

But that's just what Thailand has been using to track militants in its restive southern provinces. Its manned Aeros 40D Sky Dragon, manufactured by California-based Aeros, has again run into technical trouble, making an emergency landing in the south's Pattani Province recently.

The Sky Dragon developed propeller problems and began losing altitude. It sustained some damage in an emergency landing, but no one was hurt, the Bangkok Post reported.

The 350 million baht ($11.7 million) U.S.-built craft has been seen as a boondoggle in Thailand due to problems with equipment and delays in delivery. It was returned to Aeros last year following major leaks, according to the paper.

Because the warranty has expired, the Royal Thai Army will have to pay for repairs.

The airship has a rigid structure and is thus not a blimp, and it measures 11.6 yards wide by 51 yards long. It's supposed to fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet with a top speed of 54.6 mph. Its operational range is 348 miles.

The military has been using the dirigible for surveillance in the insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives. It's been equipped with high-def night cameras and communications systems. … Read more

Qinetiq North America today launched a more compact, lighter version of its Dragon Runner military robot that can be thrown into hostile environments to reconnoiter before troops move in.

Weighing about 10 pounds and measuring 15 inches long by 13.5 inches wide, the DR10 can be transported in a pack and easily deployed in the field. It's controlled with a wearable interface and has sensors that allow it to operate day and night.

The machine is meant to support small military units and first responders, and can carry out IED disposal missions and conduct surveillance.

As seen in the promo vid below, the DR10 can be configured with different payloads such as cameras, sensors, and robotic arms, and can move on tracks or wheels. It will automatically flip its video images, antennas, and controls after being thrown. … Read more

DARPA this morning launched a rocket carrying what's hoped to be an unbelievably fast unmanned plane that can fly at 13,000 mph, an unprecedented speed that would take it from New York to Los Angeles in less than 12 minutes and potentially deliver a military strike anywhere in the world in under an hour.

Designed to explore long-duration hypersonic flight, the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) was launched aboard a Minotaur IV Lite rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

It's expected to glide through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific at up to Mach … Read more

Instead of human divers, the Army has used a robotic underwater vehicle to help recover and destroy more than 300 pounds of explosives found off Hawaii in an area that was a dumping ground for munitions after World War II.

Working from a barge, operators deployed the remotely operated underwater munitions recovery system (Roumrs) over Ordnance Reef, an area off the Waianae Coast of Oahu.

Equipped with lighting, scanning sonar, and video cameras, the off-the-shelf ROV has force-feedback manipulators that mimic hand and arm movements of its operator. It recovered 74 pieces of exploded ordnance and 2,300 small arms munitions, clearing most of the area, the Associated Press reported. … Read more

Boeing is formally joining an effort to give directed-energy capabilities to U.S. Navy machine guns through a BAE Systems effort to develop the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System.

The technology will unite a solid-state, high-energy laser weapon module with BAE's Mk 38 Mod 2 gun system. It will add adjustable levels of laser energy to counter threats such as small boats and UAVs.

"This is revolutionary--to combine kinetic and directed energy weapons capability into one system," says Boeing spokesperson Elizabeth Merida. "Adding the laser system provides extremely precise targeting ability."

The tie-up … Read more

The Office of Naval Research is testing a robot Jet Ski that uses sonar, radar, and video to patrol harbors for terrorist threats.

The Blackfish was developed by military contractor Qinetic and is basically a modified Jet Ski, according to a Discovery News report. It's mainly intended to deter swimmers bent on attacking U.S. military vessels.

The remote-controlled recon device is 10 feet long and can cruise at up to 40 mph on a hydro-jet. It can also move slowly enough to detect swimmers.

The Blackfish has a 1-kilometer range but can run a course around GPS waypoints. Weaponry could be added to the system.

"In both domestic and foreign ports, there's great concern about swimmers approaching the boats underwater," the report quotes Mark Hewitt, senior vice president for maritime and transportation for Qinetiq North America, as saying. "The Navy has been working on the problem for some time." … Read more