Crave

A scientist demonstrates a piece of flexible display made with stainless-steel foil.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army has committed to renewing its partnership and providing another $50 million to Arizona State University's flexible-display research facility, the university announced on Thursday.

That brings the Army's total investment since the Flexible Display Center (FDC) started in 2004 to $100 million.

The announcement comes in conjunction with a two-day event in Tempe, Ariz., near ASU, in which the U.S. Army and Flexible Display Center plan to showcase their progress to the public.

So why is the military so keen on flexible displays?

It's all about information and communications...and possibly profit.

A mock-up of a roll-out electronic map provides just one creative example of how flexible displays might be useful to the U.S. Army.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

Flexible displays are paper-thin electronic screens that can be bent, mounted onto objects, and sewn into clothing. Soldiers could easily wear them on their sleeves or wrists, and use them to receive critical data in real time in the form of instructions, photos, or maps.

In addition, flexible displays can be made more durable than regular LCD screens, allowing them to get banged around in combat and still work. They also consume only a fraction of the power of LCDs.

That doesn't just make them good for the military; it also makes for cool tech products.

That commercial value is something the military, ASU, and its partners clearly have in mind.

I haven't seriously played America's Army in about three years. By "seriously," I mean I was once obsessed, played as much as I could, and felt like I couldn't get enough. It was kind of a precursor to World of Warcraft for me.

I remember one week coming down with a really bad case of the flu and staying home from work for five straight days. That week was a highlight for me with this game, and it was then that I fell in love with levels like Pipeline and Bridge.

As good as the setting looks, I'm much more excited about how new and creative the level design may be.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

Since then, I've only played every few months when a new patch releases. But news released this week could bring me back more frequently. The U.S. Army announced that the much-anticipated America's Army 3 would be released sometime this year, however it hasn't stated exactly when.

America's Army is a free, downloadable, first-person shooter for the PC and Mac. The game was first released in 2002 using the original Unreal engine. Since then, the game has received numerous updates and upgrades, including new levels, weapons, and gameplay features.

A new test to screen blood donors for hepatitis C (HCV) is showing promise, having scored the highest against five other systems during an evaluation by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, according to developer OraSure Technologies.

When there's a shortage of blood for transfusions on the battlefield, medics turn to the Walking Blood Bank, i.e. any available soldier. However, short of prescreening every potential donor or using other time-consuming methods, there has been no way to be sure that a donor is disease free (PDF).

The company already offers a test for HIV, and now it looks ready to wrap up the HCV market. The test, known as OraQuick, reportedly delivered results "approximately three days sooner than available laboratory-based enzyme immunoassays and approximately 16 days earlier than the next most sensitive rapid HCV test."

The evaluations used both plasma and blood specimens and even proved effective with new infections. "Early detection of seroconversion is an important measure of the sensitivity of a test and means that hepatitis C infection can be identified even with relatively recent exposure," boasts OraSure Technologies.

Hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer and affects approximately 4 million people in the U.S. alone, most of whom do not even know they're infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Internationally, there are approximately 3 million to 4 million new HCV infections each year, making it one of the world's fastest-growing diseases, according to some estimates.

The product is undergoing clinical trials to obtain Food and Drug Administration approval for the test utilizing oral fluid, finger-stick and venous whole blood, plasma and serum specimen types, according to a company press release.

Laser technology may yet yield the weapons of the not-so-distant future, but the future is certainly not now.

For the moment, it's all R&D business as usual. Earlier this week, both Boeing and Northrop Grumman put out statements about their ongoing work on U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator, or HEL TD. And for Boeing, it was also a chance to crow about a contract win: $36 million to continue its work on a HEL TD design.

The work on the HEL TD is intended to lead eventually to a truck-mounted laser weapon that could shoot down rockets and artillery shells.

(Credit: Boeing)

With that money, Boeing says it will first finish its design work, and then move on to building and testing a ruggedized beam control system on a heavy-duty truck (specifically, the Army's Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck). The defense contractor finished the preliminary design of the beam control system earlier this summer. Boeing also plans to develop the systems-engineering requirements for the complete HEL TD laser weapon system.

Northrop Grumman, for its part, this week said that it has completed all preliminary design review requirements for a rugged beam control subsystem for the HEL TD.

Testing of the beam control systems, with low-power lasers, is expected to take place somewhere around 2010.

Eventually, the HEL TD work will be joined up with the work being done separately on a high-energy solid-state laser--the namesake element of the laser weapon system. The SSL is expected to be in the 100-kilowatt class.

But the lead times are long on projects like this. "Due to resource constraints, we are targeting somewhere in 2016 time frame for a limited deployable system," said Bill Gnacek, HEL TD program manager for the U.S. Army.

The laser weapons platform that emerges from the HEL TD program is intended to target rockets, artillery shells, and mortar rounds.

Boeing is also working on a similar project called the Laser Avenger--a Humvee-mounted laser weapon system that would direct its light beam at more Earth-bound targets such as roadside bombs and other unexploded ordnance. The Laser Avenger, a variation on the existing, Stinger-missile-equipped Avenger air defense system, is internally funded by Boeing.

August has been something of a landmark occasion for Boeing and its laser weapons projects, which have been notable for their slow progress. Earlier this month, the company said it had done the first ground test of the entire weapon system in its Airborne Tactical Laser aircraft, which fired its high-energy chemical laser through its beam control system. Boeing expects to fire the laser in flight at a ground target before the end of this year.

The NLOS-C howitzer can fire six rounds per minute and has a fully automated armament system, meaning it requires just a two-man crew.

(Credit: BAE Systems)

For components of the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems program, two key rites of passage are field trials at a military base in the West and a field trip back East to Capitol Hill.

Next week, the Army will bring prototype 1 of the Non Line of Sight Cannon, or NLOS-C, to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., just in front of the Capitol, for its public debut. The NLOS-C is one of eight different manned vehicles in the still evolving FCS plan. All of them will share a common (if not identical) chassis.

The FCS vehicles are notable in part because they're designed to use a hybrid diesel-electric engine system. An electric motor drives the tracks that propel the vehicle, as well as run all internal systems, drawing power from batteries charged by the diesel engine.

The NLOS-C junket to D.C. on June 11 follows a May demonstration on Capitol Hill of some other FCS components, including unattended ground sensors, that are part of what the Army refers to as "Spin Out 1." Given that the FCS road map spans the better part of two decades, with full operational capacity for the whole shebang planned for the far-off 2017, the Army has begun work to get discrete elements out to the field faster.

Lawmakers in Washington regularly get treated to displays of big-budget projects in development as project backers seek to justify a continuing flow of federal funds. The vastness--and vast expense--of Future Combat Systems has made that program particularly susceptible to criticism and to the threat of cutbacks.

In late May, Gen. George Casey (right) and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., check out an NLOS-C prototype being assembled by BAE Systems in Minnesota.

(Credit: BAE Systems, via U.S. Army)

"Sustaining support for the program over these next two critical years, I think, is probably our greatest challenge," Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, told Defense News in a story published Monday. "That is why it is important that the real capability is coming out now. It allows us to show that what we have been working on for the last decade is starting to bear fruit."

The Army plans to deliver the first of the NLOS-C prototypes to the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona by December, with four more arriving there by early 2009 and then three more (for a total of eight) later in the year. Work at Yuma will include mobility, safety, reliability, and gun-firing tests. The main gun on the system is a 155-mm howitzer that can fire six rounds per minute.

The NLOS-C requires a two-man crew, down from the four soldiers needed for similar existing howitzers, in part because of its fully automated armament system.

The testing of the NLOS-C, which is being assembled by defense contractor BAE Systems, is set to run through 2010 ahead of a critical design review that year and a 2011 date for prototypes of the other FCS manned vehicles to be delivered. The Army expects the NLOS-C to be ready for fielding to combat units in 2014.

Casey told Defense News that it is premature to say whether the FCS manned vehicles could be fielded early, describing the hybrid electric engine technology as "borderline revolutionary." He continued:

The engine is on the side of the vehicle, on the left rear of the vehicle. It is about three-quarters the size of Bradley (armored vehicle) engine. All it does is generate electrical power. One, you don't need as much fuel. Two, it is very quiet. We watched it drive by today and 100 yards away you could not hear it, which is significant. We're still working on storage capacity of this; as a technology, it needs to come up a little bit more, but I think there is huge potential with the hybrid electric drive.

Fielding for the Spin Out 1 components, meanwhile, is set for 2011. Those components include the seismic/acoustic unattended ground sensors; the Non Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS), which holds six to eight rockets; and the "B kit" of the networked and software-based Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radio (JTRS GMR). The B kits will be used on existing Humvees, M1 Abrams tanks, and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

This summer, the Spin Out 1 items will be in the hands of about 1,000 soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas, for testing.

The SPARK mine roller system is meant to detonate improvised explosive devices before they can do serious damage to a vehicle and its occupants.

(Credit: Tardec/U.S. Army)

Since very early on in the war in Iraq, U.S. troops have been finding new ways to protect themselves against explosions from roadside bombs: up-armored Humvees, heavy-duty MRAP vehicles, and a wide array of add-on gear.

For good reason, the U.S. Army has seen fit to honor some of those creations and adaptations among its annual list of top inventions. This year, the 2007 Army Greatest Invention winners include a mechanism called SPARK, designed to detonate roadside bombs--also known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs--before they can do too much damage to a vehicle, and HEAT, a training device to help soldiers learn how to escape a Humvee overturned by an explosion or other mishap.

SPARK is short for "self-protective adaptive roller kit," a mine roller system that attaches to the front or rear of a vehicle. It works by applying downward pressure in order to trigger IEDs before they're underneath the vehicle where their explosions are most devastating.

The HEAT mockup lets soldiers get a feel for a Humvee rollover in a safe environment.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

HEAT is the Humvee egress assistance trainer, a full-scale mockup of the vehicle interior that can be rotated through 360 degrees by an electric motor. It simulates a rollover and lets soldiers practice opening their safety harnesses and exiting through doors or hatches, even when upside-down or at an odd angle. It is now a required training stop for all soldiers and for some Defense Department civilian employees who will be serving overseas.

Both projects were led by the Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, or Tardec.

The full top 10 Army Greatest Inventions of 2007 have yet to be made public; an awards ceremony is planned for June 12.

For last year's winners, including anti-IED devices and the Buckeye aerial imaging system, which produces stunningly crisp photos, see "Photos: Army touts top tech inventions."

(Credit: Universal Detection Technology )

What happens in Vegas could be contagious; but don't worry, despite the recent ricin scare on the Strip, your chances of dying from exotic poison or a bio-engineered infection are pretty slim - even at the buffet.

Still, companies are betting their R&D budgets that the government will ante up to protect you from the toxin de jour. Their odds are good. Universal Detection Technology received a rush of orders for its ricin detection kit after a man was found in critical condition in a Las Vegas motel room with a case of suspected ricin poisoning.

"Although no direct links to terrorism has been yet drawn in this recent case in Las Vegas, it is important to note that hazardous materials in the hands of domestic terrorists can be a very serious threat," said UDT CEO Jacques Tizabi. His company stands "positioned to capitalize on opportunities related to Homeland Security."

Not long ago, super staph (AKA Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) replaced "flesh eating bacteria" in the public's imagination as the most gruesome of killer bugs. For that, UDT licensed and commercialized a technology designed to detect microbial buildup in closed-loop environments like the International Space Station. It's now marketed as the Microbial Event Monitor, a kind of smoke detector for airborne bacterias like super staph.

Let's get medieval. Salt Lake City based Idaho Technology (ITI) sells FDA approved kits that detect plague (Yersinia pestis) and Tularemia (rabbit fever). Both are classified by the CDC as Category A, bioterrorism national security risks. Relax, even the company admits it's highly unlikely you'll step in something and contract a naturally occurring dose of either. But ITI scored big when DOD selected its Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS) as "the" platform for I.D.ing pathogens associated with bioterrorism.

Next up ITI will seek FDA approval for a brucellosis detection kit. (It already has anthrax covered.)

Now for the big guns, Ebola and Marburg: Wonks from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have developed virus-like particles (VLPs) that protect monkeys 100 percent against both Ebola and Marburg and they're scaling up production in hopes of beginning clinical trials in humans in a few years, according to Science Daily.

You are more likely to be eaten by a Nile crocodile than bleeding out your eyeballs from Ebola, but why take chances?

(Credit: CDC Public Health Image Library)

Major Michael Pottratz of the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center demonstrates proper fitting of the immersive binocular HARV display at the AFCEA West 2008 conference in San Diego.

(Credit: Mark Rutherford)

For Army researchers looking to give robot operators new ways to "see" via unmanned ground vehicles on the battlefield one thing is clear, legacy video doesn't cut it anymore.

It's not just broadcast quality or resolution that needs improvement, but the level of "telepresence": the sense of increased situational awareness that allows a robot driver to shoot and move and make fast decisions.

One possible upgrade is the three-axis Head-Aimed Remote Viewer (HARV), a dome enclosed, three-axel gimbal-mounted camera that slews around to match operator head movement. Wherever the soldier/operator looks, the unit instantly rotates to focus on that area. The operator's visual perception through the immersive binocular display is one of actually being onboard the vehicle, according to Chatten Associates.

It's not like watching a TV screen; it's more like standing there looking through slightly tinted glasses. Head-aiming capitalizes on the visual processing capability of the human mind yielding results that are three to four times faster than an ordinary pan/tilt systems with flat panel displays, according to the company. (See videos here.)

(Credit: Chatten Associates)

The way it stands now, operators must swerve the bot from side to side using a joystick to get a quick look around. But in this case, the operator's head position controls both the UGV sensors as well as where its weapon system is aimed. Head-aiming is twice as effective as the joystick-aiming, where tests showed that 15 percent of the hostile targets identified were actually friendly forces, according to Chatten.

The HARV includes optical and digital zoom, night vision, infrared illuminators and pointers, and stereo audio. It can also be controlled by a joystick, or a mouse control mounted on an infantryman's weapon's handgrip. This means the operator can keep his head up and not have to take his hands off his weapon.

Another attempt to improve robotic vision by Picatinny Arsenal - a super wide, fisheye lens called WARVVS (Wide Angle Robotic Vehicle Vision System). Seen here at West 2008 mounted on a SWORD UGV. A number of these units have already been delivered to Iraq and Army researchers are waiting for troop feedback on their effectiveness.

(Credit: Mark Rutherford)

(Credit: Northrop Grumman )

Despite the pickup truck and cow catcher styling, the prototype of the military's new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) from Oshkosh Truck and Northrop Grumman promises better maneuverability, survivability, and payload capacity over the HMMWV it's designed to replace.

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps want something that comes armor-equipped, fuel-efficient, and air-droppable. It also wants a vehicle that can run on two flats and endure sustained small-arms fire. But most of all, performance must "exceed" that of the HMMWV, better known as the Humvee--which means it has to be more mine-resistant and ambush-proof than the flimsy Hummers plying the roads of Iraq today.

However, the Defense Department's decision to buy 6,800 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) as "interim" replacements to armored Humvees may mean that troops won't see the new JLTV until 2012, according to National Defense.

At least 18 other manufacturers are contributing elements or developing prototypes to compete for the next-generation of lightweight vehicles that will replace the Humvee, including General Tactical Vehicles, Hadas, Intermap Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Magna Powertrain, Mistral, ODF Optronics, Precision Remotes, Remote Reality, Reynolds Fasteners, Robertson Aviation, Rockwell Collins, Tai, Tesla Industries, and VSE, according to Defense News.

The companies agreed that if they are selected for the JLTV program, Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector will be the primary contractor and systems integrator, while Oshkosh Truck's Defense Group will be responsible for designing, engineering, and manufacturing the vehicle, according to a joint statement.