# Recent Warfare Technologies



## Antoine (16 Jan 2010)

Some links to new chemical technology reports. Some are probably sponsored by the US and or British military. How long between R&D and applications?

1-Tune in for sensitive explosive detection by Anna Roffey in _Highlights in Chemical Science_, Volume 2010, 02

Scientists in Japan and Ireland have synthesised a fluorescent organic molecule that detects explosive vapours. Tuning the self assembled structure enhances its sensing efficiency by nine times. 

Masayuki Takeuchi at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan and co-workers prepared a charge transfer molecule of binaphthyl functionalised with donor acceptor substituted stilbene. The stilbene has donor and acceptor functional groups and exhibits charge transfer fluorescence, but when in the presence of species with stronger electron acceptor properties, such as the nitro groups on the explosives trinitrotoluene (TNT) the fluorescence switches off. 

more can be found at http://rsc.org/Publishing/ChemScience/Volume/2010/02/Tune_in.asp

2-Lab on a piece of paper by Michael Brown in _Highlights in Chemical Technology_, Volume 2010, 01

Scientists in the US have made a low-cost, disposable paper device to test the purity of drinking water. 

George Whitesides, Zihong Nie and colleagues at Harvard University, Cambridge, US have designed a paper-based electrochemical device that can detect tiny concentrations of heavy metal ions in water. 

Heavy-metal ions such as mercury, lead, and cadmium are toxic, non-biodegradable, and can find their way into humans and animals via drinking water. Whitesides' device can detect lead in water at levels as low as one part per billon (ppb), which is much lower than the World Health Organization guideline value (<10 ppb) for the safe level of lead in drinking water. What's more, it only costs 2 cents to make and no qualified personnel or complicated instruments are needed to use them. 

more can be found at http://rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2010/01/lab_piece_paper.asp


----------



## Antoine (25 Feb 2010)

I am presently reading: Wired for war, by P.W. Singer, _Ed. Penguin Books_, 2009.

I was wondering what are you thinking about the book and also the topics discussed in it.

Cheers,

www.wiredforwar.pwsinger.com



> *Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century*
> 
> What happens when science fiction becomes battlefield reality?
> An amazing revolution is taking place on the battlefield, starting to change not just how wars are fought, but also the politics, economics, laws, and ethics that surround war itself. This upheaval is already afoot -- remote-controlled drones take out terrorists in Afghanistan, while the number of unmanned systems on the ground in Iraq has gone from zero to 12,000 over the last five years.  But it is only the start. Military officers quietly acknowledge that new prototypes will soon make human fighter pilots obsolete, while the Pentagon researches tiny robots the size of flies to carry out reconnaissance work now handled by elite Special Forces troops.
> Wired for War takes the reader on a journey to meet all the various players in this strange new world of war: odd-ball roboticists working in latter-day “skunk works” in the midst of suburbia; military pilots flying combat mission from their office cubicles outside Las Vegas; the Iraqi insurgents who are their targets; journalists trying to figure out just how to cover robots at war; and human rights activists wrestling with what is right and wrong in a world where our wars are increasingly being handed over to machines.



P.S.: I have changed the title of the present thread to make it more "topics inclusive" but I was not able to change the topic title.


----------



## Dean22 (26 Feb 2010)

Antoine said:
			
		

> I am presently reading: Wired for war, by P.W. Singer, _Ed. Penguin Books_, 2009.
> 
> I was wondering what are you thinking about the book and also the topics discussed in it.
> 
> ...



I watched an hour TV special on Wired for War and it was very interesting.

However, the two biggest problems that was said were:

1) Computer glitches that kill friendly soldiers such as the anti-aircraft cannon robot in South Africa that had a glitch and leveled it's firing arcs onto friendly troops

2) In a war waged by money, if the $30 dollar soldier with the AK-47 breaks a $1000 robot and he dies it's "worth it". 

Because it's oh so obvious that human life is not a priority of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.


----------



## Antoine (31 Mar 2010)

Body Armor, William G. Schulz, _Chemical & Engineering News_, March 29, 2010, Volume 88, Number 13

www.pubs.acs.org/cen/science/88/8813sci3.html



> High-tech ceramics protect soldiers from a wide range of ballistic threats:
> 
> Soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan face danger every day, but thanks to high-tech ceramics developed since the late 1960s, they have protection against numerous ballistic threats. In best-case scenarios, these ceramics can actually shatter a bullet upon impact, leaving nothing more than possibly a bruise on the warrior.
> "As threats change, armor has to change," says James W. McCauley, a materials scientist at the Army Research Laboratory who has studied and helped develop many of the armor ceramics in use today.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (14 Apr 2010)

Interesting take on manufacturing. Laying out parts of soft "wet" titanium hydride, folding them into shape and causing a chemical reaction to transform the part into titanium metal could result in large, seamless hull assemblies which are far lighter and stronger than any existing technology (among other uses)

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/04/printed-3d-titanium-wet-folded-origami.html#more



> *Printed 3D Titanium Wet Folded Origami*
> 
> The tiny origami crane sitting on a penny in the picture from University of Illinois professor Jennifer Lewis’ lab heralds a new method for creating complex three-dimensional structures for biocompatible devices, microscaffolding and other microsystems. The penny-sized titanium bird began as a printed sheet of titanium hydride ink.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (22 Apr 2010)

High speed comms using ordinary "twisted pair" wiring. I wonder if this technology can be applied to field wire, resulting in combat LANs which provide rich information feeds with a greater degree of security than radio and a lot less expense than fiber optic?

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25158/?a=f



> *Achieving Fiber-Optic Speeds over Copper Lines*
> 
> A 100-year-old networking trick could boost transmissions over telephone infrastructure.
> By Christopher Mims
> ...


----------



## Antoine (25 Apr 2010)

For hardcore Geeks  8)

Adrian Cho, Quantum Cryptography Hits the Fast Lane, _ScienceNow_, April 19, 2010

www.news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/04/quantum-cryptography-hits-the-fa.html



> Whether for online bills or military secrets, encryption schemes help keep digital communication secure. In recent years, physicists and engineers have been developing methods that transmit uncrackable encode messages in individual particles of light, or photons. Now, one team has taken such quantum cryptography a long step forward by demonstrating a system that’s fast enough to encrypt a video transmission. “From the applications point of view, it’s very important,” says Hoi-Kwong Lo, a physicist at the University of Toronto in Canada.
> 
> A digital message consists of a long string of zeros and ones and can be encrypted in many ways. For example, each bit can be added with one from a stream of random zeros and ones called the key. Adding the key once scrambles the message; adding it a second time unscrambles it. So long as two the people sharing the secret, say, "Alice" and "Bob," do not reuse the key, this “one-time pad” method is uncrackable. However, Alice must somehow pass the key to Bob without anybody intercepting it.
> 
> ...



Also more at: www.perimeterinstitute.ca/Outreach/Quantum_Tamers/The_Quantum_Tamers/


----------



## Antoine (9 May 2010)

A fuel cell that runs on water and air

Water and air make energy, _Highlights in Chemical Technology_ *2010*, 28 April 2010:

www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2010/06/water_air.asp



> A fuel cell that produces power using only water and a warm breeze has been developed by researchers in Germany. The cell could be used to power sensors and military monitoring devices in remote areas.
> Most fuel cells rely on the spontaneous formation of water from the combination of hydrogen and oxygen, with the energy produced determined by the changes in enthalpy between the anode and cathode. Storage of hazardous materials such as hydrogen, methanol or hydrides are needed to run these cells. Now, Emil Roduner and Andreas Dreizler at the University of Stuttgart have developed a concentration fuel cell that runs on water and air, making it cheap, safe and easy to refuel.
> In Roduner's system, water is oxidized catalytically to molecular oxygen, protons and electrons at the anode, while the reverse reaction takes place at the cathode. As in normal fuel cells, the cathode and anode are separated by a polymer electrolyte membrane which allows the protons to cross to the cathode while the electrons are forced to make their way through a wire, creating a current. The water that forms at the cathode is evaporated by the air flow, keeping the water concentration gradient between the two electrodes, which acts as the driving force for the reaction.
> Unlike other fuel cells no change in enthalpy occurs as water reacts to form water. This means that typically minor contributions, such as changes in entropy, become key factors in the energy output, explains Roduner. He adds that his inspiration to create the cell came from a desire to demonstrate that 'changes in entropy can still be a driving force [for fuel cells].'
> ...


----------



## Antoine (9 May 2010)

The Science Of Feeding Soldiers

Bethany Halford, _Chemical & Engineering News_ *2009*, 88, 40

www.pubs.acs.org/cen/science/88/8818sci2.html?featured=1

You'll find also a short video at the Hyperlink above.



> Chemical innovations make tasty battlefield meals, ready-to-eat
> 
> When Neil Gussman joined the Army in 1972, meals for the battlefield were served in little green cans. Open those tins, recalls the Chemical Heritage Foundation's communications manager and Army sergeant, and you were likely to find culinary delights like "gelatinous, fat-coated Spam slices" and "big wads of grease."
> Known as C rations, "the 12 main courses were ham and eggs, beans and franks, spaghetti, ham slices, and permutations of Spam," Gussman says.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 May 2010)

Well, how about materials that do _everything_?

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/05/game-changing-fuzzy-fiber-nanomaterial.html#more



> *Game Changing Fuzzy Fiber Nanomaterial*
> 
> A $3 million Ohio Third Frontier award to the University of Dayton Research Institute will fund the scale-up and production of a “game-changing” new nanomaterial that will allow composites to multitask – a wind turbine tower that can de-ice its own blades in winter, or store energy to release on a calm day, powering a grid even when its blades are not moving. Or a military vehicle whose armor can serve as a battery – powering some of the vehicle’s electrical components.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Jun 2010)

less geeky, and a lot more fun and useful:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/06/new-powered-rope-climber-can-go-10-feet.html#more



> *New Powered Rope Climber can go 10 Feet per Second with up to 1000 Pounds Which is about three times Better than the First Power Climbers from 3 Years Ago*
> 
> Atlas Devices has a new Powered Rope Ascender can climb can hold a target load capacity up to 600 pounds at a 6-feet per second rate of ascension. The lightweight ATLAS Ascender can pull a fully-loaded soldier or firefighter up a rappelling line at up to 10 ft/sec. The powerful rope not only lifts and lowers, but can tow vehicles and remotely move equipment and casualties as well, making it a valuable tool for VBSS teams. Its high-power, high-density lithium battery will allow a load to ascend 375 feet without recharging.
> It is also able to recapture 10 to 15 percent of its potential energy as it descends, which can be used to recharge the battery
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Jun 2010)

The ultimate problem: super empowered individuals with the ability to create advanced devices, weaponry or biological agents.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stewart-abercrombie-baker/smallpox-in-the-garage_b_596340.html



> *Smallpox in the Garage*
> 
> I joined the Department of Homeland Security to create its Policy office in 2005, not long after the 9/11 commission ascribed those attacks to a failure of imagination on the part of counterterrorism officials. One of my jobs, as I saw it, was to head off future failures of imagination. We needed to spend some time thinking about how technology might enable other attacks -- as shocking and unexpected at 9/11 had been. We did indeed spend time thinking about other risks. Some of them were so likely and so devastating that they haunt me still. That's what led me to write Skating On Stilts: Why We Aren't Stopping Tomorrow's Terrorism. This chapter from Skating On Stilts offers a glimpse of the threat that worries me most.
> ****
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (12 Jul 2010)

Scanning for threats becomes a bit easier:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/07/breakthrough-will-enable-remote.html#more



> *Breakthrough Will Enable Remote Detection of hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents and illegal drugs*
> 
> Science Daily - A major breakthrough in remote wave sensing by a team of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers opens the way for detecting hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents and illegal drugs from a distance of 20 meters.
> 
> ...


----------



## The Bread Guy (12 Jul 2010)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Scanning for threats becomes a bit easier:
> 
> http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/07/breakthrough-will-enable-remote.html#more


Links to Canadian research along these lines here:
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/81068/post-775669.html#msg775669
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/82651/post-800552.html#msg800552


----------



## Antoine (14 Jul 2010)

> The ultimate problem: super empowered individuals with the ability to create advanced devices, weaponry or biological agents.



Absolutely. The number of present or future powerfull and well respected scientists who are incredibly naive, lack of general culture and common sense is, in my opinion, high. Nothing is black and white, but there is a tendency, a direction taken by scientist in general toward: I am payed to discover and publish in famous papers to get more grants and fame, otherwise, on short or long term, the consequence of my research is not my problem. 

Sad


----------



## a_majoor (14 Jul 2010)

IF this software solution is viable, then next generation radios and radio nets will have much more capability and be far more robust than ever:

http://www.physorg.com/news198298057.html



> *New project enables mobile phone use in areas with no reception*
> July 14, 2010 by Lin Edwards
> Enlarge
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 Jul 2010)

More good stuff for the comms world: high bandwidth wireless with the potential for 80km of coverage (puts AN/PRC 522's to shame)

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/07/millimeter-wave-communication-over-84.html#more



> *Millimeter-wave communication Over 84 Kilometer Range Using Panasonic Gallium Nitride Device*
> 
> Panasonic has developed a high power Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistor for long-distance communication at millimeter-wave frequencies. A 25GHz wireless transceiver was fabricated using the GaN transistor. The device exhibits a maximum output power of 10.7W at 25GHz which theoretically enables communication over 84km.
> 
> ...


----------



## Antoine (6 Aug 2010)

Highlights in Chemical Biology,  July 2010

http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/cb/Volume/2010/09/logical_injury_assessment.asp

Logical injury assessment



> With the aim of improving the survival rate of injured soldiers, US Scientists have designed a biocomputing system that is capable of diagnosing multiple injuries from a sample of urine or blood.
> Explosions on battlefields can result in patients with multiple injuries that need quick diagnosis. Currently, this is done by physical examination and a comprehensive series of laboratory tests in hospital. When an organ is injured, the body releases chemicals that can be used as biomarkers to indicate particular internal injuries. Multiple injuries release a wide range of biomarkers and now a team led by Evgeny Katz from Clarkson University, and Joseph Wang at the University of California San Diego, have developed a diagnostic tool that can be used in the field and is able to differentiate between many chemical inputs to provide a diagnosis.
> The system comprises six logic gates made from enzymes that are sensitive to twelve biomarker inputs associated with six different pathological conditions, including soft tissue injury, abdominal trauma and brain injury. The enzyme gates each produce a logic output (1 or 0), which together form a 6-bit 'injury code', that allows full diagnosis of the patient's condition.
> Katz says the use of biocomputing, or biomolecular chemical reactions, instead of electronic computers, simplifies the analysis so it can be performed in field conditions. He adds that 'this is the first fundamental result for the use of biocomputing systems for biomedical applications.'
> ...


----------



## TimBit (6 Aug 2010)

Antoine said:
			
		

> Absolutely. The number of present or future powerfull and well respected scientists who are incredibly naive, lack of general culture and common sense is, in my opinion, high. Nothing is black and white, but there is a tendency, a direction taken by scientist in general toward: I am payed to discover and publish in famous papers to get more grants and fame, otherwise, on short or long term, the consequence of my research is not my problem.
> 
> Sad



I remember listening with fascination to one of my philosophy professors lecturing on epistemology and the ancient Greeks' take on science vs technology. To them, science was merely the observation of nature and the decyphering of its laws. Technology was a completely different beast. It built on science to create things, to alter environment. The sequential aspect of both phenomena meant that there was time to reflect on the impact of the science before applying it. Today the two have become inextricably linked, and it is rare to see any corporation or university investing in pure research that is not directly linked with expected benefits. Therefore, this pause is now absent and the ethical/philosophical/human consequences of science are more often than not unavoidable. 

I read often about all the nuclear scientists in Manhattan project who though their work was fascinating and never really stopped to think about what they were creating. Ken Alibek, #2 of Biopreparat, said the same thing about his work weaponizing tularemia and plague: at first he had some moral doubts, but the work was fascinating. Now read _Wired for War_ (excellent book, I agree) and notice how the roboticists say the same thing: it's friggin cool! Simply put, I think there is not enough distance between scientists and their offspring for them to ponder the human consequences.

Call me a paranoid luddite if you will, but I still think a small, sun-powered cottage in a far remote place is probably an investment I'll make someday soon...just in case.


----------



## Antoine (11 Aug 2010)

Interesting post TimBit.

I wonder where can be found the finest balance between technology/science and human factor to insure the success of a mission with the lowest casualty cost ? 



> I still think a small, sun-powered cottage in a far remote place is probably an investment I'll make someday soon...just in case.



Bella Coola in BC, is the place you are looking for (I was there for a week not long time ago).  

Cheers,


----------



## Antoine (4 Sep 2010)

> For hardcore Geeks  8)
> 
> Adrian Cho, Quantum Cryptography Hits the Fast Lane, ScienceNow, April 19, 2010



Didn't take time to be cracked:

Zeeya Merali , Quantum crack in cryptographic armour, Nature, Published online 20 May 2010

www.nature.com/news/2010/100520/full/news.2010.256.html



> A commercial quantum encryption system has been fully hacked for the first time.
> 
> Quantum cryptography isn't as invincible as many researchers thought: a commercial quantum key has been fully hacked for the first time.
> 
> ...


----------



## Antoine (4 Sep 2010)

> Didn't take time to be cracked



and better:

Zeeya Merali , Hackers blind quantum cryptographers, Nature, Published online 29 August 2010

www.nature.com/news/2010/100829/full/news.2010.436.html



> Lasers crack commercial encryption systems, leaving no trace.
> 
> Quantum hackers have performed the first 'invisible' attack on two commercial quantum cryptographic systems. By using lasers on the systems — which use quantum states of light to encrypt information for transmission — they have fully cracked their encryption keys, yet left no trace of the hack.
> Quantum cryptography is often touted as being perfectly secure. It is based on the principle that you cannot make measurements of a quantum system without disturbing it. So, in theory, it is impossible for an eavesdropper to intercept a quantum encryption key without disrupting it in a noticeable way, triggering alarm bells.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Sep 2010)

Portable high res mapping:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/09/portable-laser-backpack-revolutionizes.html#more



> *Portable Laser Backpack Revolutionizes 3D Mapping*
> 
> by Maria Callier
> Air Force Office of Scientific Research
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (19 Sep 2010)

Uh oh:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/09/deleting-gene-rgs14-removes-limit-to.html#more



> *Deleting gene RGS14 removes a limit to learning and memory*
> 
> Deleting a gene removes a limit to learning and memory in mice. RGS14 appears to hold mice back mentally, John Hepler, PhD, professor of pharmacology at Emory University School of Medicine, says he and his colleagues have been jokingly calling it the "Homer Simpson gene." RGS14 is also found in humans.


----------



## a_majoor (24 Sep 2010)

Exoskeletons have been developed for military use (think Starship Troopers or the Forever War as fictional developments of the trope), and I have personally seen one at the AUSA exhibition in Washington DC in 2006 powered by a couple of Li-ion batteries from a laptop. The demonstrator challenged us to load his backpack with 175lbs of barbell plates, then proceeded to run down the hall....

Now a more sophisticated development (with more peaceful applications)

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/26328/?p1=A1&a=f



> *Personal Exoskeletons for Paraplegics*
> A mobile device helps patients with spinal cord injuries walk.
> By Kristina Grifantini
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Sep 2010)

More about exoskeletons. Starship Troopers may be many years away (yet), but some form of exoskeleton may well be in the future of younger members:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/09/classification-of-exoskeletons-and.html#more



> *Classification of Exoskeletons and Orthoses*
> 
> Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (JNER) - Exoskeletons and orthoses: classification, design challenges and future directions by Hugh Herr
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (29 Sep 2010)

Swarms of micro UAV's to establish comms networks. Extending this concept would include swarms of UAV's with cameras/night vision and thermal imaging optics, and ones that carry weapons:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/09/smarms-of-uavs.html#more



> *Swarms of UAVs*
> 
> The SMAVNET project aims at developing swarms of flying robots that can be deployed in disaster areas to rapidly create communication networks for rescuers. Flying robots are interesting for such applications because they are fast, can easily overcome difficult terrain, and benefit from line-of-sight communication.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (1 Oct 2010)

Making spare parts on demand rather than stockpiling them in a warehouse somewhere:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/10/us-military-has-project-to-develop.html#more



> *US Military Has Project to Develop Additive Manufacturing to Make Parts for Military Equipment for in-theater repairs*
> 
> Instead of a part breakdown causing a nearly two day outage, the equipment could be working again in about 14 hours
> 
> ...


----------



## Antoine (7 Oct 2010)

Super yarn in works for space suits, bulletproof vests: Material is made from extremely thin carbon tubes

By Charles Q. Choi, TechNewsDaily

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39525066/ns/technology_and_science-innovation



> Super-strong, highly conductive yarns made from extraordinarily thin carbon tubes could one day find use in spacesuits, bulletproof vests and radiation suits, researchers now suggest.
> Carbon nanotubes are hollow pipes just nanometers or billionths of a meter in diameter — dozens to hundreds of times thinner than a wavelength of visible light. They can possess a range of extraordinary physical and electrical properties, such as being roughly 100 times stronger than steel at one-sixth the weight.
> Scientists have feverishly explored ways to make textiles from carbon nanotubes for years. However, yarns made from these nanotubes lacked the attractive properties seen in lone fibers. The problem is rooted in how the nanotubes are typically about 200 to 400 millimeters long.
> When these get woven together into a yarn, the connections between the nanotubes act as gaps that weaken the yarn's overall conductivity, and these connections are not as strong as the tubes themselves, explained researcher Kai Liu at the Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center in Beijing.
> ...


----------



## DominikEthier (15 Oct 2010)

Wow that stuff could prove to be really usefull, but can Canada manufacture it aswell or just Japan?


----------



## OneMissionataTime (15 Oct 2010)

Probably Japan, Unless we bought the rights to manufacture it. Japan would definitely keep that stuff on the lock down, if it proves to be useful.


----------



## DominikEthier (15 Oct 2010)

Makes sense, but dang how do the Japanese keep making all these new technologies. I sense life cheat codes, just sayin' ;D


----------



## a_majoor (17 Oct 2010)

Flexible displays:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/10/army-evals-dick-tracy-watches.html#more



> *Army evals Dick Tracy watches*
> 
> The U.S. Army is evaluating full-color flexible displays that can be worn on the wrist
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Oct 2010)

More tricks to use the radio spectrum. Agile radios will also be harder to jam:

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/26581/page1/



> *A Cell-Phone Network without a License*
> A trial system offers calling, texting, and data by weaving signals around the chatter of baby monitors and cordless phones.
> By Tom Simonite
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Oct 2010)

And yet more ways to get access to satellites and other platforms:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/10/virtual-satellite-dish-using-energy.html#more



> *Virtual Satellite Dish using energy efficient special DSP chips and no satellite dish*
> 
> Satellite TV without having to set up a receiver dish. Digital radio on your mobile phone without your batteries quickly running flat. The advanced calculations needed for these future applications are made possible by a microchip with relatively simple processors that can interact and communicate flexibly. These are among the findings of research at the Centre for Telematics and Information Technology of the University of Twente carried out by Marcel van de Burgwal, who obtained his PhD on 15 October.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Oct 2010)

Help is on the way for replacement organs:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/10/miniature-livers-grown-in-lab-using.html#more



> *Miniature livers 'grown in lab' using stem cells*
> 
> Scientists have managed to produce a small-scale version of a human liver in the laboratory using stem cells. They are the first to use human liver cells to successfully engineer miniature livers that function – at least in a laboratory setting – like human livers. The next step is to see if the livers will continue to function after transplantation in an animal model.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (19 Nov 2010)

More bandwidth. Military communications satellites will probably be built along these lines to provide data trunks:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/11/us-satellite-carrying-biggest.html#more

*US satellite carrying the biggest commercial antenna reflector will support 4G for smartphones
*
BBC News reports the launch of a new 4G communication satellite. The mesh structure on the Skyterra-1 spacecraft is 22m (72ft) across. It will relay signals for a new 4G-LTE mobile phone and data system for North America run by Lightsquared. Callers whose networks are tied into the system will be automatically switched to a satellite if they are out of range of a terrestrial mast.

Two previous ventures ran into financial problems. Both Terrestar and DBSD North America had to seek legal protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules while they sought to restructure enormous debts built up as they rolled out their systems. LightSquared has promised a different approach. It says its business will be wholesale only. It will be selling capacity to carriers who wish to offer go-anywhere connectivity to their consumers, be they phone or data users

Boeing has more information.

    When operational, SkyTerra 1 will combine with ground-based beam-forming (GBBF) equipment and ground stations to form LightSquared’s first Space-Based Network (SBN), which will enable faster service and broader access to smaller mobile devices for millions of users in the United States. The Boeing-built SBN will benefit from the satellite's 22-meter L-band reflector, which reduces the need for larger antennas and battery-draining receivers inside mobile handsets.

    LightSquared's SBN will combine with a ground network of more than 40,000 base stations built to offer ground coverage, satellite coverage or a combination of the two. LightSquared plans to begin rolling out its nationwide wholesale 4G LTE wireless network in the first four markets in the second half of 2011.

    LightSquared's ground network of terrestrial stations in place is to serve 90% of the US population by the end of 2015.

    The 22m-antenna on Skyterra-1 should be deployed by the end of the month. A second satellite, Skyterra-2, will follow in 2011.
[/quote]


----------



## a_majoor (21 Nov 2010)

Molecular computing devices (catchy name) would be orders of magnitude smaller and less power hungry than current devices. Radios, sights, tablet computers, fire control systems and so on will pretty much vanish from sight, being "painted" on the back of a mirror or a solid substrate, and only needing power from a very small battery:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/11/singapore-and-eu-working-to-create.html



> *Technical details of the molecular chip project funded by Singapore and the EU*
> 
> A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) partners 10 EU research organisations to work on the groundbreaking €10 million ATMOL project that lays the foundation for creating and testing a molecular-sized processor chip. They are pursuing Planar multiple interconnect Atom Technology.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (18 Dec 2010)

Lots of interesting new developments. Here is a system which claims to use far less energy than a ROWPU, but is also suited for large scale water purification. (I had posted on a far different system a while ago, but no longer remember the thread. That system was also efficient but did not seem to be as scalable):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/12/forward-osmosis-could-make-water.html#more



> *Forward Osmosis could make water desalination cheaper and more energy efficient*
> 
> MIT Technology Review - The Oasys forward osmosis desalination system requires just one-tenth as much electricity as a reverse-osmosis system because water doesn't have to be forced through a membrane at high pressure. That's a crucial source of savings, since electricity can account for nearly half the cost of reverse-osmosis technology. Not working with pressurized water also decreases the cost of building the plant—there is no need for expensive pipes that can withstand high pressures. The combination of lower power consumption and cheaper equipment results in lower overall costs.
> 
> ...



http://www.technologyreview.com/business/21934/?mod=related



> *A Low-Energy Water Purifier*
> 
> A Yale spinoff hopes to solve the big problem with desalination.
> 
> ...



edit to add link


----------



## a_majoor (27 Dec 2010)

And back to soldier gear:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/23/darpa_computational_cameras/



> *DARPA working on eyes-in-the-back-of-your-head hat*
> 'Full Sphere Awareness' to use software mini-cameras
> By Lewis Page
> 
> ...



I can sort of visualize a series of lenses spaced around a helmet feeding into a set of goggles which is the display (the real heavy lifting is the stuff between the lenses and the display). It will be interesting to see how this works out.


----------



## a_majoor (31 Dec 2010)

Continuing my long standing interest in communications networks, here is perhaps the ultimate expression: "Server Sky", with the end point being the entire solar system filled with these things. For the mid term, tens of thousands of multiple redundant systems in orbit to provide communications, independent computer networks separate from the ground and power beaming to ground and aerial systems would have incalculable changes for the military, or indeed anyone hooked up to the system.

The most remarkable thing about the proposal is it uses off the shelf technology, so it isn't blue sky tech, but something that can be realized today:



> First generation serversats are 20 centimeters across ( about 8 inches ), 0.1 millimeters (100 microns) thick, and weigh 7 grams. They can be mass produced with off the shelf semiconductor technologies.
> Gallium arsenide radio chips provide intraarray, interarray, and ground communication, as well as precise location information. Serversats are launched stacked by the thousands in solid cylinders,shrouded and vibration isolated inside a traditional satellite bus.


----------



## a_majoor (16 Feb 2011)

Getting around the bandwidth gap for wireless devices:

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/february/duplex-radio-transmission-021411.html



> *Stanford researchers develop wireless technology for faster, more efficient communication networks*
> 
> A new technology that allows wireless signals to be sent and received simultaneously on a single channel has been developed by Stanford researchers. Their research could help build faster, more efficient communication networks, at least doubling the speed of existing networks.
> Jack Hubbard
> ...


[/quote]


----------



## a_majoor (26 Feb 2011)

This might be fun to do at home (although in the real world this could be a project for a half decent computer lab in a University of College setting); building your own "Watson" expert system like the one that won Jeopardy. In the military setting, this sort of database expert system could be used to comb through intelligence databases to quickly answer questions, assist in logistics and transportation planning and so on.

Reading the spec sheets in the article, performance is dependent on the hardware. IF you are not in a real hurry, a single core processor can give the answer in about 2 hours. A 32 core IBM Power 750 server can come up with the answer in a matter of minutes. For most practical purposes, this might do. Real tech types might consider wiring several game consoles together in a Beowulf cluster or investing in NVidia Tesla supercomputer hardware if the price is right.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/02/building-personal-version-ibm-watson.html#more


----------



## a_majoor (27 Feb 2011)

And advanced robotics. Cheetah fast robots in particular are interesting, you could use them as scouts, to rapidly establish a perimeter or as couriers to bring urgently needed messages or equipment or robot sentries that can actually run down fleeing suspects.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/02/boston-dynamics-wins-darpa-contracts-to.html



> *Boston Dynamics Wins DARPA Contracts to Develop Robots that are Fast and Agile*
> 
> One robot called ATLAS, a humanoid with two arms and two legs, will climb and maneuver in rough terrain to achieve human-like agility. A second robot with four legs is called CHEETAH; it will sprint faster than a human, corner like a race car and start and stop on a dime.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Mar 2011)

Manufacturing complex items using 3D printers. Note Airbus is already using a version of this technology to "print" wing structures, here the ability to accurately lay down intricate structures outweighs the time and cost factors. I have also seen a proposal for a simplified but vastly scaled up version to "print" concrete buildings using layers of fast setting concrete (obviously there would be no rebar), and even 3D printers that can print replacement organs are under development. An exciting new field:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/additive-layer-manufacturing-printing.html#more



> *Additive Layer Manufacturing printing of a bicycle with no metal by the makers of the Airbus jets*
> 
> EADS, the European aerospace and defence group, has unveiled the world’s first bike that uses a revolutionary new manufacturing process which demonstrates the potential to transform manufacturing around the globe.
> 
> ...



From the EADs website:

http://www.eads.com/eads/france/fr/actualites/press.8d764849-d439-475b-93b3-3cc9a7d2ba20.f09e6a74-16d2-4525-a32e-1a8f65b76168.html?queryStr=airbike&pid=1



> *The future of manufacturing…on two wheels*
> Bristol,  07 mars 2011
> 
> •	EADS produces world’s first bike using revolutionary ALM technology - ‘grown’ from high-strength nylon powder
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (31 Mar 2011)

Increasingly sophisticated equipment can be purchased, made and used by smaller and smaller groups. The implications of this are profound. If *we* can get into this mindset, the CF can be rapidly upgraded and re equiped quickly and at low cost. (This would involve breaking bureaucratic and industry rice bowls). If our enemies are doing this, expect sophisticated modes of attack from unlikely sources (unknown unknowns...):

http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfreedman/2011/03/30/israel-the-third-nation-on-the-moon/



> *Israel, The Third Nation on the Moon?*
> Mar. 30 2011 - 6:01 am | 10,109 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments
> By DANIEL FREEDMAN
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (1 Apr 2011)

This may have lots of unexpected benefits; a quick first look of the article suggests there may be lots of improvements in engines if friction and heat transfer properties can be manipulated. Since engines are old and well known technology, "tweaking" the internal parts will have a faster impact than adopting new technologies:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/lower-cost-molding-of-microstructures.html#more



> *Lower cost molding of Microstructures at the millimeter to micron scale*
> 
> They have made 5 micron pillars on copper
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (11 Apr 2011)

Sometimes, effective equipment does not have to be "high tech". Consider this as a potential replacement for modular tentage and other field structures:

http://www.hoberman.com/portfolio/rapidlydeployableshelter.php?myNum=24&mytext=Rapidly+Deployable+Shelter&myrollovertext=%3Cu%3ERapidly+Deployable+Shelter%3C%2Fu%3E&category=&projectname=Rapidly+Deployable+Shelter


----------



## multihobbist (11 Apr 2011)

something i can't quite understand is that some of the fundaments of physics can be VERY useful for warfare technology such as counter IED.

If you charge Solenoids and have them facing down and by right hand rule, the microwave-like effect will be shot directly below the soleonoid. If they apply that to our vehicles and have them extended and the soleonoids tilted forward, with proper cooling system it'll be very effective detonating planted articles far before the vehicles approaching it.
With experiments, any conducting materials (wires, metal cases or detonator) with improper plantation would be launch off, if not heated up enough for detonating cap to go off.
It's how "Gauss guns" work.

basically they cant act as metal coils that create magnetic field that heats up or moves ANY material that conducts electricity.
As far as I understand the PPE and VPE create interfering field for wireless devices but why don't we use a system that physically makes explosive articles to either move or detonate at safe distance.

It'll be definatly a cheap and safe substitution for many other equipments we developed and it's not like re-inventing the wheel, just simply reviewing what we already know.
A few problems that I can think of are the weather conditions and the cooling systems and the fact that it will effect ANY conductors i.e. if you drive the vehicle equipped with this towards an ammo compound.


----------



## a_majoor (12 Apr 2011)

With this guy on the case, we should be in for interesting times. I want to be at the proving grounds when they do tests....

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/04/mythbuster-jamie-hyneman-working-to.html



> *Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman working to develop lighter armor for U.S. military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan*
> 
> Register UK - Jamie Hyneman has been working with the US government to devise lightweight armor for US military vehicles in Afghanistan and Iraq, all thanks to his work with materials such as TNT and C4 in the frankly unconventional setting of MythBusters.
> 
> ...


----------



## dinicthus (1 May 2011)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> I can sort of visualize a series of lenses spaced around a helmet feeding into a set of goggles which is the display (the real heavy lifting is the stuff between the lenses and the display). It will be interesting to see how this works out.



How about a monobloc polycarbonate piece that is a prism, sort of like tank prisms for outward view that just starts with the part you look into right above your eyebrows, and gets its view from behind you?

So, when you look far up, instead of seeing the inside of the bottom of the front of your helmet, you would see the view from behind as bounced through the folded path of the block of polycarbonate, possibly with reflective surfaces included as necessary.

I know, it would add weight to the helmet, about the last place you want more weight, but it is simple, robust, and doesn't need million dollar technologies to implement. In fact, the polycarbonate could be part of the protection afforded by the helmet, though, obviously, it doesn't have the same protection capability per pound as the stuff that helmets are made of now, but where the polycarbonate is, the kevlar could be thinner, at least, unless that is too detrimental to over helmet integrity.

They use "folded path" monobloc clear plastic or glass lenses for digital camera smartphones already, it isn't some revolutionary technology.

The view would be just like a rearview mirror, so people would be used to it. No electronics to suddenly quit. Prescription could be ground into (or glued onto, or clipped onto) the rear or front surface of the block so looking up over your eyeglasses into your rearview wouldn't yield a blurry ambiguous mess.

What path the polycarbonate "light tunnel" would take from eye to rearview is not significant, except that the shorter the better.

In fact the PC block or blocks could go to the sides, or just poke out the sides of the helmet right near the front viewable portion. Yes, that might look like ears or horns, and would definitely be more vulnerable to damage than a system where the light path was under the kevlar outer shell and the view port and the part facing rear was actually on the rear of the helmet.

I guess the primary question would be "how bad do they need to see a rearview?", which would determine what sacrifices could be made to provide it.


----------



## a_majoor (21 May 2011)

Rapidly deployable shelters, bunkers, bastions and walls can be possible with this:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/05/concrete-canvas.html



> *Concrete Canvas was covered back in 2005 in Wired.*
> 
> BBC News - Concrete Canvas allows aid teams to construct solid structures in emergency zones quickly and easily. It is a fabric shelter that, when sprayed with water, turns to concrete within 24 hours.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Jun 2011)

Stronger, cheaper materials for all kinds of purposes:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/06/flash-bainite-is-strongest-most-ductile.html



> *Flash Bainite is the Strongest, Most Ductile, Lean Alloyed, Readily Weldable, Least Expensive Ultra Strength METAL known to man*
> 
> ShareFlash Bainite is the Strongest, Most Ductile, Lean Alloyed, Readily Weldable, Least Expensive Ultra Strength METAL known to man. A50 tensile ranges from 1100 to 2080MPa (160-302ksi) with 8 to 9% elongation. Total elongation up to 10-11% is not uncommon. Flash 4130 at 1900MPa and 9% elongation exceeds titanium-6Al-4V's strength to weight ratio making it pound per pound stronger at only 56% the volume. Flash4130 is just 10% the cost of Ti-64.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Jun 2011)

OK, the Bikini is cute, but now expand the thought to fully customized uniforms, boots and load carriage systems designed to fit you:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/06/3d-printed-bikini-is-first-ready-to.html



> *3D Printed Bikini is the first ready to wear 3D printed clothing and fitted exactly using body scanning*
> 
> ShareThe N12 bikini is the world's first ready-to-wear, completely 3D-printed article of clothing. All of the pieces, closures included, are made directly by 3D printing and snap together without any sewing. N12 represents the beginning of what is possible for the near future.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (13 Jun 2011)

Getting up walls without ropes and ladders: Spiderman come to life:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/06/darpa-z-man-program-to-enbale-wall.html



> *DARPA Z-man program to enable wall climbing soldiers*
> 
> DARPA Z-man program will develop biologically inspired climbing aids to enable soldiers to scale vertical walls constructed from typical building materials, without using ropes or ladders. Geckos, spiders and small animals are the inspiration behind these climbing aids.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Jul 2011)

Drawing ambient energy for small sensors and other devices will have interesting applications in urban ops and low intensity conflict scenarios. High intensity conflict will probably involve the deliberate destruction of the electrical grid and most of the emitters mentioned here, which limits this technology:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/07/ambient-electromagnetic-energy.html



> *Ambient Electromagnetic Energy Harnessed for Small Electronic Devices*
> 
> Georgia Tech - Researchers have discovered a way to capture and harness energy transmitted by such sources as radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems. By scavenging this ambient energy from the air around us, the technique could provide a new way to power networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips.
> 
> ...


----------



## Antoine (23 Jul 2011)

The following is a bit of a specialized paper, but for chemist in the CF, you might find it interesting. 

PM me if you don't have access to the article but you would like to read it.

Review
Destruction and Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents, Chem. Rev., Article ASAP, (Web): June 13, 2011

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cr100193y


----------



## a_majoor (31 Jul 2011)

British engineers "print" an airplane. This is interesting for small/medium UAV's today, but engineers ar Airbus hope to use this sort of technology to build full sized aircraft parts and eventually airplanes. Imagine being able to "print" heavy transports and equipment when you need to do a surge...

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-07/uk-engineers-print-and-fly-worlds-first-working-3-d-printed-aircraft



> *UK Engineers Print and Fly the World's First Working 3-D Printed Aircraft*
> By Clay Dillow Posted 07.28.2011 at 12:44 pm 17 Comments
> 
> SULSA University of Southampton
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (1 Aug 2011)

A very strange and out of the box way to generate electrical energy. This currently has a very low energy conversion efficiency, but note that it is still twice that of Lithium Ion batteries (the current gold standard), which would solve some pretty pressing logistical and weight issues for us:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/07/more-efficient-sun-free-photovoltaics.html



> *More Efficient Sun-free photovoltaics*
> 
> Using new nanofabrication techniques, MIT researchers made these samples of tungsten with billions of regularly spaced, uniform nanoscale holes on their surfaces. In their TVP system, this type of photonic crystal serves as a thermal emitter, absorbing heat and then—because of its surface structure—radiating to the PV diode only those wavelengths that the diode can convert into electricity. The inset shows a digital photo of the full 1 cm-diameter sample, illuminated by white light. The color suggests the diffraction of white light into green as a result of the surface pattern.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Aug 2011)

A rather amazing development. Who says we can't have connectivity?

http://www.fastcompany.com/1774515/lifenet-a-simple-communications-system-that-works-when-cell-phones-internet-are-down



> *A Wireless Communications System That Works When Cell Phones, Internet Are Down*
> BY Ariel SchwartzThu Aug 18, 2011
> LifeNet lets computers and phones talk to each other without an Internet connection, which could come in handy after disasters that knock out communication networks.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Sep 2011)

Moving electrical energy around is difficult, and while this article is predicted on the use of such materials in long distance transmission, having high efficiency wiring for vehicles makes such things as electric drive or electrical weaponry more feasible. A bonus is superconductors have no electrical field, so the power wiring harness is "quiet" and won't interfere with on board electronics or comms equipment:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/09/innovative-superconductor-fibers-carry.html



> *Innovative Superconductor Fibers Carry 40 Times More than Copper*
> 
> Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make an old idea new with the next generation of superconductors.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (16 Sep 2011)

Rapidly building shelters for bases, refugee camps and so on is always a logistical nightmare. This technology can bring the costs down dramatically (and imagine replacing ancient buildings on base for a small fraction of the current cost of replacing old structures):

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/1k-house-prototype-0915.html



> *A true bargain house*
> First prototype built from MIT’s effort to construct houses for $1,000 each.
> 
> Photo: Ying chee Chui
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 Sep 2011)

A survey of current laser weapon technology. The magic 100kW mark has been reached, so lasers can emit enough energy to be tactically useful vs targets like incoming rockets, UAVs, small boats etc. The next challenge is to reduce the volume of the laser, power system and optical train to fit in smaller tactical vehicles:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/research/8-laser-weapon-systems-to-zap-planes-boats-and-people?click=pp#fbIndex1


----------



## FlyingDutchman (28 Sep 2011)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/bullet-proof-skin-spider-silk_n_930389.html

Bullet proof skin anyone?



> Imagine having a gun fired at you, the bullet whizzing toward you at a super-fast speed. But instead of the bullet piercing your skin and traveling deep inside your body, what if it instead repelled off your skin?
> 
> What sounds like a scenario straight out of a superhero movie or a sci-fi novel could eventually become reality. Scientists have created a skin made with goat's milk packed with spider-silk proteins, according to news reports. Their hope is that they can eventually replace the keratin in human skin --which makes it tough -- with the spider-silk proteins.
> 
> ...


Edit: forgot quote tags


----------



## a_majoor (29 Sep 2011)

High tech capacitors have been touted as replacement energy sources for electric and electronic equipment; more progress here:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/09/first-energy-storage-membrane.html



> *First Energy-Storage Membrane*
> 
> A team from the National University of Singapore’s Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative (NUSNNI), led by principle investigator Dr Xie Xian Ning, has developed the world’s first energy-storage membrane.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Sep 2011)

A new robot with expanded capabilities. This one can be used as a load carrier, or potentially a scout and weapons platform as well:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/09/bulldog-robot-video.html



> *AlphaDog Robot Video*
> 
> The AlphaDog Proto is a lab prototype for the Legged Squad Support System, a robot being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. When fully developed the system will carry 400 lbs of payload on 20-mile missions in rough terrain. The first version of the complete robot will be completed in 2012. This video shows early results from the control development process. In this video the robot is powered remotely. AlphaDog is designed to be over 10x quieter than BigDog.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SSbZrQp-HOk


----------



## FlyingDutchman (6 Oct 2011)

Reproduced under the Copyright Act

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/k-max-robotic-chopper-delivers-airmans-salute-to-afghan-danger/

K-MAX unmanned chopper delivers Air Force salute to Afghan danger (video)



> It's a year since Lockheed Martin won the contract to provide an unmanned cargo delivery system to the US military and now its first K-MAX helicopter is just about ready for duty. The 6,000-pound RC chopper is scheduled to journey to the manifold fronts of Afghanistan next month, where it'll get busy ferrying its own bodyweight in ammo and supplies to needy anthills up to 200km away. And, if things get too sticky for laptop flying, there's always room for a brave soul to jump in there and grab the controls. You'll find a fresh demo video after the break, plus we've also stuck in that fancy clip from last year to rotor your memory.



There are videos at the link.


----------



## a_majoor (8 Oct 2011)

More bandwidth! Small base stations that can fit into vehicles, UAV's and FOBs are going to be needed to support the amount of data *we* want to transmit and receive. Here is one way to do this:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/the-cell-tower-thats-smaller-than-a-bread-basket



> *The Cell Tower That's Smaller Than a Bread Basket*
> Breakthrough innovator Tod Sizer's tiny cell antenna is a low-tech solution to the pressing problem of data overwhelming our existing cellular networks.
> By Logan Ward
> 
> ...


----------



## FlyingDutchman (22 Oct 2011)

Video in link

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/22/mesa-robotics-mini-tank-is-perfectly-happy-on-point-video/



> Robots
> Mesa Robotics' mini-tank is perfectly happy on point
> 
> The Acer ground-bot from Mesa Robotics does way more than your average 4,500-pound semi-autonomous mule. In addition to carrying kit and providing that extra bit of ballistic steel-deflecting cover, it also scans for IEDs using ground-penetrating radar and then autonomously switches into "flail" mode when it finds one -- digging up and detonating that critter with barely a break in its 6MPH stride. Did we mention it also acts as a landing pad for small drones? No? That's because the video after the break says it all. Cue obligatory guitars, game controllers and armchair gung-ho.


----------



## GnyHwy (22 Oct 2011)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> More bandwidth! Small base stations that can fit into vehicles, UAV's and FOBs are going to be needed to support the amount of data *we* want to transmit and receive. Here is one way to do this:
> 
> http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/the-cell-tower-thats-smaller-than-a-bread-basket



We can barely afford or manage the bandwidth we're using now.  Bandwidth will only get more expensive; hence why analog TV is dissapearing.  The supply vs demand will soon kick in; if it hasn't already.

The info will become more daunting.  The workable solution... bigger Ops staffs; which I understand as no one (except me) is in favour of.


----------



## a_majoor (23 Oct 2011)

Unless all these ops people will be riding around in UAV's and manning sensor posts ( ), they are going to be the biggest consumers of bandwidth around.

There are several tricks pointed out in this thread that *could* help manage the bandwidth problem, and of course during war, everyone will grab and use whatever bandwidth is available. 

The real killer app will be training people to act and respond _without_ receiving orders and updates when their bandwidth has been taken or compromised. Isn't that what our Manouevre Warfare "Doctrine" was all about?  >


----------



## a_majoor (25 Oct 2011)

I was struck after reading this post about the difference between our messed up procurement system and the speed with which these guys are doing things. We need a satellite communication system for the high arctic for our CF-35's and anything else which moves up there; imagine how long it will take through conventional means.

I am pretty sure that Canadians can do it much quicker and cheaper than a government project; a barracks box sized space telescope called "MOST" was built and launched for under $10 million, and like many NASA spacecraft, operated for years beyond the expected operating life. Heck, I imagine that there is probably enough talent signed up on Army.ca to undertake a project of this type. 

The real point here is that we may really have to look far outside the box for the next decade or so while the economic crisis unwinds (i.e. the Global Economy deleverages and the various credit bubbles around the planet defleate) to quickly and cheaply develop capabilities that we desire. In another thread, I noted that a modern AFV *could* probably be run by a small number of inexpensive tablet computers and a large number of "apps"; compared to the various "bespoke" black boxes that make up most AFV electronics. Other examples could probably be found...

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/welcome-to-copenhagen-suborbitals/



> *Welcome to Copenhagen Suborbitals*
> By Kristian von Bengtson   October 24, 2011  |  2:47 pm  |  Categories: Rocket Shop, Science Blogs
> 
> HEAT1X-Tycho BRahe launch 2011. Image: Bo Tornvig
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (29 Oct 2011)

A Canadian company revives an old LTA idea:

http://gas2.org/2011/10/24/video-canadian-company-develops-solar-powered-planeblimp-cargo-hauler/



> *Video: Canadian Company Develops Solar Powered Plane/Blimp Cargo Hauler*
> OCTOBER 24, 2011 BY CHRISTOPHER DEMORRO 14 COMMENTS
> 
> Green energy presents so many amazing opportunities and advantages over our current energy infrastructure…like the ability to go places where there isn’t any infrastructure. A Canadian company has developed a lightweight plane/blimp that can haul up to 1,000 kg of goods and is powered solely by the sun.
> ...



A company called Aireon came up with something like this in the late 1960's/early 1970's (assisted lift, but without the solar part). If this can be made to work, this could be an interesting utility/logistics vehicle, or basis for a UAV platform.

(edit to add)

For military purposes, a solar powered airship would be rather limited, but the point of assisted lift (the helium negates most of the weight of the vehicle) is to allow a much smaller engine to be used. A small four cylinder diesel engine from a Volkswagon Golf would probably provide more than enough power for these airships (and bigger engines or turbocharged versions can provide the motivation for larger versions). A cargo carrier that can move a metric ton of supplies and is not tied to the road network, but only needs the fuel to power a small car engine will have some pretty impressive effecs for the logistics chain.


----------



## a_majoor (2 Nov 2011)

Could have used something like this during the G-20 summit. Black Block movment people, Caledonia and OWS are other prime examples where monitoring or phone shut downs would help law enforcement a great deal:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/10/datong-surveillance/



> *UK Cops Using Fake Mobile Phone Tower to Intercept Calls, Shut Off Phones*
> By Kim Zetter   October 31, 2011  |  6:53 pm  |  Categories: Surveillance
> 
> Britain’s largest police force has been using covert surveillance technology that can masquerade as a mobile phone network to intercept communications and unique IDs from phones or even transmit a signal to shut off phones remotely, according to the Guardian.
> ...


----------



## jollyjacktar (2 Nov 2011)

Nice.  But I'd wager something of that sort is already in town and working....


----------



## a_majoor (18 Nov 2011)

Calling fire support from a continent away?

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/11/2400-miles-in-minutes-hypersonic-weapon-passes-easy-test/



> *2,400 Miles in Minutes? No Sweat! Hypersonic Weapon Passes ‘Easy’ Test*
> 
> By Noah Shachtman Email Author
> November 17, 2011  |
> ...



Stuff like this also seems to be able to support long range doctrine like AirSea Battle as well.


----------



## GnyHwy (18 Nov 2011)

That's a scramjet, that could look like the pic below.

Here's a wiki link that describes the technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramjet

No explosives required.  100lbs of solid shot at mach 7 will work just fine.  Likely great for hard installations.

Not too sure about hitting ships.  I do believe that this would demand accurate GPS coords, and the target would have to be static.


----------



## a_majoor (21 Nov 2011)

Imagine thousands of cooperative robots for EOD or engineering tasks (among other things)

http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/kilobots-are-leaving-the-nest



> *Kilobots are leaving the nest*
> November 21, 2011
> 
> Swarm of tiny, collaborative robots will be made available to researchers, educators, and enthusiasts
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (25 Nov 2011)

More here and now stuff; lightweight, modular armour. I like the built in holster, but that's me...

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/17540/u-s-palm-defender-body-armor/



> *U.S. PALM Defender Body Armor*
> U.S. PALM's Defender body armor was designed with civilians in mind and is a great item to have stored next to your home-defense firearm.
> By Bob Owens (RSS)
> November 21, 2011
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Nov 2011)

Long term help for people suffering brain injuries:

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/11/rebuilding-the-brain’s-circuitry/



> *Rebuilding the brain’s circuitry*
> Healthy neurons can integrate into diseased areas
> By David Cameron
> Harvard Medical School Communications
> ...


----------



## FlyingDutchman (28 Nov 2011)

Heads up display anyone?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/23/scientists-testing-hud-contact-lenses-on-rabbits-hope-to-bring/



> Scientists testing HUD contact lenses on rabbits, hope to bring augmented reality to your eyeballs
> 
> Scientists at Washington University are a step closer to bringing us all some sweet information displaying contact lenses. The team has been successfully testing prototype lenses on rabbits -- though there are some major caveats here. First, due to limits of circuitry, they can only display a single light-emitting diode at a time. Also, the scientists have yet to figure out a workable energy source -- at present, they need to be within centimeters of a wireless battery. The researchers have big plans, however, including the display of holographic images -- and, no doubt, information about which targets to destroy.


----------



## aesop081 (28 Nov 2011)

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> Nice.  But I'd wager something of that sort is already in town and working....



Indeed. The technology here is called "Bell Mobility"



> blackhole





> messages go to die


----------



## jollyjacktar (28 Nov 2011)

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> Indeed. The technology here is called "Bell Mobility"



Yes, the evil empire of telecom.  Sadly, I'm a customer.


----------



## a_majoor (29 Nov 2011)

Clearing poisions, toxins and infection from the body quickly:

http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=39181



> *Tiny Magnets Could Clear Diseases from the Blood*
> 
> Researchers make magnetic nanoparticles that can latch on to harmful molecules and purge them from the blood.
> By Adam Marcus
> ...


----------



## camouflauge (1 Dec 2011)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Calling fire support from a continent away?
> 
> http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/11/2400-miles-in-minutes-hypersonic-weapon-passes-easy-test/
> 
> Stuff like this also seems to be able to support long range doctrine like AirSea Battle as well.



A missile like this would save many American soldiers' lives.  As Ripley said:  We should nuke them from orbit.  It is the only way to be sure.


----------



## a_majoor (3 Dec 2011)

While insulation seems mundane, lightweight, low bulk items like this can make setting up in tropical or cold climates easier, reduce fuel and electrical consumption and lighten the logistical chain. This migh also have applications to insulate vehicles and possibly mask heat signatures:

http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2011/december/thinner-thermal-insulation.html



> *Thinner thermal insulation*
> Research News Dec 01, 2011
> 
> Insulation panels that are both thin and effective are expensive. At present these high-end products are built into energy-saving refrigerators. Innovative components and production techniques are now set to sink the costs – so that private home-builders can also benefit from the new technology.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Dec 2011)

Cheap, lightweight TI's for gunsights and cameras for recce are one thing, but I'm not so sure I wuold want them mounted on cellphones...

http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1986



> *Raytheon Awarded $13.4 Million in Defense Funding to Advance Thermal Imagers Manufacturing*
> 
> Program aims to make thermal imaging accessible to every warfighter
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (13 Dec 2011)

Micro engines have been proposed to run on board generators in laptops and so on, but this is about the most "micro" I have ever seen:

http://www.mpg.de/4691201/smallest_steam_engine



> *The world’s smallest steam engine*
> A heat engine measuring only a few micrometres works as well as its larger counterpart, although it splutters
> 
> December 11, 2011
> ...


----------



## OldSolduer (13 Dec 2011)

At the rate we're going, we'll look like this guy


----------



## FlyingDutchman (13 Dec 2011)

He needs some moisturizer.


----------



## a_majoor (16 Dec 2011)

Increasing the performance of satellites. This approach can also be used for radio antenna, allowing detailed radar imaging from space or radio communication satellites that can send and receive to small, low power devices like iPhones:

http://innovationnewsdaily.com/military-satellite-images-video-anywhere-2424/



> *'Dream' Space Telescope for Military Could Spy Anywhere on Earth*
> By InnovationNewsDaily Staff
> 14 December 2011 2:04 PM ET
> SHARE ARTICLE
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Dec 2011)

One for the bad guys. The only consolation prise is that the west has access to more people and equipment trained and suited for this type of work so we can potentially reverse engineer biowar agents. The technologies reported here may be useful if deployed on a large scale, or we could simply put an "Army of Davids" to work and strike back with even more terrible bioweapons (something freelancers might be inclined to do anyway):

Part 1

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/12/14/the_bioterrorist_next_door?page=full



> *The Bioterrorist Next Door*
> Man-made killer bird flu is here.  Can -- should -- governments try to stop it?
> 
> BY LAURIE GARRETT | DECEMBER 15, 2011
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Dec 2011)

Part 2:



> The Genie Is Out of the Bioterrorism and Pandemic Bottles: How Scared Should We Be?
> 
> This April, a team of CDC scientists published word that it had tried to manipulate H5N1 genes to render the avian virus a human-to-human spreader, but could not make it work. The team used a different method from the one apparently deployed by Fouchier and Kawaoka's team: The CDC group directly altered the genes of viruses, rather than sequentially infecting ferret after ferret. The CDC concluded, "An improvement in transmission efficiency was not observed with any of the mutants compared to the parental viruses, indicating that alternative molecular changes are required for H5N1 viruses to fully adapt to humans and to acquire pandemic capability."
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (21 Dec 2011)

Creating and assembling micromachines using DNA? This is mind boggling stuff:

http://pjmedia.com/blog/dna-not-just-for-the-living/?print=1



> *DNA: It’s Not Just for the Living Anymore*
> 
> Posted By Howard Lovy On December 20, 2011 @ 12:19 am In Science,Science & Technology | 7 Comments
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Jan 2012)

Rapid deployment of buildings. This sort of technology would be quite handy to build (or rebuild) bases, FOBs, refugee camps and material handling facilities in the military context. Some of the other "advertised" technologies like non electrical air conditioning and their air filtration system should also be examined:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/01/china-broad-group-constructs-30-story.html



> *China Broad Group constructs 30 story building in 15 days*
> 
> We have been closely tracking China's Broad Group and their prefabricated factory mass produced 'Can be Built' skyscraper technology. Six months ago they had earthquake certified a scale model of their 30 story building. now they have built an actual 30 story building in 15 days at the end of 2011.
> 
> ...



The Sky City concept sounds like the St Jean "Mega" expanded by orders of magnitude. I'm sure we can all picture what that would be like....


----------



## a_majoor (22 Jan 2012)

Dealing with huge amounts of data. Interestingly, the Watson program can be run on less capable hardware so long as you are willing to wait anywhere from hours to days for the answer. For some categories of problems, this might be sufficient (in our terms, logistics and administration can be handled by a "Watson" running on a less than super computer), but if you are trying to extract intelligence or actionable information in real time, then a supercomputer is a must:

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2139817/lotusphere-ibm-plans-push-watson-finance-medical-markets



> *Lotusphere: IBM plans to push Watson to finance and medical markets*
> by Dan Worth
> More from this author
> 18 Jan 2012
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 Jan 2012)

A very short summary of a program to create new fire fighting technologies. Eliminating Halon or tanks of CO2 would be good, but no real mention of what alternative methods are being used. (Blastig a fire with high energy sound or electromagnetic waves would seem to be more dangerous to the crew...):

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/DSO/Programs/Instant_Fire_Suppression_%28IFS%29.aspx



> INSTANT FIRE SUPPRESSION (IFS)
> 
> Fire in a combat vehicle or other confined space puts warfighters at risk.  DARPA's Instant Fire Suppression (IFS) program seeks to establish the feasibility of a novel flame-suppression system based on destabilization of flame plasma with electromagnetic fields, acoustics, ion injection, or other novel approaches.  The key to transformative firefighting approaches may lie in the fundamental understanding of fire itself.  Fire suppression technologies have focused largely on disrupting the chemical reactions involved in combustion.  From a physics point of view, however, flames are cold plasmas comprising mobile electrons and slower positive ions.  By using physics techniques rather than combustion chemistry, it may be possible to manipulate and extinguish flames.  To achieve this, key scientific breakthroughs are needed to understand and quantify the interaction of electromagnetic and acoustic waves with the plasma in a flame.  Research results will be used to determine the scalability of potential techniques.  If scaling is achievable, the program will build a prototype fire suppression system for Class A and B fires inside a ship or HUMVEE-sized compartment.


----------



## QORvanweert (26 Jan 2012)

Came across this article getting my morning fix of Pravda-ganda. Hopefully this is the right thread.

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/26-01-2012/120338-kalashnikov_ak_12-0/

Russia unveils fifth-generation Kalashnikov assault rifle
26.01.2012

Russia's largest firearms manufacturer, JSC Izhmash, unveiled its first model of the fifth-generation Kalashnikov assault rifle. The new rifle is tentatively called AK-12. The assembly of the new weapon, the development of which was initiated by Izhmash's chief designer Vladimir Zlobin, was completed in 2011. Specialists currently test the new weapon, the press service of the enterprise said Wednesday.

Russia's Interior Ministry has already requested the AK-12 for test exploitation. Izhmash is ready to arrange the deliveries of the new weapon for the Russian army too, Interfax reports.

Russian news agencies reported Wednesday that the Defense Ministry of Russia was not planning any purchases from Izhmash within the scope of the state defense order for 2012. It was also reported that the messages about the creation of the new Kalashnikov rifle were not true to fact.

"The AK-12 is being developed for export purposes. However, it also meets the requirements of the Defense Ministry, which the ministry has for the equipment of the soldiers of the Russian army. If there's an order, the enterprise will be ready to arrange the shipments of the AK-12 for the Armed Forces and special units of the Russian Federation," the press service of the company said.

The state tests of the rifle may begin at the end of 2012 or in the beginning of 2013. "Developing the new family of automatic rifles is a priority for the development of the enterprise. The company intends to retrieve its international market share," officials said.


For the time being, the company tests the AK-12 at its own base. The construction and ergonomics of the rifle will be changed as a result of the tests. "We will have to conduct many consultations with competent specialists who are interested in the creation of state-of-the-art, effective and reliable Russian assault rifle," Vladimir Zlobin, the designer of the rifle said.

Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was the first Russian official to have seen the AK-12. Designers managed to improve the parameters of the rifle. They adapted the weapon to modern combat conditions, having preserved Kalashnikov's unique qualities: simplicity, reliability and relatively low production cost.

The AK-12 has classic configuration, which creates a constructively simple automatic rifle with an option to mount powerful muzzles and large magazines. The new rifle is created as a basic platform, which will then be used for the development of nearly 20 different modifications of civil and military firearms. The caliber of cartridges used for the new rifle may vary from 5,45х39 to 7,62х51 mm.

Designers enhanced the ergonomics of the new rifle. The controls of the weapon (the lock, the selector of the kind of fire, the clip latch, the bolt latch) became available for one hand, which a person holds the weapon with.

The Picatinny rails were integrated in the construction of the AK-12. The rails are used to mount additional equipment: optical, collimating and night sights, mexometer, grenade launchers, lights, target indicators and other equipment. The devices allow to use the weapon effectively during any time of the day.

The new rifle also has the folding stock, and the height-adjustable heelpiece. The operating rod handle of the AK-12 can be mounted either on the left or on the right, which makes the weapon comfortable for both left-handed and right-handed people.

The list of novelties includes three fire modes: single shots, three shots and automatic fire. The muzzle of the assault rifle has been amended to shoot foreign-made barrelled grenades. Specialists currently design new magazine cases for the AK-12 - for 95 cartridges.

To increase the efficiency of single fire, the AK-12 was equipped with a new mechanic sight with enhanced sightline. The changes also touched upon the firing mechanism and the construction of the gun group. The AK-12 also uses state-of-the-art technologies in the field of coatings and materials. Over ten technological solutions will be introduced and patented when building various models of the assault rifle.


----------



## a_majoor (30 Jan 2012)

Using flickering lights for Internet and other connectivity. I predict low grade headaches in offices where this technology is used, but the potential is fascinating:

http://www.economist.com/node/21543470



> *Tripping the light fantastic*
> A fast and cheap optical version of Wi-Fi is coming
> 
> Jan 28th 2012 | from the print edition
> ...


----------



## jollyjacktar (31 Jan 2012)

Something new.  Not a shooter so I cannot comment on it's validity or possibility.  Shared with the usual caveats, photos and video at link.

Ready, fire, aim! U.S. Army’s new self-steering bullet comes with tiny fins that guide it to its target
By Katie Silver

A bullet that can steer itself has been developed by national security researchers for widespread use by the army.  US military researchers have developed the technology that will see regular army soldiers shooting with the accuracy of snipers.  In fact the four-inch-long, dart-like bullet is so effective that it can hit a target, guided by a laser, two kilometers away...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2094256/Armys-new-self-steering-bullet-comes-tiny-fins-guide-target.html#ixzz1l4W2SnI7


----------



## a_majoor (11 Feb 2012)

New developments in military robotics:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/02/squad-mission-support-systems-in.html



> *Squad mission support systems in Afghanistan and reviewing all war robots and considering future warbots*
> 
> 1. This is a follow up on the Lockheed Martin’s (LM) Squad Mission Support System (SMSS). The system, which turns a six-wheeled amphibious ATV into a robotic packhorse and charging station, has been subjected to a variety of simulated warzone environments in both remote controlled and fully autonomous modes"
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Feb 2012)

Making swarms of micro robots (or small, intricate mechanisms like sensors and fuses) could be a lot faster and cheaper with this technology:

http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/pop-up-flying-robots



> *In new mass-production technique, robotic insects spring to life*
> February 15, 2012
> 
> Production method inspired by children's pop-up books enables rapid fabrication of tiny, complex devices
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Feb 2012)

BAE develops a means of using carbon fiber composites as a battery. This would make structural components part of the electrical system and eleiminate the need for separate batteries (imagine the radio case is also the battery and you get the idea). The press release does not go into much detail, and issues like how the user is insulated from the electrical charge or what happens when the item breaks are left to the imagination of the reader:

http://www.baesystems.com/Newsroom/NewsReleases/autoGen_1121139240.html



> *Frontline Military Technology Promises Battery Revolution*
> 
> 13 Feb 2012 | Ref. 025/2012
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 Feb 2012)

This would make water treatment and providing water much easier, as well as lowering the logistical overhead compared to a ROWPU:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_12/b4220041560310.htm



> *Innovator: Robert McGinnis of Oasys Water*
> The former Navy diver was dismayed by how much energy it takes to desalinate seawater. So he developed a more efficient process
> By Caroline Winter
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (3 Mar 2012)

Italian scientists have discovered a way to bypass the bandwidth limit. Nets with multiple informations streams on the same channel are now possible in theory, it will be an interesting task for the signalers to create radio and data nets that can use these properties and for the rest of us not to be overwhelmed in a flood of data and trivial talk:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120302083011.htm



> *Pasta-Shaped Radio Waves Beamed Across Venice*
> 
> ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2012) — A group of Italian and Swedish researchers appears to have solved the problem of radio congestion by cleverly twisting radio waves into the shape of fusilli pasta, allowing a potentially infinite number of channels to be broadcast and received.
> 
> ...


----------



## Pieman (3 Mar 2012)

Wow, very smart!...and actually surprising it has not been done before. I suspect that the emitter would emit each signal at a different phase and simply pass each signal through a polarizing filter a different angle for each signal. The same thing on the receiving end. Turn the polarizing filter to the correct position and you will only get the desired signal....gotta read up on this concept.


----------



## a_majoor (8 Mar 2012)

And of course, you need really cool glasses to receive all this data:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/27600/?nlid=nldly&nld=2012-02-24



> *Google's Terminator Glasses*
> 
> They're real?!
> 
> ...



Actually, if this can be integrated into something like the BEW's, it will provide a fairly natural and easy to use interface for the troops on the ground. The trick is more on how to control/filter the input in an intuative, hands free way.


----------



## a_majoor (10 Mar 2012)

I think the real problem with this idea is the limited line of sight, hence limited reaction time for these sorts of systems. The real solution may be to consider this as some sort of "area defense" system and mount high resolution sensors and weapons on aircraft or UCAV orbiting overhead. To be really ideal, you would probably need a layered system: medium-high altitude system to provide wide area coverage, a low altitude system for each platoon/troop and probably still need a (simple, low cost) point system to catch "leakers" or deal with saturation attacks:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/03/anti-rocket-raytheon/



> *Pentagon Tries (Again) to Shoot Down Rockets*
> 
> By Katie Drummond
> March 9, 2012 |
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (14 Mar 2012)

While this is about James Cameron's personal hobby of oceanic exploration, it is interesting to note the speed and relative cost of his developing and adopting high technology. As well, the material used to make his sub (an epoxy resin filled with glass microspheres) could make for a great, lightweight structural material for other things as well:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/news/james-cameron-on-his-deep-ocean-quest-7189937?click=pm_latest



> *James Cameron's Deep-Ocean Quest*
> 
> Late last summer, PM spoke with James Cameron, winner of the magazine’s 2011 Breakthrough Leadership Award, about his enthusiasm for filmmaking, engineering, and, most of all, exploration. Today, he announced that in the coming weeks he’ll try to dive to the deepest point in the world’s ocean—the 36,201-foot Challenger Deep. Cameron talked about his ambitious diving goals during his 2011 interview, but some of the details did not make the final edition of PM. So, on the cusp of his dive attempt, we’re publishing the rest of the interview here.
> By Anne Thompson
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (22 Mar 2012)

Considering the amount of time it often takes to field new gear, sails may be an appropriate choice for this type of experiment. Still, robotized creatures roaming the battlefield make for an even greater layer of complexity:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/science/the-snails-of-war-and-other-robotics-experiments.html?_r=1&ref=science



> *The Snails of War*
> By JAMES GORMAN
> Published: March 20, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## GnyHwy (22 Mar 2012)

I wonder who will be the first to complain about this practice.  Greenpeace, or French gourmets?


----------



## GAP (22 Mar 2012)

> There is a long way to go before insect cyborgs for peace and war will go into action, and even longer before they reach the toy market. But it seems inevitable, the great trickle-down effect of military research — great toys. After all, what middle school prankster would not give a year’s allowance for a remote-controlled living water bug?
> 
> The possibilities boggle the imagination. The only question will be whether they are sold at pet stores or RadioShack.



probably jr high/highschool teachers......oh, the fun that could be had in a classroom or .........  ;D


----------



## a_majoor (23 Mar 2012)

Data mining may be the next frontier for intelligence and related activities (ISTAR, IA, HUMINT, etc.). While this is a humorous example of what might be done, extend the idea to data mining entire information directories to identify clusters of data (for anomalies or other indicators depending on the commander's requirements and intent). While the example seems pretty straight forward and something anyone can do without a computer, what if you were looking at tens of thousands of items in a data set?

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27667/?p1=blogs



> *Twitter Data Scientist Takes on McDonald's Entire Menu, Survives*
> 
> Mining thousands of calories of food isn't so different from parsing terabytes of tweets.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (6 Apr 2012)

IKEA is the logical company to develop this. Low cost, flat packed shelters would be a great way to save on shipping space when setting up encampments and operating bases, as well as humanitarian operations for housing refugees etc. (The IKEA furniture would probably be replaced by CORCAN for CF use... >):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/04/prefab-home-with-ikea-decor.html



> *Prefab home with Ikea decor*
> 
> Ikea has partnered with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox to launch a line of prefabricated homes. Dubbed “aktiv,” the one-bedroom home will be decked out entirely in hip Ikea decor. Expected to sell at $86,500
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (6 Apr 2012)

A pretty exciting discovery. More detailed understanding of the brain structure could lead to better treatment of concussions and other brain trauma. More futuristic stuff like brain augmentation or having "mind control" over devices might also derive from this sort of research as well:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/04/your-brain-its-organized-like-woven.html



> *Your Brain--It's Organized Like a Woven Cloth in Uniform Grids and Not Spaghetti*
> 
> NSF - It was previously thought the inside of the brain resembled the assembly of a bowl of spaghetti noodles. Researchers and scientists, funded by the National Science Foundation, have now discovered that a more uniformed grid-like pattern makes up the connections of the brain. Knowledge gained from the study helped shape design specifications for the most powerful brain scanner of its kind, which was installed at MGH's Martinos Center last fall. The new Connectom diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner can visualize the networks of crisscrossing fibers – by which different parts of the brain communicate with each other – in 10-fold higher detail than conventional scanners, said Wedeen.
> 
> ...


----------



## Antoine (7 May 2012)

Highlights - Lightweight helmets for Canadian soldiers, developed by National Research Council Canada. Good use of our tax !



> March 1, 2012 — Ottawa, Ontario
> A new generation of lightweight helmets developed for Canadian soldiers could reduce the risk of head injuries sustained when military vehicles are struck by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
> In Afghanistan, roadside IEDs have claimed many casualties, but not always from the fragments generated during an explosion: the actual force of the explosion on the vehicle can result in impact injuries and concussions for the occupants. A combat helmet provides a certain level of protection against these impacts, so the Department of National Defence (DND) requires soldiers to wear helmets when travelling. However, the coverage and weight of the helmet pose a burden on soldiers, particularly in extremely hot environments.  Reducing the weight and increasing the protection offered by combat helmets are top priorities for DND. ...



More at :
www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/news/nrc/2012/03/01/drdc-nrc.html


----------



## a_majoor (10 May 2012)

Fuel cells directly convert high energy density hydrocarbon fuels into electrical energy with reasonably high efficiency. Small fuel cells like this could dramatically reduce the number of battereis that soldiers have to pack, either by having units powering devices for far longer than any battery can, or perhaps by hooking multiple devices to a single fuel cell:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/05/pocket-sized-fuel-cell-charges-phones.html



> *Pocket-sized fuel cell charges phones for two weeks*
> 
> Brookstone will be the first retail launch partner for Lilliputian Systems Inc. (LSI’s) portable charging system. Brookstone will be responsible for the marketing, promotion, distribution and sale of the product through their various distribution channels such as catalog, Brookstone.com, and retail stores including airport and mall locations. Lilliputian will be responsible for the product design, development, and manufacturing. The product will be branded and sold under the Brookstone® brand.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (21 May 2012)

Not exactly Star Trek, but being able to teleport packets of data would be about the most secure network possible (among other potentials). The line at the end sums up the situation quite sadly:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27864/?p1=blogs



> *European Physicists Smash Chinese Teleportation Record*
> 
> The battle over distance records sets up a fascinating race to be the first to teleport to an orbiting satellite
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (22 May 2012)

Motion activated devices are now cheap and accurate (although I doubt that any person could have this much accuracy when pointing or moving). Imagine entirely new types of interfaces for the various devices we carry and use based on gestures or body motions. This could include medical devices cued to unnatural body motions (falls, sudden violent shocks from accidents or weapons strikes), or alarm devices cued by subtle movements that might not be noticed by the target. Other ideas are left to your imagination (point and shoot devices would take on a whole new meaning):

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/27868/?p1=blogs



> *Leap 3D Out-Kinects Kinect (Video)*
> 
> It's 200 times more accurate, tracking even your fingers.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 May 2012)

Using new high tech devices to get around. The Exoskeleton and robotic vehicles have been in the works for quite a while (the late 1950's if you count "Starship Troopers"), and the rope climbing gadget would be quite handy in urban settings. I don't think the flying car is quite as practical, but we shall see...

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/05/hulc-exoskeleton-options-and-tactics.html



> *HULC Exoskeleton a Revolution in Rapid Deployment Forces and Mobile Mechanized Infantry*
> 
> Lockheed appears to be on track for deploying combat versions of the HULC exoskeleton into Afghanistan in early 2013 or even late in 2012.
> 
> ...


----------



## Antoine (8 Jun 2012)

Sniffing out explosives



> Timothy Swager often finds his mind drifting back to the 7 July 2005 bombings. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chemist was on sabbatical in London at the time. 'There's one thing I think about a lot. Those guys with the backpacks would have been easily detected with some chemical sensors,' he says. 'Starting back at Luton when they went through a door into the train station wearing backpacks giving off vapours, you could have had some very small, inexpensive sensors over the top of the doors that would have said: there are people to watch here.' One sensor could give too many false alarms but a series of sensors at different spots in the train station would be able to pick up the same people again and again, he adds.
> 
> Swager is famed for creating polymer technology to sniff out explosives vapours in the field, commercialised as Fido explosives detectors. The arrays of unobtrusive sensors that he envisages may not be that far from reality. Researchers can already detect single molecules of explosives using sensing systems that have the potential to be cheap, low-power and very, very small - thanks to some clever chemistry and consumer-driven miniaturisation of electronics. Most of these vapour detection systems are designed to identify molecules of high explosives such as TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene).....



This article is a bit technical and I didn't want to take too much space on this website by quoting all of it. If you are interested to read more about this article, you'll find it at:

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2012/04/sniffing-out-explosives


----------



## a_majoor (9 Jun 2012)

Plastics that are lighter and strong as steel. Moulding them into parts should also be eaisier. Once this technology is commercialized we can go on a "diet" by replacing things like strike plates and hatches with superstrong plastic substitutes; a 30% weight reduction will go a long way to reducing other logistical burdens and improving the soldier's stamina:

http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16757



> *Steel-Strength Plastics -- and Green, Too!*
> Thursday, June 7, 2012
> 
> TAU researcher develops durable plastic that may replace metals
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Jun 2012)

The USAF continues to look at hypersonic missiles. Shrinking them to fit fighter jets makes sense and provides far more platforms to carry the weapons. The sheer kinetic energy of a missile moving at Mach 6 makes it a potent bunker buster and anti ship missiles as well as AAMs, a CF-35 or even CF-18 carrying these sort of missiles makes them true multi role platforms.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/hypersonic-missiles/



> *Air Force Wants Hypersonic Missiles for Stealth Jets*
> By Robert BeckhusenEmail Author June 7, 2012 |  6:00 pm |  Categories: Missiles
> 
> An X-51 Waverider hypersonic missile attached to the wing of a B-52 bomber. The Air Force seeks to build a smaller variant for its stealth fighters. Photo: Boeing
> ...


----------



## Panzer Grenadier (18 Jun 2012)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Plastics that are lighter and strong as steel. Moulding them into parts should also be eaisier. Once this technology is commercialized we can go on a "diet" by replacing things like strike plates and hatches with superstrong plastic substitutes; a 30% weight reduction will go a long way to reducing other logistical burdens and improving the soldier's stamina:
> 
> http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16757



I'm keeping my hopes high on being able to reduce the soldiers burden.  I fear however that the higher ups will simply add more to the standard load requirements to offset any weight reductions gained.


----------



## a_majoor (20 Jun 2012)

Small, low cost gigapixel camera. Imagine something like this on the mast of a surveillance vehicle or the pod of a UAV. Another possible use would be for all sky surveillance looking for satellites. The imagination boggles:

http://www.nature.com/news/gigapixel-camera-catches-the-smallest-details-1.10853



> *Gigapixel camera catches the smallest details*
> One-billion-pixel snapshots offer researchers high-resolution view of dynamic processes.
> 
> Katherine Bourzac
> ...


----------



## cupper (21 Jun 2012)

> “The technology for capturing the world is outpacing our ability to deal with the data,”



This is going to be the bigger problem to overcome if it is to become commercially viable, let alone militarily functional.

The storage problem will be one thing, but also the processing power needed to even handle that much data in one shot would be prohibitive. And let's not even think about transmitting the data between users in a field environment.

Michio Kaku has posited that Moore's Law will collapse in the next ten years, and is currently showing signs of slowing down.

http://techland.time.com/2012/05/01/the-collapse-of-moores-law-physicist-says-its-already-happening/


----------



## a_majoor (22 Jun 2012)

Granted the file storage and transmission problems will be difficult to overcome, but this sort of thing generates its own momentum; the potential advantages of gigapixel cameras are so great that lots of work will be done to attempt to overcome these issues generated by having gigapixel cameras in the first place.

The potential spinoffs of that will be mind boggeling: you would need a ruggedized laptop with similar performance to a modern supercomputer to process images, and mass produced ultra high capacity storage devices which would act as "film" for these cameras. If these items are mass produced for running cameras, they will also be available for other things as well...Dealing with huge bandwidth pipes is way over my pay grade, although some of the material upthread touches on these issues.

For those of you with interest in this technology (or even building your own gigapixel cameras out of commodity parts) this website is interesting:

http://disp.duke.edu/projects/AWARE/
http://disp.duke.edu/projects/mosaic/cam001.html
http://disp.duke.edu/projects/mosaic/cam002.html


----------



## cupper (22 Jun 2012)

Here's some more info on the Gigapixel Camera, complete with photos and technical sketches

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/06/22/Gigapixel-camera-suggests-ways-to-offer-high-pixel-counts


----------



## a_majoor (26 Jun 2012)

And it seems there is another way to vastly increase the bandwith of the various network pipes. Gigapixel cameras may not be so far fetched after all:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/131640-infinite-capacity-wireless-vortex-beams-carry-2-5-terabits-per-second



> *Infinite-capacity wireless vortex beams carry 2.5 terabits per second*
> By Sebastian Anthony on June 25, 2012 at 7:41 am
> Share This article
> 
> ...


----------



## GAP (26 Jun 2012)

Here's another innovation that is likely to have a huge impact on the size of systems....

The fanless heatsink: Silent, dust-immune, and almost ready for prime time
By Sebastian Anthony on June 25, 2012 
Article Link

The fanless, almost-silent, dust-immune, 30-times-more-efficient Sandia Cooler heatsink is almost ready for prime time. Sandia National Laboratories has announced that two companies — one computer heatsink maker, and one LED light maker — have licensed the technology.

In the Sandia Cooler, the heatsink itself is the fan. It is a cast metal impeller that floats on a hydrodynamic air bearing just a thousandth of an inch (0.03 millimeters) above a metal heat pipe spreader, powered by a brushless motor in the middle. The end result is a cooler that is very quiet and 30 times more efficient than a fan-and-heatsink solutions. The prototype (shown above and in the video below) is 10 times smaller than a commercial state-of-the-art cooler, but has the same cooling performance.

The Sandia Cooler’s silent operation is due to the fact that a fanless design has a lot more flexibility, whereas the fan in a standard air cooler just needs to drive as much air as possible. The Sandia Cooler’s impeller blades can have a geometry that perfectly splits the air at the impeller entrance (in the middle) and rejoins the air flow at the exit (the edges). Fast forward to 3:30 in the video if you want to hear just how quiet it is.
More on link


----------



## a_majoor (29 Jun 2012)

Moving from information age technologies back to moving brute matter around, DARPA has completed a series of tests involving ways to deploy direct to shore from standard container ships; making the idea of the Big Honking Ship somewhat moot (for the same cost of one BHS, you could conceivably get dozens of converted container ships. Soldiers have lived in modified ISO containers, so even personnel could be transported this way in theory):

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/06/26.aspx



> * DARPA DEVELOPS TECHNOLOGIES FOR AIDING DISASTER RELIEF*
> 
> June 26, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (30 Jun 2012)

This looks like it could have some interesting potential, if at the very least  lightening the load for portable electronic devices.

*
Scientists demonstrate 'paint-on' batteries*

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/06/30/paint-on-batteries-demonstrated



> Scientists in Texas have demonstrated a way of 'painting' rechargeable lithium-ion batteries onto surfaces, greatly expanding the potential for future development of portable electronics. The team, from Rice University, has succeeded in painting batteries onto a range of different surfaces, including common household objects, with 'no surface conditioning'. The batteries are made up of five layers measuring just 0.5mm thick in total and, according to the scientists that developed the technology, can be fabricated using conventional spray-painting equipment and techniques.


----------



## a_majoor (3 Jul 2012)

This sort of monitoring SW would have a lot of utility in IA and COIN scenarios, changing the input parameters to the things *we* are interested in (although criminal activity is an indication of where Government has less control over a neighbourhood):

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428354/la-cops-embrace-crime-predicting-algorithm/?ref=rss



> *L.A. Cops Embrace Crime-Predicting Algorithm*
> Burglary reports dropped after officers began taking patrol orders from computers.
> 
> David Talbot
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (3 Jul 2012)

Lots of amazing stuff coming down the pike. Making desalination *several orders of magnitude* easier is not just a small improvement; it means things like a ROWPU sized unit could provide water for a city, or a deployed unit (or the DART) could provide masses of drinking water from a unit the size of a portable generator...

http://www.geekosystem.com/graphene-desalination/



> *Graphene Can Improve Desalination Efficiency by Several Orders of Magnitude, Can Do Pretty Much Anything*
> 
> Desalination Graphene MIT
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Jul 2012)

Exoskeletons become more versatile; a powered hand provides more strength and dexterity than previous designs (and being able to lift huge weights with a powered exoskeleton would be pointless if you can't hang on to the item in question anyway:

http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/12713.htm



> *ExoHand – human-machine interaction*
> 
> Description
> Animation
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Jul 2012)

DARPA goes for smart underwear. Think of this as a stealth suit for preventing injuries and you get the idea:

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/DSO/Programs/Warrior_Web.aspx



> *WARRIOR WEB*
> 
> The amount of equipment and gear carried by today’s dismounted warfighter can exceed 100 pounds, as troops conduct patrols for extended periods over rugged and hilly terrain. The added weight while bending, running, squatting, jumping and crawling in a tactical environment increases the risk of musculoskeletal injury, particularly on vulnerable areas such as ankles, knees and lumbar spine. Increased load weight also causes increase in physical fatigue, which further decreases the body’s ability to perform warfighter tasks and protect against both acute and chronic injury.
> 
> ...


----------



## GnyHwy (18 Jul 2012)

India's newest howitzer.  It's currently getting slammed on Facebook by my fellow gunners.  I'm also going to post in the Arty threads to see what kind of reaction it gets; likely negative.

It's an interesting concept, but to me it looks like it was designed by a crapload of extremely smart engineers, and very few actual Artilleryman.

http://www.military.com/video/guns/howitzers/indian-armys-new-155mm-howitzer/1737980611001/


----------



## a_majoor (19 Jul 2012)

Isn't this a reworking or rebuild of the Bofors FH-77 (B-02 or B-05 depending on the source you read)?

The Swedes are pretty big on finding non standard solutions to problems (think of the Striv 103 "S" tank or various SAAB jet fighters), and most of their stuff does work, even if not in the same way that we might expect. Reading an article in Defense Industry Daily it seems the Indian Army is having a difficult time getting a new artillery piece through the normal procurement process, so rebuilding the FH-77 may be their only viable solution until the procurment process gets fixed. (see http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/murky-competition-for-2b-india-howitzer-order-may-end-soon-0805/)


----------



## OldSolduer (25 Jul 2012)

GnyHwy said:
			
		

> India's newest howitzer.  It's currently getting slammed on Facebook by my fellow gunners.  I'm also going to post in the Arty threads to see what kind of reaction it gets; likely negative.
> 
> It's an interesting concept, but to me it looks like it was designed by a crapload of extremely smart engineers, and very few actual Artilleryman.
> 
> http://www.military.com/video/guns/howitzers/indian-armys-new-155mm-howitzer/1737980611001/



I am not a gunner however I can see this piece of kit in the maintenance bay rather than on the gun line. Too complicated and too many moving parts. Plus what is the accuracy like? I recall once we bedded our 81s in we didn't like to move them until we had to leave.
That transformer rotating round and round under its own power.....radical yes....


----------



## GnyHwy (25 Jul 2012)

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> I am not a gunner however I can see this piece of kit in the maintenance bay rather than on the gun line. Too complicated and too many moving parts. Plus what is the accuracy like? I recall once we bedded our 81s in we didn't like to move them until we had to leave.
> That transformer rotating round and round under its own power.....radical yes....



We leave the 81s bedded in as long as possible as well.  Or at least until they are so far bedded in that you can't see your aiming points with your sight.  

Here is the link that everyone is commenting on the Indian gun.
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/106746.0.html


----------



## jollyjacktar (25 Jul 2012)

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> I am not a gunner however I can see this piece of kit in the maintenance bay rather than on the gun line. Too complicated and too many moving parts. Plus what is the accuracy like? I recall once we bedded our 81s in we didn't like to move them until we had to leave.
> That transformer rotating round and round under its own power.....radical yes....


I also thought that the dinky wheels on the rear of the assy might not do too well in some field conditions.  But you're right, lots of shit to break and cause headaches.  As for the Riverdance gun drill, I laugh everytime I watch it.   ;D


----------



## Rifleman62 (26 Jul 2012)

http://defensetech.org/2012/07/25/boeing-builds-touch-screen-sand-table-replacement/

*Boeing Builds Touch Screen Sand Table Replacement*

The Army can’t get enough touch screens. Walk through the Network Integration Evaluations at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. They populate the headquarters posts and tactical operations center throughout the desert. The day of the traditional sand table might be coming to a close.

One of the latest models is Boeing’s Virtual Mission Board which the Army is using to train. Dave Irwin, Boeing’s director for Ground Forces Training, said he could see it being used in combat as well.

The Virtual Mission Board is less a board as much as it’s a software program that soldiers or other services could install into whichever PC they choose. Boeing is still working with the software to make it adaptable to iPads and other tablets.

Before and after exercises, soldiers and troop commanders can see exactly where their units are located and how a potential exercise will play out. They can see a 3-D lay out of buildings and virtual battlefields. With a touch of the finger they can move units much like they did on a sand table. Commanders can even map fires and simulate entire exercise progressions, Irwin said.

Soldiers at Fort Sill, Okla., have already started training with the Virtual Mission Board. The Army has bought two boards for Fort Sill, one for Ft. Bragg, N.C., and one for Fort Lee, Va.. The Army is in the process of buying another one for Fort Lee, two for Fort Eustis, Va., one for Fort Rucker, Ala., five for Fort McCoy, Wisc., and one for the Pennsylvania National Guard. The Marine Corps has shown interest, but has yet to buy one, Irwin said.

For the same reason the Virtual Mission Board works as a training tool, Irwin can see Army units using it in deployed locations. Rather than using paper maps or Power Point slides before missions, a commander could outline an upcoming mission on the Virtual Mission Board.

The Army first started using the Virtual Mission Board in 2010. The potential use in combat is a new development.

At the most recent NIE this Spring, the Army tested the Command Tactical Vision touch screen mapping program built by Ringtail, a small company based in Austin, Texas. Soldiers and commanders raved about how easy it was to visualize the battlefield using the large touch screen map and the manner it condensed information that typically required four to five screens at a TOC.

Army and SOCOM leaders have already provided feedback on how Boeing could improve the board. Commanders asked Boeing to include a tool that measures a specific plot of land simply by tracing it with your finger. Boeing agreed and has made the adjustment.

“We’re always looking to make it better,” Irwin said.

From Boeing web site including video:

http://www.boeing.com/Features/2012/07/bds_vmb_07_23_12.html
*
High Tech, high-touch training: Virtual Mission Board*
By Robert Sterling

The Virtual Mission Board

The Virtual Mission Board is helping change the way the U.S. Army trains.

A *deployable*, 55-inch touch-screen display system, the VMB operates the same as a smart phone or tablet. With colorful 3D graphics, the board can recreate terrains and cityscapes exactly as they appear in reality.

The board replaces the need for paper maps and elaborate models that often required an entire room to display. Participants are immersed in a virtual representation of the training environment before they ever step foot on the battlefield.

For instance, soldiers practicing "fires training" can input artillery shell trajectories into the board and quickly assess how an intervening hill or other impediment could hinder the mission. They can also evaluate how artillery might affect intervening air support.

The VMB, currently in use at Fort Sill, Okla., and other bases around the country, is not limited to military applications. The deployable, touch-screen board’s planning, tracking and review capabilities make it a useful device for training and security in various buildings and airports.


----------



## GAP (26 Jul 2012)

> The Marine Corps has shown interest, but has yet to buy one, Irwin said.



They'll just wait until the Army throws them out for something new.......then they get them for free.... ;D


----------



## a_majoor (4 Aug 2012)

Some very out of the box thinking by the University of Guelph. While there isn't a definite correlation between gut bacteria and diseases like Autism, diabetes or obesity, there are some tenuous links which need to be explored. If this is a valid hypothesis, then you can imagine pmeds handing out packages of probiotic youghurt to forstall various diseases. Going farther on a limb, I would be very interested to see if there is a systemic difference between the gut bacteria of ordinary people and genius level people or Olympic level atheletes. A relatively simple means of upgrading the potential of recruits would then be possible if such a link could be established and verified:

http://atguelph.uoguelph.ca/2012/07/gut-bacteria-may-hold-key-to-autism/



> *Gut Bacteria May Hold Key to Autism*
> Mother of autistic son finds open minds at U of G
> BY ANDREW VOWLES
> FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012
> ...


----------



## cupper (4 Aug 2012)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> A relatively simple means of upgrading the potential of recruits would then be possible if such a link could be established and verified:



Based on the quality of recruit product we see on this site, I don't think there's enough yogurt in the world to give them an upgrade. ;D


----------



## GnyHwy (14 Aug 2012)

Some more on scramjet technology.

Imagine flying from New York to London in under an hour
By Mike Mount, CNN Senior National Security Producer

Perhaps Han Solo said it best in Star Wars when, describing his hyper-fast smuggling spaceship the Millennium Falcon, he said, "It may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts."

While the Air Force might take exception to being likened to the Falcon, in reality the platypus-nosed X-51A Waverider hypersonic flight test vehicle really doesn't look like much. But it definitely has it where it counts.

On Tuesday, the unmanned 25-foot-long vehicle will be dropped off of the wing of a converted B-52 bomber off the California coast and try to fly for 300 seconds at science fiction-like speeds of Mach 6, over 4,500 mph - fast enough to fly from New York to London in less than an hour.


It is the Pentagon's latest test as it studies the possibilities of hypersonic flight, defined as moving at speeds of Mach 5 (about 3,400 mph) and above without leaving the atmosphere. The technology could eventually bring missiles or airplanes to the other side of the planet in minutes instead of hours.

The Air Force and the Pentagon are not saying much about Tuesday's test, but the military could use such technology for reconnaissance aircraft, cruise missile-like weapons or vehicles that could carry people or cargo so fast adversaries would not have time to react, according to military analysts.

The Air Force conceived the X-51A program in 2004 and, according to the military analysis website Globalsecurity.org, the service has spent $140 million on the Waverider system. The Air Force will not disclose the actual cost of the program.

Long like a missile and with just a few fins in the rear, the Boeing-built aircraft is not designed as a bed for a weapon, according to the Air Force, but it is testing the technology to build future weapons around.

Past Waverider flights have come with mixed results. In May 2010, the Waverider made its first flight at 3,500 mph for 143 seconds before a malfunction caused the test to shut down early.

A June 2011 test also was shutdown early but did collect some data for the Air Force.

If all goes as planned, the flight Tuesday will end with a dive into the Pacific; there is no intent to recover the aircraft. The Air Force says the program was designed for each vehicle to be destroyed at the end of its flight test because of the cost that would be involved in recovering them. Data is fed back to evaluators during the test.

The Pentagon considers hypersonic flight the new stealth. The technology could move reconnaissance or bomber aircraft at high altitudes and speeds that put them far out of the reach of surface-to-air missiles or other anti-aircraft fire. The kind of speeds the X-51A is able to reach cannot be achieved with current jet-powered technology.

The aircraft uses "scramjet" technology, an engine with virtually no moving parts. It uses oxygen from the atmosphere for its engines, as opposed to carrying large fuel tanks that rockets require, making it a more efficient vehicle for military or commercial purposes.

Additionally, because of the high speeds the vehicle is also able to ride on the shockwave it creates at six times the speed of sound, increasing efficiency, according to an Air Force factsheet on the X-51A. It says that is also the genesis of the vehicle's nickname, the Waverider.

The Pentagon's high-technology research group, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, says getting aircraft to speeds of Mach 20 - which would enable the military to get anywhere in the world in under an hour - is an area of research where significant scientific advancements have eluded researchers for decades.

The Pentagon says it is studying this technology as countries have made advances in thwarting stealth technologies the U.S military has in its arsenal.

"That strategic advantage is threatened as other nations' abilities in stealth and counter-stealth improve," according to DARPA website. "Restoring that battle space advantage requires advanced speed, reach and range. Hypersonic technologies have the potential to provide the dominance once afforded by stealth to support a range of varied future national security missions."

The military could use it in two realms, according to Dan Wasserbly, the Americas editor of IHS/Jane's, a military analysis publication.

"They could use it to develop cruise missile-like weapons that could reach a target on the other side of the planet in minutes instead of hours, as well as developing aircraft which could put a quick-reaction force on a far-off battleground within hours instead of days," Wasserbly said.

The Air Force has said that by 2016 it would like to have a working weapon flying with hypersonic technology. But with the program budgeted only though this Tuesday's test, it is unclear when anything with hypersonic technology could be fielded, according to Wasserbly.

The Air Force made four of the X-51A test vehicles. Tuesday's test will be the third and possibly last test, according to Air Force spokesman Daryl Mayer.

"The Air Force will review the data from this mission and assess what will come next," he said.

The Pentagon has also been studying other hypersonic technology, including 2010 and 2011 flight tests of the Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV-2) capable of reaching Mach 20, approximately 13,000 mph, according to DARPA.

Both of those tests ended with the aircraft crashing before the tests were complete.

So even after the Air Force evaluates the results of the Tuesday test, it will be hard to know when the military will start launching troops from the U.S. to a far-flung combat zone in minutes.

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/14/imagine-flying-from-new-york-to-london-in-under-an-hour/?hpt=hp_c1


----------



## a_majoor (17 Aug 2012)

The Navy wants robots to look for enemy submarines:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/08/16.aspx



> *UNMANNED SUB-HUNTER TO QUELL A SILENT THREAT*
> 
> August 16, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (18 Aug 2012)

Remember the discussion upthread about gigapixel cameras and the issue of storage and bandwidth? The bandwidth issue seems to have been cracked here, and now the storage of vast amounts of data seems to have a solution as well:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134672-harvard-cracks-dna-storage-crams-700-terabytes-of-data-into-a-single-gram



> *Harvard cracks DNA storage, crams 700 terabytes of data into a single gram*
> By Sebastian Anthony on August 17, 2012 at 10:22 am198 Comments
> 
> A bioengineer and geneticist at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have successfully stored 5.5 petabits of data — around 700 terabytes — in a single gram of DNA, smashing the previous DNA data density record by a thousand times.
> ...



Of course a DNA based storage media isn't as fast as an electronic or photonic one, (at least not with current technologies), but with the small size of the storage media, it seems likely that some sort of memory buffer could be attached; the device would be like an external hard drive with some sort of read/write mechanism to pull information from the DNA and rapidly put it into the computing device itself.


----------



## a_majoor (22 Aug 2012)

Analog computers have been around for a long time, but digital computers have many advantages (particularly in being rapidly programable). If this research pays off, the benefit to us would be computer devices which use much less power, resulting in soldiers having to carry fewer batteries, battery chargers, mobile generators etc. The logistical chain fallout could be immense:

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/08/upside/



> *Darpa Has Seen the Future of Computing … And It’s Analog*
> By Robert McMillanEmail Author 08.22.12 6:30 AM
> | Edit
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 Aug 2012)

Wood, the wonder material:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528786.100-why-wood-pulp-is-worlds-new-wonder-material.html?full=true&print=true



> *Why wood pulp is world's new wonder material *
> Updated 11:23 24 August 2012 by Will Ferguson
> Magazine issue 2878. Subscribe and save
> For similar stories, visit the Nanotechnology Topic Guide
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Sep 2012)

We're getting closer to the day:

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever"

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/military-robots/boston-dynamics-cheetah-robot-now-faster-than-fastest-human



> Boston Dynamics' Cheetah Robot Now Faster than Fastest Human
> POSTED BY: EVAN ACKERMAN  /  WED, SEPTEMBER 05, 2012
> 
> Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot has just set a new record for legged robots by sprinting at 28.3 mph. This, incidentally, is also faster than Olympic (human) champion Usain Bolt, who set the world record for the 100 meter dash with a speed of 27.8 mph back in 2009. Yes, this means that now there is officially no escape from a robot cheetah on a treadmill. You've been warned.
> ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chPanW0QWhA&feature=player_embedded


----------



## a_majoor (9 Sep 2012)

Ever thought about how Google makes their maps? This multi dimentional databasing of maps puts things like Arcview to shame. Graphics on link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/how-google-builds-its-maps-and-what-it-means-for-the-future-of-everything/261913/



> How Google Builds Its Maps—and What It Means for the Future of Everything
> By Alexis C. Madrigal
> 
> Sep 6 2012, 3:27 PM ET 112
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (19 Sep 2012)

Energy efficiency is very important. Using this new technology will allow more electrical energy to be harvested without mechanical or chemical steps (and the resulting weight and efficiency losses). A generator or hybrid vehicle would be a great military application, but even using this material in a furnace or hot water heater would also provide a useful suppliment for homes, bases and other fixed installations:

http://phys.org/news/2012-09-thermoelectric-material-world-electricity.html



> September 19, 2012 Northwestern University scientists have developed a thermoelectric material that is the best in the world at converting waste heat to electricity.
> 
> This is very good news once you realize nearly two-thirds of energy input is lost as waste heat.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (21 Sep 2012)

The use of micro inertial guidance systems will have a great many applications, both inside and outside the military. Being able to navigate with pinpoint precision without GPS will be another "killer app" in lots of situations.

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/09/20.aspx



> *Microfabrication methods to help navigate a day without GPS*
> 
> September 20, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## GAP (26 Sep 2012)

BattleJacket®
Article Link

High Impact Technology’s BattleJacket® Fuel Cell Containment System (FCCS) is a revolutionary technology designed to minimize or prevent leakage of fuel tankers due to small-arms fire, which can cause hazardous conditions for troops transporting fuel as well as operational risks caused by the resulting lack of fuel.

It has long been known that fuel itself works well as a ballistic medium — the Israelis have placed fuel tanks on the outside of their vehicles for years. As little as 12” of fuel (or liquid) will mitigate the energy of most small caliber incoming rounds. By allowing the rounds to penetrate into the fuel tankers, risk to personnel could be minimized. And a self-sealing bladder would prevent fuel loss. After all, combat aircraft have had self-sealing bladders for years, so why not ground-based tankers?

Based on this innovative thinking, HIT developed BattleJacket® self-sealing tank coating, which could be applied to tankers using an easy-to-use spray coating process.

BattleJacket® technology was developed by testing multiple elastomeric spray coating formulations for ballistic performance and selecting the best performer. The BattleJacket®(FCCS) coating is based on a specially formulated fire resistant urethane similar to the Rhino Linings USA (Rhino) spray-in bed liner modified for military applications. A special swellable super absorbent polymer was selected to be used as the basis of the self-sealing mechanism. These beads are spray encapsulated into a special layer which, when exposed to fuel, swell into a solid. This additive acts in conjunction with the urethane to tightly seal off the undesired entrance and exit holes created by a projectile.
More on link


----------



## a_majoor (4 Oct 2012)

How to be invisible (to radar and electromagnetic radiation):

http://www.aalto.fi/en/current/news/view/2012-10-01/



> *Simply invisible*
> 
> 01.10.2012
> 
> ...


----------



## dimsum (8 Oct 2012)

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/10/05.aspx

Making Connections At 45,000 Feet: Future UAVs May Fuel Up In Flight

DARPA completes close-proximity flight tests of two modified RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles, demonstrates technology enabling autonomous aerial refueling.  

Today DARPA has addressed this capability gap. DARPA’s two-year Autonomous High-Altitude Refueling (AHR) program, which concluded Sep. 30, explored the ability to safely conduct fully autonomous refueling of UAVs in challenging high-altitude flight conditions. During its final test flight, two modified Global Hawk aircraft flew in close formation, 100 feet or less between refueling probe and receiver drogue, for the majority of a 2.5-hour engagement at 44,800 feet. This demonstrated for the first time that High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) class aircraft can safely and autonomously operate under in-flight refueling conditions. The flight was the ninth test and the first time the aircraft flew close enough to measure the full aerodynamic and control interactions. Flight data was analyzed over the past few months and fed back into simulations to verify system safety and performance through contact and fuel transfer–including the effects of turns and gusts up to 20 knots.


----------



## cupper (11 Oct 2012)

*Carbon nanotube pencil points to hazardous gases*

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57530149-1/carbon-nanotube-pencil-points-to-hazardous-gases/



> Gather 'round kiddies, and I'll tell you a story about pointy wooden things called pencils. Before the explosion of keyboards and touch screens, people used to use them to do something called writing. On paper.
> 
> Now one MIT chemistry postdoctoral student may have given the old-fashioned pencil a new lease -- though not as something you'd bring to the SAT.
> 
> ...



I wonder what other gems the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies has waiting in the wings. Future war will not look like anything we're used to seeing.


----------



## a_majoor (13 Oct 2012)

More fun with nanomaterials. The idea that filling a tank with this stuff will allow you to increase the carrying capacity seems totally counter intuitive, but being able to carry more in the same volume of container will provide logistical advantages:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/ceao/News/Title,343081,en.html



> New Queen’s spin-out company to manufacture TARDIS-like nanomaterials
> Professor Stuart James
> Professor Stuart James
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (16 Oct 2012)

More about making things on the cheap. Upthread there are several posts about using cellulose (the basic material of wood, cardboard and paper) as a super strong substitute for metals, so there are many aspects of military hardware that could be revolutionized by these technologies. Thinner, lighter and stronger packing cases, inexpensive frameworks and structural forms or even complete shelters and (of course) bikes:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/16/israeli-inventor-creates-cardboard-bicycle-that-can-change-the-world/



> Israeli inventor creates cardboard bicycle that can ‘change the world’
> 
> Ori Lewis and Lianne Gross, Reuters | Oct 16, 2012 11:57 AM ET
> More from Reuters
> ...


----------



## GnyHwy (16 Oct 2012)

Making things out of cellulose could also have a secondary Inspector Gadget this message will self destruct effect if desired.


----------



## cupper (16 Oct 2012)

But you will have to watch out for the enemy trained termites and beavers. >


----------



## a_majoor (17 Oct 2012)

A humerous look at how using DNA as high capacity "memory" would work:


----------



## a_majoor (22 Oct 2012)

US Navy laser program has been sped up, and the director apparently sees no need to wait for specially designed ships with integrated electrical power generation systems to use lasers or railguns effectively. Obviously some technical breakthroughs have happened, and the speedup of fielding would indicate there may be some sense of urgency (laser weapons have been "on again, off again" in terms of funding and development since the 80's). As a bit of a twofer there is also some discusion on UUV technology as well:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/lasers/



> *Navy’s Top Geek Says Laser Arsenal Is Just Two Years Away*
> By Spencer AckermanEmail AuthorOctober 22, 2012 | 2:11 pm | Categories: Navy
> 
> Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of Naval research, salutes Virginia Tech’s humanoid robot CHARLI-2 at the Office of Naval Research’s science and technology expo, Oct. 22, 2012. Photo: Wired.com/Jared Soares
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Oct 2012)

Solving bandwidth issues is a big deal if we are going to "digitize" the battlefield successfully. Even applying this sort of technology to digital radios will have positive impacts on clarity and reception in difficult situations:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/429722/a-bandwidth-breakthrough/?ref=rss



> *A Bandwidth Breakthrough*
> 
> A dash of algebra on wireless networks promises to boost bandwidth tenfold, without new infrastructure.
> 
> ...


----------



## dimsum (24 Oct 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-BukbpkOd8&feature=player_embedded#!

Boeing Non-Kinetic Missile Records First Operational Test Flight

An air-launched directed EMP missile?  Crazy/awesome.


----------



## cupper (27 Oct 2012)

Looks like they may have found a solution to the failure of Yucca Mountain repository to get up and running.

And it may provide a solution to the problem of securing tons of waste from those bent on making a dirty bomb.

*World’s Most Powerful Laser Beams to Zap Nuclear Waste*

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-25/world-s-most-powerful-laser-beams-to-zap-nuclear-waste



> The European Union will spend about 700 million euros ($900 million) to build the world’s most powerful lasers, technology that could destroy nuclear waste and provide new cancer treatments.
> 
> The Extreme Light Infrastructure project has obtained funding for two lasers to be built in the Czech Republic and Romania, Shirin Wheeler, spokeswoman for the European Commission on regional policy, said in a phone interview. A third research center will be in Hungary.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Nov 2012)

Potential for huge improvements in gas turbine efficiency using detonation technology. I have been hearing about "Pulse Wave Detonation" engine experiments on and off since the 1990's; think of it as a highly evolved form of the Pulse Jet engine that pwered the V-1 Buzz bomb in WWII. (There are actuallt a lot of technical differences, but the essentiall idea of the engine being a simple tube where the detonation takes place is pretty close to a pulse jet to understand). This takes the idea and changes the otcome from pure jet thrust to rotary motion:

http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2012/Navy-Researchers-Look-to-Rotating-Detonation-Engines-to-Power-the-Future



> *Navy Researchers Look to Rotating Detonation Engines to Power the Future*
> 
> 11/2/2012 07:00 EDT - 140-12r
> Contact: Donna McKinney, (202) 767-2541 0 Comments    23  258
> ...



More details here: http://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/11_FA2.pdf


----------



## a_majoor (6 Nov 2012)

And closer to home, DARPA is working on getting sensor fusion technology down to the individual soldier level. Being able to overlay Day, Night and Thermal on the same view addresses issues  like obscurants or various types of camouflage. Getting images beamed to you from multiple viewpoints and getting some sort of coherent image out of that would require quite a bit more computing power and bandwidth, but might be quite useful for vehicles and aircraft:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/11/02.aspx



> *NIGHT OR DAY, RAIN OR SHINE: DARPA SEEKS MULTI-BAND, PORTABLE SENSOR TO PROVIDE CLEAR IMAGERY TO WARFIGHTERS*
> 
> November 02, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Nov 2012)

Probably a very long term solution, but you heard it here first! Any technique that can extract more energy from batteries (or as hinted in the article, reduce transmission losses, such as the 100% transmission efficiency among molecules during photosynthesis) will have a huge impact on logistics as the number of batteries, generators and fuel trucks to provide fuel for the generators shrinks:

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/507176/entanglement-makes-quantum-batteries-almost-perfect-say-physicists/



> *Entanglement Makes Quantum Batteries Almost Perfect, Say Theorists*
> 
> In theory, quantum batteries such as atoms and molecules can store and release energy on demand almost perfectly--provided they are entangled, says physicists
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Nov 2012)

A look at how Google deals with massive data bases and information handeling on that scale. If we want to be a really "digital" army or Armed Forces, then our network systems need this level of scalability and searchability (along with secure, high bandwidth pipes to move the data to the users), along with the high levels of reliability and uptime. Computer science geeks can probably understand the mechanics of this outtake better than I can, but users of the DWAN are all familier with the negative effects of not having these sorts of systems on line:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/11/google-operating-at-its-own-level-of.html



> *Google operating at its own level of multi-cloud reliability and scalability*
> 
> Google’s spanner handles trillions of rows of data and Google is shifting away from NoSQL and to NewSQL. Google believes it is better to have application programmers deal with performance problems due to overuse of transactions as bottlenecks arise, rather than always coding around the lack of transactions.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (27 Nov 2012)

A simple and rugged nuclear generating system that could be adapted for use on the ground and at sea as well. I am not sure where the scaling would stop working, but certainly a modular system could produce much more that 550W if the system was scaled and enough units were ganged together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KobRfGqlpGc&feature=player_embedded

http://www.lanl.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2012/November/11.26-space-travel.php



> Joint DOE and NASA team demonstrates simple, robust fission reactor prototype
> 
> LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Nov. 26, 2012—A team of researchers, including engineers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, has demonstrated a new concept for a reliable nuclear reactor that could be used on space flights.
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (28 Nov 2012)

The current radio isotope generators used on the Mars Missions are about 20 kilos in weight, so they appear to be already small enough. They generate 125 Watts each, and are determined to reduce down to 100 Watts after about 14 years of life.

By comparison, the batteries alone in a Toyota Prius weigh over 50 kilos.


----------



## dimsum (30 Nov 2012)

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/11/photo-video-unmanned-drone-launched-catapult

"An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System – a drone – completes a land-based catapult launch Thursday at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. This week, contractors will direct an X-47B around the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the first trials to determine whether an unmanned aircraft can function on a carrier flight deck."

The first thought I had was that the X-47B is a lot bigger and taller than in other pictures.  The wing is higher than most of the crews' heads when they were standing up.


----------



## a_majoor (30 Nov 2012)

Rugged and portable laser weapons have now been demonstrated on land. Think of this as a sort of futuristic "Iron Dome" system (and with upgrades it will be able to take on larger targets and at greater ranges)

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2012/november/1127-ss-adam.html



> *Lockheed Martin Demonstrates New Ground-Based Laser System in Tests Against Rockets and Unmanned Aerial System*
> 
> SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today announced that it has successfully demonstrated a portable, ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets. Lockheed Martin developed the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system to provide a defense against short-range threats, such as rockets and unmanned aerial systems.
> 
> ...



A 10 to 100 Kw system can potentially be powered by tapping into an aircraft's engine power as well (an AH 64 generates 2000 SHP from its engines (1471 Kw), and a system in the air has potentially wider sensor range and  fields of fire, so an overlapping set of lasers on the air and ground could be very difficult to defeat.


----------



## a_majoor (5 Dec 2012)

Going to the very small, a new way of bonding silicon to copper allows for greater heat transfer. This could lead to computational devices that don't need cooling fans (or much smaller ones) and are otherwise much more energy efficient. For the end user this means more rugged equipment and fewer batteries or other electrical power sources:

http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=3110



> *Nature Materials Study: Boosting Heat Transfer With Nanoglue*
> 
> Interdisciplinary Study From Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Demonstrates New Method for Significantly Increasing Heat Transfer Rate Across Two Different Materials
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Dec 2012)

Here is something to gladden the hearts of the IA community; a practical application of link and social network analysis. The interesting thing here is how it is applied; zapping middle level "management" seems to be more effective than going after the leadership using this model. Obviously it needs more refining; it is noted that there is little differentiation between jobs and positions in the model, while it seems pretty clear that nailing a logistics or financial link would probably have more effect than hitting a recruiter or propagandist:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/12/paulos-alogrithm/



> *Death by Algorithm: West Point Code Shows Which Terrorists Should Disappear First*
> BY NOAH SHACHTMAN12.06.126:30 AM
> 
> Paulo Shakarian has an algorithm that might one day help dismantle al-Qaida — or at least one of its lesser affiliates. It’s an algorithm that identifies which people in a terror network really matter, like the mid-level players, who connect smaller cells with the larger militant group. Remove those people, either by drone or by capture, and it concentrates power and authority in the hands of one man. Remove that man, and you’ve broken the organization.
> ...


----------



## cupper (7 Dec 2012)

Well Duh! Everyone knows it's middle management that does all of the work!  ;D

Upper Management is too busy acting as job creators, and the workers are too busy complaining to the union reps and protesting the 1%.  >


----------



## GnyHwy (8 Dec 2012)

Makes sense to me.  Killing the top guys only opens up for much wanted promotions, and an overall increase in morale.  If their bosses were idiots than it's even more glorious.


----------



## a_majoor (10 Dec 2012)

DARPA announces something new on the medical front, a means of stabilizing injured soldiers to give them a better chance of surviving the "golden hour" before being delivered to advanced treatment facilities. Eerily, the foam seems to resemble the stuff you buy at Home Depot to inject into small cavities in your house (only not so sticky):

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/12/10.aspx



> *DARPA Foam Could Increase Survival Rate for Victims of Internal Hemorrhaging*
> December 10, 2012
> 
> Technology developed under DARPA’s Wound Stasis System program resulted in 72 percent survival rate at three hours post-injury in testing
> ...


----------



## dimsum (12 Dec 2012)

X-47B Taxiing Trials Onboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-video-of-the-navys-x-47b-aboard-an-aircraft-carrier-is-like-a-glimpse-into-the-future-2012-12

The sheer size of the "demonstrator" still boggles my mind.  The thing is wider and not much shorter than a Super Hornet.


----------



## BernDawg (12 Dec 2012)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> DARPA announces something new on the medical front, a means of stabilizing injured soldiers to give them a better chance of surviving the "golden hour" before being delivered to advanced treatment facilities. Eerily, the foam seems to resemble the stuff you buy at Home Depot to inject into small cavities in your house (only not so sticky):
> 
> http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/12/10.aspx



HALO 3-ODST any one??


----------



## a_majoor (14 Dec 2012)

This is very interesting. The technique is related to "quantum cryptography", so in theory this would provide a means to transmit information without compromise and detect threats without too much regard to jamming and countermeasures. The only ways to minimize detection is to employ "stealth" technology to reduce your cross section, or use metamaterials to direct active systems "around" the item being scanned:

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/508826/quantum-imaging-technique-heralds-unjammable-aircraft-detection/



> *Quantum Imaging Technique Heralds Unjammable Aircraft Detection*
> 
> Physicists have exploited the quantum properties of photons to create the first imaging system that is unjammable
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (17 Dec 2012)

Passing data at fantastic speeds will change the battlefield,  from allowing live streaming of video and sensor data from multiple platforms, "triangulating" objects. friendlies and targets using distributed meshes of hundreds or thousands of sensors, sending real time logistics data like the fuel consumption and tire wear of every vehicle and so on. On the civilian side WiFi networks running at those speeds will allow for the sort of traffic generated by "the internet of things", where devices send and receive data to each other in order to optimize their own and their networks performance.

The challenge is to manage all that data and convert it into something usable, and to do so in real time:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/12/14.aspx



> *Deployable Radio Frequency Data Backbone To Match Fiber Optic Capacity*
> 
> December 14, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Dec 2012)

More advances in robotics. Robots that can follow the leader, obey verbal commands and are otherwise self sufficient will be a great help to servicemembers everywhere. While this is designed in the context of an assistent for dismounted infantry sections, you can probably imagine lots of ways devices like this could help other branches and trades, or even the other services (robotic tool caddies and parts carriers for aircraft maintainers, or devices that can explore nooks and crannies of ships for the Navy come to mind):

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/12/19.aspx



> *LS3 FOUR-LEGGED ROBOT PLAYS FOLLOW THE LEADER*
> 
> December 19, 2012
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Jan 2013)

Using robotics for logistical purposes. This inverts the usual way of doing things in a warehouse, and the productivity gains are pretty fantastic (almost 5X faster than humans picking and packing). Considering the use we make of "super bases" and centralized logistics, this sort of technology coupled to the sort of ordering and distribution software that companies like Amazon use would certainly improve our logistics system:

http://www.everything-robotic.com/2012/10/distribution-centers-emerging-robotics.html



> *Distribution Centers: An Emerging Robotics Frontier*
> 
> Distribution centers (DCs) are massive warehouses that receive, inspect and store goods for later picking, packing and shipping to end-users, re-distributors or retail outlets. Products can be everything from books, pharmacy goods, clothing, office goods, food, drinks, shoes, produce, household items and pet supplies to diapers. And quantities can be one or two individual units to 20-100+ cases.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Jan 2013)

Germany demonstrates a laser weapon prototype:

http://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/details_2368.php



> *Flying colours: Rheinmetall successfully tests 50kW high-energy laser weapon*
> 
> Rheinmetall has successfully tested its new 50kW high-energy weapon technology demonstrator. Conducted at the end of November, the test encompassed the entire operational sequence from target detection and tracking to target engagement. Building on a 123-year heritage, the Düsseldorf, Germany-based Group has once again made good its claim to be the global leader in high-energy laser (HEL) technology.
> 
> ...


----------



## Nemo888 (17 Jan 2013)

3D printed 30 round AR mags. Also works with a vast array of NATO 5.56 weapons.
Download unlimited 30 round mags for your AR today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q10Jz2qIog8

I said a year ago this would be big.   Now a USB stick or VPN connection could be a terrorist downloading weapons.


----------



## Nemo888 (17 Jan 2013)

_*Literally*_ download your 30 round mag and other AR parts here.


----------



## Nemo888 (17 Jan 2013)

(This is getting really annoying. Why is the edit function broken for me? Add the last tow post to the first one please.)
The cad for the part is here. I already have a copy at home. Better send the RCMP.
http://defcad.org/mega-pack/


----------



## a_majoor (18 Jan 2013)

While I am very interested in 3D printer technology, I think for many uses this is more of a niche capability. Production items like magazines can be made far more quickly and cheaply via conventional means, and (as events have sadly demonstrated) criminals and terrorists can easily access weaponry from the vast array available world wide. (Of course stupid media tricks like providing interactive maps of gun owners to guide criminals does not help in the least).

The other factor working against "printing" guns is materials technology is still about a generation behind. You might be able to print parts, but they will be of low quality materials at best, and even current generations of metal printers need the parts to be extensively treated to make them strong and durable for use. I do not believe that functional receiver groups or barrels can be printed using currently available technology.

That said, if you are looking to make a "one shot" weapon, or print parts to modify a weapon for a very limited use, this is one avenue of approach.


----------



## a_majoor (20 Jan 2013)

Lots of good stuff today. This article shows off some new building technology that can be adapted to create strong, lightweight shelters. The ability to make floating shelters is interesting, and could be adaptable to such things as floating support bases and refugee shelters by shorelines. While the article gerflunkts to the great church of global warming, the technical aspects can be exploited for most terrain and climates (in the Arctic, you would build a smaller dome inside the larger one for insulation):

http://earthtechling.com/2013/01/hollands-floating-pavilion-designed-for-rising-seas/
http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/01/holland-makes-efte-domed-floating.html



> *Holland makes EFTE domed floating buildings that cover 4 tennis court area and plans 13000 floating buildings by 2040*
> 
> In the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam, a new, eye-catching structure has been erected: a complex consisting of three floating half-spheres. The structure is 12 metres tall, with a total floor area the size of four tennis courts, and is fully relocatable.
> 
> ...


----------



## Dissident (21 Jan 2013)

I can't read Swedish, but the video sold me:

http://www.fmv.se/sv/Nyheter-och-press/Nyheter-fran-FMV/Hoppande-handgranat/

Airburst (bouncing) hand grenade!


----------



## Fishbone Jones (21 Jan 2013)

NinerSix said:
			
		

> I can't read Swedish, but the video sold me:
> 
> http://www.fmv.se/sv/Nyheter-och-press/Nyheter-fran-FMV/Hoppande-handgranat/
> 
> Airburst (bouncing) hand grenade!



Pete Townsend is selling hand grenades? Are the Who not getting royalties? ;D


----------



## a_majoor (23 Jan 2013)

Cool; a hand thrown "bouncing betty" mine. You know that had to hurt....


----------



## a_majoor (29 Jan 2013)

More esoteric devices with weapons potential. So called neutral partical beam accelerators were proposed many years ago for the Strategic Defense Initiative (AKA "Star Wars"), with the goal of having a beam weapon with the engagement speed close to that of a laser but capabul of punching through metal and composite shielding to damage internal parts (like computers, explosives, nuclear materials and so on). For many reasons, partical beam devices and especially neutral partical beam generators are massive, power hungry devices, so the practical application of partical beams as weapons has been nil.

This discovery suggests that "table top" particle beam genertors are now possible, so ganging multiple units together could create a compact, high power beam weapon with all the attributes desired back in the 1980's. Aircraft and ships in particular would be good candidates for such devices:

http://www.tifr.res.in/~uphill/neutral-atom-accelerators.html



> *NEUTRAL-ATOM ACCELERATORS - SCALING MEV ENERGIES!*
> 
> Accelerating neutral atoms, contrary to laser-based as well as conventional particle accelerators, is a formidable feat, given the inert, ‘neutral’ response of these atoms to accelerating fields. Our recent studies provide a crucial breakthrough in the generation of accelerated neutral atoms, with energies as large as an MeV, as a result of the interaction of intense lasers with nanoclusters.
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (30 Jan 2013)

Alternate airlift potential:

*'First float' of Aeroscraft's futuristic transport*

http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10015616.html



> In a large warehouse in Southern California, a futuristic-looking metallic airship that looks more like an Area 51 UFO is set to revolutionize the cargo transport industry.
> 
> "First float" maneuvers, performed in a controlled in-hanger exercise earlier this month, were the first lift-off of the Aeroscraft prototype model ML866, the world's only Rigid Variable Buoyancy Air Vehicle.
> 
> ...



A slide show of images:

http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10015616.html


----------



## a_majoor (2 Feb 2013)

A Japanese compay develops a software patch that can boost the speed of traffic over the Internet 30X. This seems like a relatively ow cost way to free up bandwidth in the DWAN (although for the most part it means I will be getting more internal communications, notices from the MFRC and spam from the mess....) Every technology is a two edged sword:

http://www.fujitsu.com/global/news/pr/archives/month/2013/20130129-02.html



> *Fujitsu Develops New Data Transfer Protocol Enabling Improved Transmissions Speeds*
> 
> Software-only approach enables over 30 times improvement in file transfer speeds between Japan and the US, reduces virtual desktop operating latency to less than 1/6 of previous levels
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Feb 2013)

Interesting use of Metamaterial technology. From "earthquake proofing" this could also be adapted to protect military structures from the effects of near misses by explosive ordinance (although a separate "fence" would have to be erected around the structure to mitigate shockwaves travelling through air, since they are moving at different speeds and frequencies):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/02/france-has-constructed-earthquake.html#more



> *France has constructed earthquake cloaking for protecting hospitals, nuclear power plants and other structures*
> 
> A group from the Institut Fresnel in Marseille and the ground improvement specialist company, Menard, both in France, say they’ve built and tested a seismic invisibility cloak in an alluvial basin in southern France. That’s the first time such a device has been constructed.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Feb 2013)

More medical technological innovation. A sort of one shot injection to deal with a wide variety of medical problems. Predeployment can be a lot faster if you don't have to get dozens of vaccinations and shots (especially if you deploy to exotic places like Harrington Lake  :rage. This could also provide quick and effective treatment to disease picked up in theater.

Faster, please:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130207093006.htm



> *Unique Peptide Has Therapeutic Potential Against Cancers, Neurological Disorders, and Infectious Diseases*
> 
> Feb. 7, 2013 — UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have synthesized a peptide that shows potential for pharmaceutical development into agents for treating infections, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer through an ability to induce a cell-recycling process called autophagy.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (13 Feb 2013)

This is a very exotic application (although solar sails could be used in Earth orbit to make satellites perform tasks that they could not do in passive orbits), but the line that stood out in my mind was 





> Multiwall carbon nanotube sheets have been made with a mass of ~27 milligrams per square metre and about the strength of kevlar



Super strong and ultra light material has so many applications it isn't funny. Reducing the weight of things like body armour, packs, tentage and so on to a few grams would have fantastic follow on effects both tactically and throughout the logistics train. This material is also similar to fiberglass, if processed as described in the article it may replace structural material in multiple applications as well.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/02/carbon-nanotube-sheets-for-solar-sails.html



> *Carbon nanotube sheets for solar sails for 5.6% of lightspee*d
> 
> Multiwall carbon nanotube sheets have been made with a mass of ~27 milligrams per square metre and about the strength of kevlar. Adam Crowl of Crowlspace examines this a bit more. Nextbigfuture covered the dry spinning of carbon nanotubes into sheets back in 2007.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Feb 2013)

A different way of looking at exoskeleton technology:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/02/light-weight-and-low-power-exoskeletons.html#more



> *Light Weight and Low Power Exoskeletons for Injury Prevention are US Army Focus*
> 
> Developing an expensive and energy-hungry super suit, though a nice idea, might not be the military’s top priority. Augmenting soldiers’ natural strength and protecting them from injuries is another matter: Darpa is now working on a new programme called Warrior Web, which is much closer in inspiration to Batman than Iron Man. Rather than relying on a hard, exterior robotic shell, the Warrior Web suit is described as being a “lightweight, conformal undersuit”, like a diver’s wetsuit.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (5 Mar 2013)

The ultimate evolution of computing using known technology. This would be like having a server farm in a wrist watch (Google houses computers in warehouses, to give you an idea of scale):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/03/dna-3d-nand-gate-bricks-would-be-able.html



> *DNA 3D Nand Gate Bricks Would Be Able to Make a Computer with 1 million times the transistors of Intel Itanium Poulson Computers*
> 
> Harvard researchers have used single strand DNA, to self assemble custom designed nano scale structures. Each of the bricks shown to the left is, 25-nanometers on a side, they are composed of ~1,000 voxels (I think it is 500 DNA strand, 2 voxels per strand) unique single strands of DNA, each with 32 nucleotides. Each strand is like a jigsaw puzzle piece and can only bind in one location. This is due to the fact that nucleotides only bind to their opposites, A to T and G to C. These DNA strands can be designed to self assemble into pretty much any shape, as shown in the image.
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (5 Mar 2013)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> (Google houses computers in warehouses, to give you an idea of scale)



Warehouse doesn't quite do it justice. I've seen one in NC which is moderate in size (so I've been told) that is huge, comparable to a major auto factory.

http://www.google.com/about/datacenters/


----------



## a_majoor (7 Mar 2013)

This technology has all kinds of uses. Cooling sensors for very high performance is the obvious one, but with that amount of cooling power (and especially the low energy consumption to get it), versions of this can be used to cool electronics like laptop and tablet computers, or even large enclosed spaces. Cupper's example of a factory sized data center probably has industrial sized air conditioners and HVAC equipment that consumes a good fraction of the power; a small fleet of these coolers (for backup) could do the same job for a tiny fraction of the price and power consumption:

http://www.nist.gov/pml/div686/refrigerator-030513.cfm



> *NIST Quantum Refrigerator Offers Extreme Cooling and Convenience*
> 
> From NIST Tech Beat: March 5, 2013
> 
> ...



Edit to add link


----------



## BernDawg (8 Mar 2013)

cupper said:
			
		

> Warehouse doesn't quite do it justice. I've seen one in NC which is moderate in size (so I've been told) that is huge, comparable to a major auto factory.
> 
> http://www.google.com/about/datacenters/


So I clicked on the link and then selected self guided tour via Google Street View. Once the window opened I scrolled to the left and there was a Storm-Trooper and mini R2D2 standing guard! Classic Google sense of humour..


----------



## a_majoor (9 Mar 2013)

On the topic of robots, MIT has developed a high efficiency "Cheetah" robot. This is different from the Boston Dynamics high speed robot (or the "Big Dog" load carriers). A robotic "partner" which can move at high speed could have all kinds of uses, from perimeter security to delivering urgently needed supplies. Future dismounted sections (or dismounted troops in general) may have a team of robotic assistants to do things like carry loads, provide sensor data or deliver heavy firepower (Imagine a "Big Dog" robot armed with a .50 HMG or 40mm AGL, for example). Other robot partners could unload trucks, carry casualties or otherwise extend the abilities of the human soldiers:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/mit-cheetah-robot-0308.html



> *MIT ‘cheetah’ robot rivals running animals in efficiency*
> Robot’s custom-designed electric motors are powerful and efficient.
> Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office
> 
> ...



Many of the technologies used in this robot, such as high efficiency motors, drive trains and high strength parts can also be transitioned to other applications as well.


----------



## a_majoor (9 Mar 2013)

Long article, but very interesting look at how Google manages giant server clusters. There are obvious advantages to doing so even with smaller data centers like the CF uses, or even using this sort of software to tie lan segments together to create "virtual" datacenters using the power of all the computers in the office. (Consider that the vast majority of the processor power and even hard drive space on your desktop PC is going unused while you write a memo, read your email or build PowerPoint slide shows. Now multiply that by the number of computers in your office building or armoury...)

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/03/google-borg-twitter-mesos/all/


----------



## a_majoor (17 Mar 2013)

Given the growing popularity and uses of UAVs and UCAVs, being able to extend their range by intelligent use of thermals, wind currents and other performance enhancements that glider pilots (and birds) use will be an interesting way to get more performance at little additional cost (depending on the type of UAV or UCAV. Jet powered attack aircraft will benefit the least from this, while glider like scouts or surveillance aircraft would benefit the most):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/03/dynamic-soaring-and-riding-rising.html#more



> *Dynamic Soaring and Riding Rising Thermal Air Currents for Super Endurance Robotic Gliding*
> 
> Wandering albatrosses exploit the vertical gradient of wind velocity (wind shear) above the ocean to gain energy for long distance dynamic soaring with a typical airspeed of 36 mph. In principle, albatrosses could soar much faster than this in sufficient wind, but the limited strength of their wings prevents a much faster airspeed. Recently, pilots of radio-controlled (RC) gliders have exploited the wind shear associated with winds blowing over mountain ridges to achieve very fast glider speeds, reaching a record of 498 mph in March 2012. A relatively simple two-layer model of dynamic soaring predicts maximum glider airspeed to be around 10 times the wind speed of the upper layer (assuming zero wind speed in the lower layer). This indicates that a glider could soar with an airspeed of around 200 mph in a wind speed of 20 mph, much faster than an albatross. It is proposed that recent high performance RC gliders and their pilots’ expertise could be used to develop a high-speed robotic albatross UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which could soar over the ocean like an albatross, but much faster than the bird. This UAV could be used for various purposes such as surveillance, search and rescue, and environmental monitoring. A first step is for pilots of RC gliders to demonstrate high-speed dynamic soaring over the ocean in realistic winds and waves.
> 
> ...


----------



## MikeL (14 Apr 2013)

http://www.fmv.se/sv/Nyheter-och-press/Nyheter-fran-FMV/Hoppande-handgranat/

There is a video posted on the website



> Jumping grenade reduces the risk of innocent people being injured in war
> 
> A FMV-employed engineer behind the biggest news in the grenade area since WWI. By jumping up just before brisaden and direct shrapnel in a cone down to the ground minimizes the risk of innocent victims, while the grenade is many times more effective against their military objectives.
> When an ordinary shrapnel grenade explodes, half of shrapnel into the ground to no value. The other half goes into the air, spreading in all directions and involves unnecessary danger to a third party. Only a few fragments have a chance to give effect to the target, provided that no soldier behind a small barrier, then no effect correctly.
> ...


 More on link


----------



## AmmoTech90 (14 Apr 2013)

Repost, sorry:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1203232.html#msg1203232


----------



## a_majoor (17 Apr 2013)

Batteries and energy supply is one of the key limiting factors in military logistics. The size, weight and number of batteries that an individual soldier needs to carry is pretty astounding (everything from AAA batteries for the head lamp to military batteries for the radio, DAGR, thermal imager etc.). Next on the food chain is the need to carry all these different batteries and either charge them or replace them as they die.

This is a promising technology that has the potential to shrink batteries and store energy at much higher densities than were posible before (starting a car on a battery the size of a cell phone battery?). This will certainly make the logistical issues much simpler:

http://news.illinois.edu/news/13/0416microbatteries_WilliamKing.html



> *Small in size, big on power: New microbatteries a boost for electronics*
> 
> 4/16/2013 | Liz Ahlberg, Physical Sciences Editor | 217-244-1073; eahlberg@illinois.edu
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Apr 2013)

This technology may also have application in diagnosing and healing brain injuries (and the potential to overcome nerve damage injuries as well). Some of the other potential applications are a bit bizzare or disturbing; being able to modify behaviour is certainly something with huge moral implications:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/injectable-optoelectronics-for-brain-control/



> *Injectable Optoelectronics for Brain Control*
> Device lets neuroscientists perform optogenetics experiments wirelessly
> 
> By Prachi Patel  /  April 2013
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Apr 2013)

Everyone loves touchscreens on devices ranging from smarphones to display screens, but they are bloody expensive as you go up in size. This is an inexpensive way to change that and convert existing screens into interactive display units. Now you really will be able to use interpretive dance while you do a briefing  

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/514061/a-simple-way-to-turn-any-lcd-into-a-touch-screen/



> *A Simple Way to Turn Any LCD into a Touch Screen*
> Electromagnetic interference can turn a plain LCD into a touch screen on the cheap.
> 
> By Rachel Metz on April 24, 2013
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (28 Apr 2013)

This is a technology that can be retrofitted to almost any vehicle in the fleet. The flywheel can provide a burst of energy to accelerate or pull out of terrain like sand or mud, as an alternative to using it to save fuel. Some resetting of the control electronics would be needed to bias it towards power vs economy, but otherwise the system would not change:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/04/volvo-kers-flywheel-system-boosts-fuel.html



> *Volvo Kers Flywheel System boosts fuel efficiency by 25% and will look to put it into production cars*
> 
> Volvo Car Group has completed extensive testing of kinetic flywheel technology on public roads - and the results confirm that this is a light, cheap and very eco-efficient solution.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Apr 2013)

An interesting way to make fiber based materials "tougher" (this is not the same as "Stronger", as explained in the article):

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514316/simple-trick-turns-commercial-polymer-into-worlds-toughest-fiber/



> *Simple Trick Turns Commercial Polymer Into World's Toughest Fiber*
> April 29, 2013
> Simple Trick Turns Commercial Polymer Into World’s Toughest Fiber
> A materials scientist has created the world’s toughest fiber using a mechanism based on a slip knot.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (3 May 2013)

It wasn't that many years ago a machine with this performance was an expensive Server device. Now for $45, you can get the same sort of performance in a credit card sized board....

Building "smart" devices or expanding "clouds" of computers becomes ridiculously easy as the costs of hardware and software decline and the availability increases:

http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/semi-conscious/4413238/BeagleBone-Black--A-1-GHz-computer-for--45



> *BeagleBone Black: A 1-GHz computer for $45*
> Dylan McGrath
> 5/2/2013 1:24 AM EDT
> One of the most interesting demos at last week's DESIGN West conference was BeagleBone Black, a ready-to-use 1-GHz computer that retails for a whopping $45.
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (28 May 2013)

Seems the US Navy was taking notes when the 3D printer gun debuted very recently...

Gizmodo Link



> *Navy Wants Aircraft Carriers to Manufacture Weapons On the Go*
> 
> Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan		Today 10:17amg 25,099L 93
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Jun 2013)

Graphene (and related monomolecular films like "silicene ", the Silicon analogue of Graphine) can now be fabricated in large sheets. The implications of this are astounding (sheets of graphine are as strong as diamond but weigh only a few grams/m^2, and have interesting electrical properties as well):





> High-Strength Chemical-Vapor–Deposited Graphene as large as TV screens produced that are 90% as strong as ideal crystal graphene
> Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
> In a new study, published in Science May 31, 2013, Columbia Engineering researchers demonstrate that graphene, even if stitched together from many small crystalline grains, is almost as strong as graphene in its perfect crystalline form. This work resolves a contradiction between theoretical simulations, which predicted that grain boundaries can be strong, and earlier experiments, which indicated that they were much weaker than the perfect lattice. Scientists can grow sheets of graphene as large as a television screen by using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), in which single layers of graphene are grown on copper substrates in a high-temperature furnace. One of the first applications of graphene may be as a conducting layer in flexible displays. The graphene has a strength of 95 gigapascals. It has 90% of the strength of perfect molecular graphene and is stronger than molecular carbon nanotubes.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Jun 2013)

Getting high bandwidth comms out to remote places or where the infrastructure is destroyed/unavailable is a difficult task. Google may have found an inexpensive way to do this (and either free flying or teathered ballons might do the same for us):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/06/google-project-loon-deploying-high.html



> *Google Project Loon deploying high altitude balloons to provide internet access to everyone*
> 
> Introducing the latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access. Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill in coverage gaps and bring people back online after disasters.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (17 Jun 2013)

Going along with the balloon idea is improved receivers to allow wireless broadband. This is a commercial system, and could be adapted for military use:

http://about.dish.com/press-release/corporate/dish-and-ntelos-launch-fixed-wireless-broadband-pilot



> DISH and nTelos Launch Fixed Wireless Broadband Pilot
> 
> Providers utilize LTE, outdoor wireless antennas to deliver cable-like speeds in rural Virginia trial
> 
> ...


----------



## safetysOff (18 Jun 2013)

> DISH and nTelos Launch Fixed Wireless Broadband Pilot



Doesn't seem like nothing radio recievers and satelitte modems wouldn't be able to do currently.  Personal agenda as to why you're posting a seemingly random article with stock tickers attached to em?  Just curious cause maybe we should all jump on the invest train


----------



## Fishbone Jones (18 Jun 2013)

safetysOff said:
			
		

> Doesn't seem like nothing radio recievers and satelitte modems wouldn't be able to do currently.  Personal agenda as to why you're posting a seemingly random article with stock tickers attached to em?  Just curious cause maybe we should all jump on the invest train



Given your track record of posting in your short time here, I'd be careful about calling out, or making inappropriate insinuations of senior members who are much better versed in their subject(s) than you are.

---Staff---


----------



## safetysOff (18 Jun 2013)

My apologies,

Was just sayin what everybody reading that was probably thinking there guy.

My biggest fault is speaking my mind  ;D


----------



## a_majoor (19 Jun 2013)

Posting articles on particular aspects of communications technology can hardly be considered random, if you are aware of the importance of communications in modern warfare. Having worked through some of these aspects very recently (EX MR 13), I have an apprieciation of the limitations of  current radios and satellite systems.

Since the information was embedded in a press release, it is of interest to the members to know that fact as well when they read and judge the veracity of the information. Certainly if a person followed the link and discovered at that time it was a corporate press release then they might have much more reason to think there was some sort of hidden agenda.

Remember there is a reason the saftey remains engaged...


----------



## a_majoor (28 Jun 2013)

Interesting idea with long term potential. I am rather curious about the idea of using a plasma as a capacitor; the ability to store and dump large quantities of energy from a very small package has pots of potential uses. Sadly, one of these uses does not seem to be creating a "plasma cannon" like in Science Ficton movies; the plasma disperses far too quickly to have any real range....

Warning: special pleading for government funding in the last paragraph. If this idea is as wonderful as they make out, private investors will be coming to see them.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/energy/nuclear/plasma-ring-experiment-offers-new-path-for-fusion-power



> *Plasma Ring Experiment Offers New Path for Fusion Power*
> 
> By Jeremy Hsu
> Posted 19 Apr 2013 | 4:02 GMT
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Jul 2013)

More on high bandwidth communications. I am not quite as saguine about this as I had been in the past; network topography plays a very big role in how fast data transfer takes place (anyone who was on MR 13 in a headquarters and waited for long periods while the printer_ right beside_ their computer mulled over a print job will know exactly what I am talking about), and using huge pipes lile this may paper over problems but not solve them. The "last mile" is going to be the sticking point even if trunk lines take advantage of these technologies:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/07/new-method-enables-16-terabit-per.html



> *New method enables 1.6 terabit per second to be transmitted over 1.1 kilometer fiber could boost internet speed*
> 
> The data capacity of single-mode optical fibers, while having increased by four orders of magnitude over the last 30 years, is rapidly reaching the limits imposed by the fiber’s nonlinear effects. But a bicoastal team has devised a new fiber optic technology that promises to increase bandwidth dramatically, meeting today’s ever-increasing demand for data-intensive activities like video streaming.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (6 Jul 2013)

Hypersonic weapons are still not quite ready for prime time, the aerodynamic and thermal challenges seem to be just beyond the state of the art, even today. This is kind of interesting from a historical viewpoint, back in the 1960's Covair made a serious proposal for a manned hypersonic strike/recce "Super Hustler", which was to be carried and air launched from the B-58 Hustler (the Super Hustler would be cradled where the pod carrying fuel and the nuclear weapon was normally carried on a B-58).

Shorter range "tactical" weapons will still be quite useful, for example if a weapon based on the X-51 could be carried by an F-18 or F-15 sized airplane, then ships and hardened ground targets could be placed at risk (the kinetic energy of a strike at Mach 6 would be considerable) without having to use strategic assets ike heavy bombers. Perhaps one avenue to explore would be a hypersonic boost-glide weapon that pulled up to the edge of outer space to avoid many of the issues of heat loading before gliding or diving onto the target:

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_07_08_2013_p24-593534.xml#



> *Darpa Refocuses Hypersonics Research On Tactical Missions*
> By Graham Warwick
> Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology
> 
> ...


----------



## dimsum (11 Jul 2013)

X-47B makes first two arrested landings onboard USS George H.W. Bush

"The X-47B, built by Northrop Grumman Corp., was launched from the deck Wednesday morning. The drone safely flew above the Atlantic Ocean came in for a landing on aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush off the coast of Virginia.  Relying on pinpoint GPS coordinates and advanced avionics, the sleek drone digitally communicated with the carrier's computers to determine speed, crosswinds and other data as it approaches from miles away.  Then shortly before 1:45 p.m. Eastern time it hit the flight deck and hooked the arresting wire for a safe landing."

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-navy-drone-x47b-20130709,0,6990478.story


----------



## a_majoor (11 Jul 2013)

Data storage solutions for long lasting, high density storage. Now your PowerPoints will be safe for thousands of years....

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/07/nanostructured-quartz-glass-could-lead.html



> *Nanostructured quartz glass could lead to unlimited lifetime data storage*
> 
> Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook Using nanostructured glass, scientists at the University of Southampton have, for the first time, experimentally demonstrated the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional digital data by femtosecond laser writing. The storage allows unprecedented parameters including 360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1000°C and practically unlimited lifetime.
> 
> ...


----------



## GAP (11 Jul 2013)

the crystal matrix of science fiction.

Only one difficulty. X number of years down the road who is going to be able to read it. Try finding a computer now a days that takes 3 1/2" floppies, let alone 5 1/4" ones.


----------



## George Wallace (11 Jul 2013)

GAP said:
			
		

> the crystal matrix of science fiction.
> 
> Only one difficulty. X number of years down the road who is going to be able to read it. Try finding a computer now a days that takes 3 1/2" floppies, let alone 5 1/4" ones.



What am I going to do with all my punch cards?


----------



## a_majoor (11 Jul 2013)

GAP said:
			
		

> the crystal matrix of science fiction.
> 
> Only one difficulty. X number of years down the road who is going to be able to read it. Try finding a computer now a days that takes 3 1/2" floppies, let alone 5 1/4" ones.



Looks like a job for  Jean-François Champollion!


----------



## a_majoor (18 Jul 2013)

Making regular materials super strong by tweaking the process:

http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2013/07/the-new-superstrong/



> *The new superstrong *
> 
> Mechanical and industrial engineering assistant professor Marilyn Minus has developed a superstrong fiber that rivals the best in the industry. In today’s market for high per­for­mance fibers, used for appli­ca­tions such as bul­let­proof vests, man­u­fac­turers have only four options: Kevlar, Spectra, Dyneema, and Zylon. Made from poly­mers such as poly­eth­ylene, these were the strongest syn­thetic fibers in the world—until recently.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (14 Aug 2013)

Using metamaterialos to make lightweight and sensitive antenna. The idea of using electronic steering and "beam forming" also partially adresses the issue of spectrum management, if the antenna can form narrow beams to each receiver then other antenna can also operate on the same frequencies (within reason):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/08/metamaterials-are-set-to-migrate-out-of.html#more



> *Metamaterials are set to migrate out of the laboratory and into the marketplace*
> 
> Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook Metamaterial applications such as cheaper satellite communications, thinner smartphones and ultrafast optical data processing are where metamaterials are poised to make a huge impact within a year or so.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (16 Aug 2013)

An interesting development. Combining the idea of 3D printing to make small modules and assembling the modules to make larger structures isn't really new (kids do this with LEGO), but the thing that makes this apotential "killer app" is the shape of the units allos the building of very strong and very lightweight "truss" structures. This looks like one to follow:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/how-to-make-big-things-out-of-small-pieces-0815.html



> *How to make big things out of small pieces*
> Researchers invent a new approach to assembling big structures — even airplanes and bridges — out of small interlocking composite components.
> David L. Chandler, MIT News Office
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Aug 2013)

DARPA has decided the idea of a flying car is a bit silly, but is using the basic technology to make large carrier drones. The idea is to deliver supplies or weapons using what is essentially a giant quad copter. Having something like this overhead to supply fire support would be rather interesting as well:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/08/darpa-flying-car-transforming-into.html



> *DARPA flying car transforming into Large Carrier Drone*
> 
> Lockheed is changing their DARPA robotic flying hummer into a large robotic drone that can carry car sized objects
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Sep 2013)

Using salt water as fuel? I would love to see the actual figures on this technique (if the amount of RF energy being beamed in is more than the amount out heat energy coming out of the "burning" water, then this is really a non starter for most applications). Interesting side note; the flame coming from the test tube is based on the type of salt in the water: the flame from burning hydrogen is a pale blue colour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf4gOS8aoFk


----------



## BernDawg (13 Sep 2013)

Sounds amazing but like you already noted, no one has mentioned the amount of energy required to produce the RF waves that are being used to heat the water and cause ignition. In a perfect machine one would fuel it with water and after combustion the exhaust would be water. Zero carbon foot print, zero harmful emissions and pennies a week to operate. I once told my kids that if they ever developed a car that ran on water, within weeks water would be worth $1 a litre....


----------



## a_majoor (14 Sep 2013)

Actually, bottled water is more expensive per litre than gasoline in many places.....


----------



## George Wallace (14 Sep 2013)

Don't know of any places where bottled water is cheaper than gas.


----------



## a_majoor (14 Sep 2013)

The price comparison. What is really alarming is many people are paying this for essentially tap water, and yes, I have seen bottled water at $2.50/bottle (of course I don't buy the stuff, I can fill the steel water bottle or Camelback from the tap for my water needs):

http://money.howstuffworks.com/bling-water1.htm



> *Would you pay $55 for bottled water?*
> by John Fuller
> 
> If you got rid of the fancy Bling H2O bottle and lowered the price, would it still be worth it? What about the "regular" plastic bottles of water you find in the store? Are they even worth $2?
> ...



See also:

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/05/18/bottled-water-costs-more-than-gas/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/0224_060224_bottled_water.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2013/07/12/cost_of_bottled_water_vs_tap_water_the_difference_will_shock_you.html
http://www.wisebread.com/why-is-gasoline-so-cheap-a-cost-comparison-of-40-common-household-liquids
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/gas-prices-around-the-world-cheaper-than-water-i-and-i-10-a-gallon/238226/


----------



## Antoine (15 Sep 2013)

From: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/09/discoloured-detection-sarin-bipyridine-ligand

Discoloured detection of sarin

"UN inspectors seeking evidence of a chemical weapons attack in Syria have now left the country. As the world awaits their official findings, scientists in France and the Czech Republic report a new complex that could be used to develop simpler and more sensitive detection devices for the nerve agent, sarin.

Sarin’s use as a deadly weapon include a terrorist attack on Tokoyo’s subway in 1995 and an attack by Iraqi government forces on the town of Halabja in Southern Kurdistan in 1988. It is highly toxic, affecting muscle function, and at high doses it causes death by asphyxiation.

Current detection methods are expensive and have low selectivity, or require complex equipment that is not portable. Sensors based on chemicals that visually respond to sarin would be very simple for untrained first responders to use at the site of an attack. Now, Alexandre Carella and colleagues at the French Laboratory of Innovation for New Energy Technologies and Nanomaterials and the University of Defence in the Czech Republic have designed a bipyridine ligand that changes colour on contact with sarin.

When the bipyridine ligand is coordinated to iron, electronic transitions give rise to a red colour. Reaction with an organophosphorus compound such as sarin alters the ligand's structure, preventing it from being alble to bind to iron. This prevents the electronic transitions so the colour vanishes.

Timothy Swager, a chemosensors expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, US, says decomplexing a chromophore from a metal center to produce a colour change is an innovative idea. ‘Monitoring the fluorescence of the liberated chromophores has the prospect to create a highly sensitive sensor.’

The team are now trying to adapt the structure of the ligand to optimise its sensitivity towards sarin and develop chromogenic papers that are sensitive and selective to sarin vapour."


----------



## a_majoor (22 Sep 2013)

A line of research which shold be followed as well. Room temperature and now high temperature superconductors seem to be possible with advances in technique and theory, materials that can effortlessly conduct electrical energy at over 300C will have lots of applications. Lightweight electric motors, energy transmission and electricly powered weapons like railguns become possible and practical:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/09/joe-eck-has-made-his-seventh-room.html



> *Joe Eck has made his seventh room temperature superconductor and has found a theory for why his method and materials work*
> 
> Superconductors.ORG (Joe Eck) reports the 38 C superconductor discovered in July 2013 has been reformulated to produce a Meissner transition near 42 Celsius (107F, 315K). This was accomplished by substituting tin (Sn) into the lead (Pb) atomic sites of the D212 structure (shown below left), changing the formula to Tl5Sn2Ba2SiCu8O16+. Multiple magnetization plots clearly show diamagnetic transitions consistently appearing about 4 degrees higher than with Pb in the same atomic site(s). This is the seventh material found to superconduct above room temperature.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Sep 2013)

Infectious disease has always been a critial issue in military operations (remember, disease killed more soldiers than any other causes until the 20th century), as well as PSO's, humanitarian missions and potentially in DOMOPS as well. Another growing threat is disease germs that are resistant to antibiotics.

This technique looks like a new way to treat diseases which are becoming harder to treat with conventional means:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-treatment-for-gonorrhea



> New Treatment for Gonorrhea Prevents Reinfection
> A nanoparticle-based cancer therapy has been found to thwart an antibiotic-resistant, sexually transmitted infection in mice
> 
> By Rachel Feltman
> ...


----------



## cupper (27 Sep 2013)

*First carbon nanotube computer to help extend Moore's Law?*

Stanford researchers have created a basic system that shuns silicon in favor of imperfect lines of carbon atoms that could one day deliver even more performance and efficiency than current technology.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57604663-1/first-carbon-nanotube-computer-to-help-extend-moores-law/



> Silicon Valley may soon require a name change to avoid the risk of sounding like a relic from a generation of bygone tech, thanks to new computer system created -- where else -- in Silicon Valley.
> 
> A cover story for the journal Nature, out Wednesday, details the efforts of a team based at Stanford to create the first basic computer built around carbon nanotubes rather than silicon chips.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (29 Sep 2013)

One possible way to beat the wear and tear on the human body. In overall terms for society, having the ability to rejuvenate older people will take a lot of stress off the healthcare system. For our purposes, having people remain at their physical and mental peak throughout their careers should have considerable benefits for the organization.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/09/mitochondria-rejuvenation-in-mice-gave.html



> *Mitochondria rejuvenation in mice gave memory and exercise performance like a young adult for elderly mice*
> 
> Researchers took a naturally occurring mitochondrial transcription factor called TFAM, which initiates protein synthesis, and engineered it to cross into cells from the bloodstream and target the mitochondria.
> 
> ...


----------



## Michael OLeary (1 Oct 2013)

After switching 37,000 PCs to Ubuntu, French Armed Forces says open source cuts costs 40 percent



> By Matthew Humphries Sep. 30, 2013 12:29 pm
> 
> The French Gendarmerie, a branch of the French Armed Forces in charge of public safety, has been a leader in moving away from proprietary software in recent years.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (5 Oct 2013)

Cheap, flexible solar cells from a Canadian lab. While they are not currently efficient enough to be useful, further development seems promising. 7% efficiency is a pretty low bar to hit for these cells to be cost effective (and pretty impressive when you consider most silicon solar cells don't even reach 20% efficiency).

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/cheap-spray-on-solar-cells-developed-by-canadian-researchers-1.1913086?cmp=rss



> *Cheap, spray-on solar cells developed by Canadian researchers*
> Nanoparticle-based cells can be made with far less energy than conventional silicon solar cells
> CBC News Posted: Oct 04, 2013 4:05 PM ET Last Updated: Oct 04, 2013 4:49 PM ET
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (5 Oct 2013)

Do you play fetch and give it a double A battery as a treat? 4 legged robot capable of moving at running speeds now being prototyped for the US army, and the ultimate goal will be to have a developed version that can run at 50 MPH over any terrain. There will be may ethical questiions regarding robotic "soldiers", especially if they are weaponized or become part of a weapons system (for example, running ahead to act as a forward observer for artillery and indirect fire).

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/10/wildcat-running-robot-that-has-reached.html#more



> *Wildcat running robot has reached 16 mph without any tethered cable*
> 
> WildCat is a four-legged robot being developed to run fast on all types of terrain. So far WildCat has run at about 16 mph on flat terrain using bounding and galloping gaits. The video shows WildCat's best performance so far. WildCat is being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA's M3 program.
> 
> ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE3fmFTtP9g

One thing which struck me watching the video, this robot has no analogues with any earthly creature. Just compare the articulation of the legs with any four legged animal, not to mention the odd proportions.


----------



## armyca08 (9 Oct 2013)

I recently read an article about - squid protein as a smart fabric. It is yet another chromo smart chemical that will be able to biologically adapt to the enviornment around it. As opposed to electronic ones this will not require electronic parts. Likewise it is also immune to IR sensors.

You might wonder how I discovered this, well I got a bad sunburn, and as a result thought to use calamari skin as a protective layer on my skin while it healed, like a moleskin. It did the job well, allowing easy hydration of the area, and application of creams or other lotions for the healing process. It also desensitized the area for active things like jogging and running, and it removed drastically furtherance of sunlight reaching the effected area - that is it acted as another layer of skin.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112945051/camouflage-inspired-by-squid-protein-091113/


----------



## Teflon (9 Oct 2013)

> You might wonder how I discovered this



No,... never wondered that at all


----------



## Fishbone Jones (9 Oct 2013)

Nope. Sounds normal for you.


----------



## CougarKing (10 Oct 2013)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Interesting idea with long term potential.
> 
> http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/energy/nuclear/plasma-ring-experiment-offers-new-path-for-fusion-power



Speaking of nuclear fusion power...

BBC excerpt:



> *Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab*
> By Paul Rincon
> Science Editor, BBC News website
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (13 Oct 2013)

Analytics and "Big Data" have promised to provide ways to discover relationships in large and disparate datasets (as well as allowing the use of uncollated or "un currated" raw data and messy sets0. for an organization the size of the CF, the predicted benefits of such analytics would seem to be worth investigating. Billions of dollars in savings due to predictive maintainence is certainly worth going for, and the potential ability to tease out social data could make dealing with "wicked problems" in the complex operating environment or even just finding and attracting the right recruits much easier as well:

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/42169.wss



> *IBM Research to Accelerate Big Data Discovery*
> New lab unifies data, expertise and novel analytics to speed discovery in industries including retail, medicine and finance
> 
> San Jose, Calif.	 - 10 Oct 2013: Scientists from IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the Accelerated Discovery Lab, a new collaborative environment specifically targeted at helping clients find unknown relationships from disparate data sets.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (17 Oct 2013)

The ability to manipulate massive amounts of data or perform massive and complex calculations continues to increase. If this development bears fruit, then this sort of power becomes available to individuals and business. While NVidia offers a "supercomputer that has a similar form factor to a PC tower (http://www.nvidia.ca/object/personal-supercomputing.html), IBM takes the idea to a whole new level, proposing shrinking the massive "supercomputers" like "Deep Blue" down to the size of a kitchen garbage can:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57607926-76/how-ibm-is-making-computers-more-like-your-brain-for-real/?tag=nl.t720&s_cid=t720&ttag=t720&ftag=



> *How IBM is making computers more like your brain. For real*
> Big Blue is using the human brain as a template for breakthrough designs. Brace yourself for a supercomputer that's cooled and powered by electronic blood and small enough to fit in a backpack.
> 
> by Stephen Shankland October 17, 2013 6:11 AM PDT
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (25 Oct 2013)

Harvesting waste heat and converting it into energy. This is a lot better than simply throwing waste heat into the environment:

http://phys.org/news/2013-10-scientists-quantum-wells-high-power-easy-to-make.html



> (Phys.org) —By collecting heat energy from the environment and transforming it into electrical power, thermoelectric energy harvesters have the potential to provide energy for a variety of small electronic devices. Currently, the biggest challenge in developing thermoelectric energy harvesters is to make systems that are both powerful and efficient at the same time.
> 
> One material that scientists have experimented with for making thermoelectric energy harvesters is quantum dots, nano-sized crystals with semiconducting properties. Due to their sharp, discrete energy levels, quantum dots are good energy filters, which is an important property for thermoelectric devices.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (28 Oct 2013)

And another scheme to have high density, long lasting data storage. Future alien explorers digging through the ruins of Earth will find this as difficult to interpret as "Linear A" script from the ancient Minoan civilization   but having archival copies of data that cannot be corrupted by ordinary means will be a big plus in many demanding situations (think of the boot sector of a hard drive that is uncrashable, by way of an analogy). Of course PowerPoint briefings that can endure for a billion years is a bit much....

http://www.utwente.nl/mesaplus/archive/2013/10/a-mega-to-giga-year-storage-medium-can-outlive-the-human-race.docx/



> *A MEGA TO GIGA YEAR STORAGE MEDIUM CAN OUTLIVE THE HUMAN RACE*
> 
> Mankind has been storing information for thousands of years. From carvings on marble to today's magnetic data storage. Although the amount of data that can be stored has increased immensely during the past few decades, it is still difficult to actually store data for a long period. The key to successful information storage is to ensure that the information does not get lost. If we want to store information that will exist longer than mankind itself, then different requirements apply than those for a medium for daily information storage. Researcher Jeroen de Vries from the University of Twente MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology demonstrates that it is possible to store data for extremely long periods. He will be awarded his doctorate on 17 October.
> Current hard disk drives have the ability to store vast amounts of data but last roughly ten years at room temperature, because their magnetic energy barrier is low so that the information is lost after a period of time. CDs, DVDs, paper, tape, clay and tablets and stone also have a limited life. Alternatives will have to be sought if information is to be retained longer.
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (17 Nov 2013)

An update for the "naval front"  :



> from the Washington Free Beacon
> 
> *China Tests High-Speed Precision-Guided Torpedo*
> Torpedo poses threat to U.S. ships, submarines
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (2 Dec 2013)

Now, if we could combine the speed and efficiency of Amazon.com's ordering and warhouse operations with the "instant" package delivery for military logistics, we would be far more flexible and efficient in our doings, and I suspect that the efficiency of the Amazon.com model for overall logistical processes would save billions for the CF as well. Military delivery vehicles (helicopters or robotic trucks) would be much larger than what Amazon seems to be working on, though:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/12/amazon-and-walmart-are-competing-to-get.html



> *Amazon and Walmart are competing to get same day delivery now but Amazon is looking to leap to 30 minute delivery drones with Prime Air*
> 
> In a Sunday evening "60 Minutes" program aired on CBS Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos unveiled the new service, dubbed Prime Air, to CBS anchor Charlie Rose.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (18 Dec 2013)

Laser trucks. This is the 21rst century, after all:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/12/us-army-mounts-high-energy-laser-on-big.html



> *US Army mounts high energy laser on a big truck for anti-mortar and anti-drone defense*
> 
> Tweet The Army used a vehicle-mounted high-energy laser for the first time to successfully engage more than 90 mortar rounds and several unmanned aerial vehicles in flight.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Jan 2014)

Darpa cracks the incompatible radios problem. Having experienced this myself, I am glad something has finally emerged. Wonder how they handle the bandwidth issue since this is supposed to be a "backbone" for all kinds of data transmission:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/12/connecting-warfighters/



> *Darpa Cracks Radio Incompatibility Problem Once and for All*
> By Allen McDuffee12.16.139:30 AM
> 
> After more than 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon’s research group has announced a new system that could help U.S. troops and multinational forces communicate  — a problem that frequently plagued the countries’ cooperation in the field.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (11 Jan 2014)

Progress on the idea of "flying trucks". It isn't particularly elegant to look at, but as a niche vehicle may have some useful applications:

https://www.advancedtacticsinc.com/advanced-tactics-unveils-the-at-transformer/



> *Advanced Tactics Unveils the AT Transformer:*
> The Future of Roadable VTOL Aircraft and Modular Cargo Systems
> 
> Posted on January 8, 2014
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (14 Jan 2014)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Progress on the idea of "flying trucks". It isn't particularly elegant to look at, but as a niche vehicle may have some useful applications:



Speaking of the AT Black Knight Transformer:

Military.com video: AT Black Knight flight model test


----------



## GAP (18 Jan 2014)

US military is testing gun that could turn ANYONE into an ace sniper

    Users simply 'tag' their target using a button near the trigger
    Smart rifle can then work out the range and weather conditions before shooting
    Can even send target details to other nearby rifles - and be controlled by an iPad app

By Mark Prigg  16 January 2014 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2540879/US-Military-testing-smart-rifle-automatically-aim-turn-ANYONE-sharp-shooter.html

The US military is testing a radical 'smart rifle' that can automatically aim itself, it has been revealed.

The army is believed to have acquired six $27,000 'smart rifles' from Texas firm Tracking Point.

It uses a built in computer to aim at a target, and can even 'lock on' top targets and automatically track them.

Oren Schauble, a marketing official with the Austin, Texas-based company, confirmed the military bought a handful of them in recent months for evaluation. 

The military has purchased several units for testing and evaluation purposes,' he said during an interview with Military​.com at the annual SHOT Show, the country’s largest gun show with 60,000 attendees.

The system includes a Linux-powered computer in the scope with sensors that collect imagery and ballistic data such as atmospheric conditions, cant, inclination, even the slight shift of the Earth’s rotation known as the Coriolis effect.

A laser rangefinder is used by the shooter looking through the scope to identify the target that he or she wants to hit.

The high-tech sight then takes into account humidity, wind and the typical ballistic drop you'd expect from a bullet fired over such a distance.

Once the target has been selected, the scope provides cross-hairs which have to be lined up with the pin that is dropped on the target.

To ensure accuracy, the shooter can not even squeeze the trigger unless the cross-hairs and pin are alined.
more on link


----------



## a_majoor (29 Jan 2014)

The USN is moving aggressively towards energy weapons (railguns and lasers). While the article suggests that missiles will be de emphasized, I think they actually fill a useful "middle ground" between long range projectiles fired from railguns and intense, short range engagements using lasers:

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/01/10/future-destroyers-likely-to-fire-lasers-rail-guns.html



> *Future Destroyers Likely to Fire Lasers, Rail Guns*
> Jan 10, 2014 | by Kris Osborn
> 
> The Navy is in the early phases of starting research to determine what kind of hull, ship defenses, propulsion technology and weapons systems will be engineered for a new class of DDG Flight IV destroyers to begin service in the 2030s.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Feb 2014)

This article is even more interesting when read after reading about the huge weight gains in the LAV 6.0 program. While materials like this might not make the best armour, using materials less dense than water but as strong as steel in structural members could deliver a big "diet" for vehicles and other structures. Logistical follow on effects such as lower fuel consumption and the ability to use roads and tracks which cannot support the weight of heavier vehicles (or heavy loads carried on vehicles) also make this a promising technology to watch:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/new-laser-printed-material-is-lighter-than-water-as-strong-as-steel/



> *New laser-printed material is lighter than water, as strong as steel*
> An internal structure like that of bone keeps the material porous but tough.
> 
> by Akshat Rathi - Feb 3 2014, 4:07pm EST
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Feb 2014)

The use of robotics to dispense drugs may have useful implications for us as well in terms of cost and quality control. This is somewhat related to the ideas that drive Amazon.com's warehouse delivery model; really the only difference between something like that and implementing a military model would be the final delivery of the item, package or medicines would be via the CQ rather than the USPS or FedEX.

http://www.wired.com/design/2014/02/pillpack-uses-design-thinking-become-pharmacy-future/



> *A Drug-Dealing Robot That Upends the Pharmacy Model*
> BY JOSEPH FLAHERTY02.14.146:30 AM
> 
> For $20 a month, PillPack will deliver prescription drugs to patients with the efficiency of Amazon Prime.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (19 Feb 2014)

The IDF is now working to include high energy lasers in their arsenal to target inching missiles, shells and UAV's. Note how this is part of a comprehensive and integrated system, which would have to be ruggedized and made portable to work as a counter to AA/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) systems seeking to use the same missile and aircraft/UAV/UCAV technologies against *Western* force es attempting to launch an operation.





> Israel Wants to Use Lasers to Shoot Down Missiles
> February 18, 2014 at 4:37:00 PM by Joshua A. Krisch | 5 Comments
> 
> Comments
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (19 Feb 2014)

DARPA is working on something similar to a giant "Quadcopter" to carry various sorts of standard modules around. As a sort of logistics flying delivery system it will certainly allow units to operate with more dispersal, and some of the other applications seem pretty obvious. Notably absent in the press release is converting this into some sort of UCAV with a weapons dispenser or pod, but as a flying fire support vehicle able to move with the manoeuvre units, it frees up other airframes for other missions:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2014/02/11.aspx



> *ARES AIMS TO PROVIDE MORE FRONT-LINE UNITS WITH MISSION-TAILORED VTOL CAPABILITIES*
> 
> February 11, 2014
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Feb 2014)

The use of spectrum and especially broadband technology is going to be more important as military systems depend on more remote data feeds, and commanders demand things like video on demand from UAV's and other sorts of imagery. Even the need for a data centre might not be as arduous as you may imagine, nVidia offers a supercomputer that is the same form factor as your average PC tower, and IBM's long term plan is to shrink massive supercomputers to the size of a kitchen garbage can. This may be a promising way of delivering broadband to mobile users:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/02/pcell-wireless-broadband-with-cubic.html#more



> *pCell wireless broadband with cubic centimeter sized cells around antennas for massively shareable wireless spectrum*
> 
> Steve Perlman, the serial Silicon Valley entrepreneur who brought us OnLive and WebTV, has announced a new wireless broadband technology called pCell.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (18 Mar 2014)

While this invention was designed for use in hospital rooms, the ability to rapidly clean and sterilize a zone cold make it an important part of a field hospital's kit. Rooms can be rapidly sterilized and converted for medical use in the field, and the implications for cleaning out medical vehicles should not be overlooked as well.

http://knlive.ctvnews.ca/canadian-invention-to-clean-hospital-rooms-may-save-10-000-lives-a-year-1.1728286



> *Canadian invention to clean hospital rooms may save 10,000 lives a year*
> 
> Jordan Chittley, Kevin Newman Live
> Published Thursday, March 13, 2014 6:36PM EDT
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (27 Mar 2014)

Another potential medical breakthrough, using cold and replacing blood with a saline solution to give doctors more time to treat trauma victims. Cooling patients down has been done before with surgery, but not for emergency medicine as far as I know. This sort of technology would be handy at a Role 3, for example:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129623.000-gunshot-victims-to-be-suspended-between-life-and-death.html?full=true#.UzTaLdziTLQ



> *Gunshot victims to be suspended between life and death*
> 
> 26 March 2014 by Helen Thomson
> Magazine issue 2962.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (5 Apr 2014)

Crowdsourcing intelligence? A seemingly strange idea seems to work:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/04/02/297839429/-so-you-think-youre-smarter-than-a-cia-agent



> *So You Think You're Smarter Than A CIA Agent *
> 
> by Alix Spiegel
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Apr 2014)

Google looks to modular smart phone chassis. This sort of technology should also be imported for military use, next generation devices "should" have similar form factors as smart phones or "Phablets" (Think Samsung Galaxy series phones) both for portability and to make use familier and easy for the users. A Smartphone like device in a militarized case would still be miles ahead of a 522 radio in versatility and ease of use.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/04/googles-modular-smartphone-will-be-like.html#more



> *Google's Modular smartphone will be like an update to the motherboard and addin card model of IBM PCs*
> 
> Google thinks modularity may succeed now thanks to the shrinking cost and size of the underlying electronics and because innovation in conventional mobile hardware is slowing down. Also, by fostering open hardware innovation in smartphones and other mobile devices, Google believes it could gain footholds for its software and services in fresh markets and fresh industries.
> 
> ...



Update from MIT Technology Review:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/525386/why-googles-modular-smartphone-might-actually-succeed/



> *Why Google’s Modular Smartphone Might Actually Succeed*
> 
> Google believes open hardware innovation could help it find industries and markets for its software and services.
> By David Talbot on April 7, 2014
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (27 Apr 2014)

Microrobotics demonstrates some of its potential. Swarms of tiny robots could do a huge number of military and para military tasks:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/526601/microrobots-working-together-build-with-metal-glass-and-electronics/



> *Microrobots, Working Together, Build with Metal, Glass, and Electronics*
> Tiny robots that work together like ants could lead to a new way to manufacture complex structures and electronics.
> By Tom Simonite on April 16, 2014
> 
> ...


----------



## acen (6 May 2014)

Norwegian army tests virtual-reality headset in tanks 

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27292447

Wearing a virtual-reality headset is a new experience for soldiers 

The virtual-reality Oculus Rift headset has been put to a novel use by the Norwegian army - helping soldiers to drive tanks.
By mounting cameras on the outside of the tank, soldiers were able to create a 360-degree feed to the Oculus headset, worn by the driver.
The device - still just a prototype - is much cheaper than conventional military camera systems.
But the picture quality is not yet good enough for operational use.
The army began testing the headset in 2013 and in April of this year tried out the latest iteration of the hardware.
"It is a partial success," project leader Maj Ola Petter Odden told the BBC.
"The concept is sound, but the technology isn't quite there yet. The picture quality is good for 10-15m [30-50ft] - but after that it is difficult to distinguish details, for example whether an opponent is carrying a weapon."

Now he plans to wait until next year for further tests.
"There will be better hardware and we can test it again then," he said.
The virtual-reality headset hit the headlines when Facebook bought the company behind it - Oculus VR - for $2bn (£1.1bn) in March.
To date neither has said much about what they plan to do together, but this week Oculus VR chief executive Brendan Iribe talked about hopes "to build a one billion player MMO".
Massively multi-player online games (MMO) using virtual reality (VR) would be the "holy grail" for the technology, he told delegates at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.
Facebook's large audience would help make such a platform possible although such an enormous player base would require a much larger network than existed currently, he said.
And while Oculus is starting off with a big focus in gaming he said that a lot of where VR would go in the next decade would be about "face-to-face communication and social".


----------



## a_majoor (7 Jun 2014)

Operators climbing walls like lizards...

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/darpa-has-demonstrated-gekko-like-wall.html#more



> *DARPA has demonstrated Gekko-like wall crawling*
> 
> DARPA’s Z-Man program has demonstrated the first known human climbing of a glass wall using climbing devices inspired by geckos. The historic ascent involved a 218-pound climber ascending and descending 25 feet of glass, while also carrying an additional 50-pound load in one trial, with no climbing equipment other than a pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles. The novel polymer microstructure technology used in those paddles was developed for DARPA by Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (11 Jun 2014)

Creating super strong materials that are 99% air. The logistical effects through massively reduced fuel and energy consumption would be enormous (not just in vehicles, but assembling buildings built out of these materials and virtually anything else that has to be moved, or the reduction in basic material use since there is a 99% reduction in material used to create the structure).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dahz8wYWvos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fRuHGPdDoE


----------



## a_majoor (13 Jun 2014)

HP bets the farm on a series of experimental technologies. While the odds are not really in their favour (and HP is also a company in difficulty, so may not be able to sustain this experimental program anyway), it is interesting to see what the predicted performance of these devices is supposed to be.

With massive amounts of memory and processing power embedded in devices the size of today's smartphones, who knows what advanced apps will be possible, or what the effects of having that much processing power in the hands of an ordinary line troop might be?

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/hp-will-bet-company-on-combination-of.html#more



> *HP will bet the company on a combination of memristors and silicon photonics*
> 
> Hewlett-Packard has kicked off an ambitious project that aims at nothing less than reinventing the basic architecture of computers. It looks like servers are its initial target, but HP is also working on an Android version that it says could lead to smartphones with 100TB of storage.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (18 Jun 2014)

The future just keeps coming. The US is testing 30kW laser weapons that can be mounted on small tactical vehicles and what is essentially a giant quadcopter to carry cargo around the battlespace. The obvious connection is missing from the article; an ARES vehicle carrying a laser module to rapidly target and attack threats against the manoeuvre unit. Even without the laser, giant quadcopter gunships sporting a 25mm cannon or missiles would be in a good position to respond to hit and run attacks against manoeuvre unit:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/navy-will-test-combat-lasers-on-humvees.html



> *Navy will test combat lasers on humvees this year and will field test 30 kilowatt lasers in 2016 and DARPAs Cargo Drones able to lift cars is on track as well*
> 
> As the Navy prepares to deploy its first laser weapon on a ship later this summer, Office of Naval Research (ONR) officials announced June 11 that they have finished awarding contracts to develop a similar weapon to be used on ground vehicles.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Jul 2014)

A new twist on exoskeletons and robotic assistants; extra arms:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/07/from-hindu-gods-to-doctor-octopus.html



> *From the Hindu Gods to Doctor Octopus the Vision of Multiple Extra Arms is being made real with Robotic Arms from MIT*
> 
> The vision of humans with extra limbs is taking shape at MIT with researchers adding "supernumerary robotic arms" to assist with tasks that ordinary two-armed humans would find difficult.
> 
> ...



Bracing yourself, lifting and carrying and having extra limbs to assist when climbing are a few of the military applications I can think of for this technology


----------



## Rifleman62 (14 Jul 2014)

See video and photos at link.

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/26011307/mule-robot-undergoing-military-tests

*Military tests robotic mule*

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -

The U.S. Marine Corps. has enlisted the help of a four-legged devil-dog of sorts.

A robotic mule known as the Legged Squad Support System, or LS3, is taking part in military exercises in Hawaii.

LS3 is designed to carry 400 pounds and travel 20 miles without refueling. The robot is operated by a Marine with a sensor strapped to his or her foot.

LS3 follows the Marine using computer vision. The military released video of Lance Corporal Brandon Dieckmann operating the robot as he walked across a field in Oahu.

LS3 was invented by robotics firm Boston Dynamics and has undergone three years of testing by U.S. Marines.

The goal is to reduce the amount of equipment that fighters have to wear in the field, which can top more than 100 pounds.

LS3 seeks to demonstrate that a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot can follow squad members through rugged terrain and interact with troops in a natural way, similar to a trained animal and its handler.

The goal is to develop a robot that will go through the same terrain the squad goes through without hindering the squad’s mission. The robot could also serve as a mobile auxiliary power source to the squad, so troops can recharge batteries for radios and handheld devices while on patrol.


----------



## a_majoor (22 Jul 2014)

You still have to go to the range, though.....

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/07/neuroscience-biofeedback-improved.html



> *Neuroscience biofeedback improved novice sniper shooting by 100% by helping soldiers get into the right mental zone*
> 
> A previous DARPA program yielded some remarkable insight into the potential for better soldier performance through focused brain states. Amy Kraus, a former DARPA program manager, on Monday told a group at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, the work that she presided over succeeded in finding the secret mental secret that preceded good marksmanship. “It turns out the expert marksman has a brain state,” she said, “a state that they enter before they take the perfect shot. Can I teach a novice to create this brain state? The answer was yes.”
> 
> ...


----------



## Martin111 (25 Jul 2014)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> The use of spectrum and especially broadband technology is going to be more important as military systems depend on more remote data feeds, and commanders demand things like video on demand from UAV's and other sorts of imagery. Even the need for a data centre might not be as arduous as you may imagine, nVidia offers a supercomputer that is the same form factor as your average PC tower, and IBM's long term plan is to shrink massive supercomputers to the size of a kitchen garbage can. This may be a promising way of delivering broadband to mobile users:
> 
> http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/02/pcell-wireless-broadband-with-cubic.html#more



Communication combat is the key point in future war.
Harris, Thales,Dicom, Motorola these companies produced the most famous radios used by many countries army. Also Bren-tonics, Sonetronics produced the handsets, headsets and batteries used for those radios. And there are many Chinese factories, they also do these batteries and headsets such as Power-Time. But how is the industrial now developing ?


----------



## CougarKing (8 Aug 2014)

> *Japan, US to develop 'fuel-cell submarine'*
> Yahoo News
> 
> Tokyo (AFP) - Japan and the United States will jointly develop a fuel-cell powered submarine that can run for a month under the sea on a single charge, a report said on Friday.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (12 Aug 2014)

A twofer here: the use of Malware in warfare, and a look at the next generation of supercomputers designed to mimic the physical functioning of the human brain. One can only imagine the combination of hyper malware being run off hypercomputers of this sort:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/529936/malware-traffic-spikes-preceded-russian-and-israeli-conflicts/



> *Malware Traffic Spikes Preceded Russian and Israeli Conflicts*
> 
> Government hackers apparently went to work as Israel and Russia ramped up military action this year.
> By Tom Simonite on August 8, 2014
> ...



and:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/08/on-track-to-human-brain-scale.html



> *On track to human brain scale neuromorphic systems with 20 billion neurons and 200 trillion synapses in 2019 or 2020*
> 
> The DARPA 2015 budget (page 192) reported that the 1 million neuron chip that was announced by IBM and published research in the journal Science was developed in fiscal year 2013.
> 
> ...


----------



## Martin111 (13 Aug 2014)

Martin111 said:
			
		

> Communication combat is the key point in future war.
> Harris, Thales,Dicom, Motorola these companies produced the most famous radios used by many countries army. Also Bren-tonics, Sonetronics produced the handsets, headsets and batteries used for those radios. And there are many Chinese factories, they also do these batteries and headsets such as Power-Time. But how is the industrial now developing ?



Power-Time interception headset for shooting
With noise canceling microphone, and big thick earmuffs to protect user’s hearing.
What’s more, it can amplify the very light sound to suitable for human listen. This will keep the users be alert to the environment, and keep the dangers way !


----------



## a_majoor (28 Aug 2014)

While the idea of a manned submarine using supercavitation is a bit improbable (the amount of energy needed to displace the water to create the supercavitation bubble is pretty immense), longer range torpedoes using this technology do seem to be reaching maturity, and a submarine could conceivably eject a supercavitating carrier to bring a cruise missile or anti ship missile closer to the target. The idea of very compact nuclear power plants has more applications for conventional ships and nuclear submarines (much smaller than currently practical for nuclear powered vessels):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/08/shanghai-to-san-francisco-in-100.html#more



> *Shanghai to San Francisco in 100 minutes by Chinese supersonic supercavitating submarine with molten salt nuclear reactors*
> 
> [South China Morning Post] China has moved a step closer to creating a supersonic submarine that could travel from Shanghai to San Francisco in less than two hours.
> 
> ...


----------



## GnyHwy (29 Aug 2014)

Thanks Thuc.  You do post a lot of great stuff.  Do you actually research the stuff or are you just posting stuff that you think people may be interested in?


----------



## a_majoor (31 Aug 2014)

Bit of both actually. I worked in the G6 branch for a while, so IT and communications are interests of mine and I have some background in these areas. OTOH, there are a lot of interesting new ideas out there and I hope that some people will be interested in the things I stumble across.

The NextBigFuture blog is a good all in one site to review these ideas, and MIT's Technology Review is another.

Who knows, maybe someone out there will be inspired to take some of these ideas out to the next level.


----------



## CougarKing (5 Sep 2014)

An effective defence against Chinese SSMs?



> *Navy looks to advancements in 'fog of war' for missile defense*
> By Erik Slavin
> Stars and Stripes
> Published: July 3, 2014
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Sep 2014)

I suspect that at least some navies are already aboard with this, but the article is interesting in describing the capabilities and use of minimally powered sea going robots, especially the "Sea Gliders" and "Wave Gliders". The attached picture demonstrates the size and surface profile of a Wave Glider. Equipping them with military grade sensors and sending them into an area of interest to get saturation coverage seems to be mostly a matter of money and logistics (buying them in quantity, delivering them to the AO and monitoring the data). It also won't be long before similar vehicles become weaponized (carrying mines or torpedoes). The fact that they can _already_ operate under the ice should be a very telling observation as well:

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21611046-determined-effort-understand-arctic-going-sea-and



> *A glide-path to knowledge*
> 
> A determined effort to understand the Arctic is going on, in the sea and on the ice
> Aug 9th 2014 | THE BEAUFORT SEA, ABOARD RV UKPIK | From the print edition
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (12 Sep 2014)

More superstring and super light materials on the horizon:

http://www.caltech.edu/content/ceramics-dont-have-be-brittle



> *Ceramics Don't Have To Be Brittle*
> Caltech Materials Scientists Are Creating Materials By Design
> 
> Imagine a balloon that could float without using any lighter-than-air gas. Instead, it could simply have all of its air sucked out while maintaining its filled shape. Such a vacuum balloon, which could help ease the world's current shortage of helium, can only be made if a new material existed that was strong enough to sustain the pressure generated by forcing out all that air while still being lightweight and flexible.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Sep 2014)

Using nanotechnology and powerful magnets to "clean" the blood. The article mentions using this to control infections, but I wonder what else might be possible with this technique?

http://yahoonewsdigest-intl.tumblr.com/post/97528502097/scientists-unveil-magnetic-cure-to-clean-up-blood



> *Scientists unveil magnetic cure to clean up blood*
> 
> Scientists said Sunday they had invented a device that uses a magnet to extract bacteria, fungi and toxins from blood, potentially throwing a lifeline to patients with sepsis and other infections. The external gadget, tested so far in rats but not yet humans, could be adapted one day for stripping Ebola and other viruses from blood. Acting rather like a spleen, the invention uses magnetic nanobeads coated with a genetically-engineered human blood protein called MBL. The MBL binds to pathogens and toxins, which can then be “pulled out” with a magnet, the developers wrote in the journal Nature Medicine.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (29 Sep 2014)

More civilian technology that has fairly obvious military applications. A UAV with this performance can be the basis for not only a communications node, but also a surveillance, AWACS or EW platform. While the light weight and extreme performance would rule out the direct use of this as a UCAV, it certainly can act as the spotter or designator, and there is no reason that larger and upgraded ones could not also carry some form of weapons system (glide bombs released from that hight could cover hundreds of miles of stand off distance):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/11120639/Facebook-drones-the-size-of-jumbo-jets-to-soar-17-miles-up.html



> *Facebook drones the size of jumbo jets to soar 17 miles up*
> 
> Facebook will create thousands of semi-autonomous drones the size of jumbo jets which will fly 17 miles above the Earth to provide wireless internet access to the four billion people currently unable to get online
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (5 Oct 2014)

Here is an interesting development: a material that can store large amounts of Oxygen in a crystal structure. This should be of great interest for divers, firefighters and others who work in Oxygen constrained environments, as well as a lightweight means of carrying Oxygen for other uses (on aircraft or AIP units on Submarines, as two simple examples). I also wonder if similar materials can be used for carrying other materials like Methane for fuel?

http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Fakulteterne/Naturvidenskab/Nyheder/2014_09_30_iltsluger



> *New material steals oxygen from air*
> Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have synthesized crystalline materials that can bind and store oxygen in high concentrations.The stored oxygen can be released again when and where it is needed.
> 
> We do fine with the 21 per cent oxygen in the air around us. But sometimes we need oxygen in higher concentrations; for example lung patients must carry heavy oxygen tanks, cars using fuel cells need a regulated oxygen supply. Perhaps one day in the future even sunlight-driven “reversible” fuel cells will be made. With these we will have to separate oxygen from hydrogen in order to recombine them in order to get energy.
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (19 Oct 2014)

Imagine this becoming a reality 10 years from now...



> *Lockheed says makes breakthrough on fusion energy project*
> Reuters By Andrea Shalal
> 
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had made a technological breakthrough in developing a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.
> ...


Reuters

Plus some prominent experts show their skepticism:

Business Insider



> *Scientists Share What They Really Think Of Lockheed Martin's Fusion 'Breakthrough'*
> Business Insider
> By Jessica Orwig – 20 hours ago
> 
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (19 Oct 2014)

Another possible option for Canadian artillery units in the decades to come?

Military.com



> *Raytheon Offers Laser-Guided Artillery to Army, Navy*
> Raytheon Offers Laser-Guided Artillery to Army, Navy
> By Kris Osborn Thursday, October 16th, 2014 5:29 pm
> 
> ...


----------



## Ostrozac (19 Oct 2014)

S.M.A. said:
			
		

> Another possible option for Canadian artillery units in the decades to come?
> 
> Military.com



And the circle is complete. The M712 Copperhead was a laser guided 155mm round that was developed back in the 70's. As I understand it, this is mostly dead-end technology if you have access to GPS guidance. The observer has to maintain a constant laser "paint" on the target for the entire engagement, and the laser is heavily sensitive to weather, smoke and dust. And the big advantage over GPS, that you can engage a moving target, assumes that the target won't end up moving out of your line of sight.

Now, if GPS jammers are common, or the satellites have been knocked out of the sky, then laser guidance is back to being the best PGM option. But you still need eyes on the target, and you can't use it to engage a preregistered target. And lasers still won't like smoke or clouds.


----------



## a_majoor (19 Oct 2014)

OTOH the only other alternative to laser and GPS guided artillery is long range Fiber Optic Guided Missiles (FOG-M), which carry day/night or thermal imagers in their seekers. This isn't a far out there idea, several nations like Israel and Brazil offer FOG-M's with ranges out to 60 km (using small jet engines for power). Even rocket powered LR FOG-M's have ranges from 15 to 25 Km.

The big advantage of having both laser and GPS is it makes it more complicated for the enemy to execute countermeasures; smoke will work against the laser designator but not the GPS, and jamming the GPS signals does not ensure a SoF spotter with a laser isn't nearby. Using smoke and jamming all the time will turn Excalibur into a "dumb" round, but is pretty resource intensive for you as well. 

As an aside, Israel now has a version of Spike offered as a Precision Guided _Anti-Personnel_ round (how bad would that suck....)


----------



## a_majoor (19 Oct 2014)

A 3D printed car, with only 64 parts. This sort of manufacturing technology could revolutionize the entire supply chain:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/industry/the-first-3d-printed-car-breakthrough-awards-2014



> *The 3D-Printed Car*
> The average car is made of 25,000 parts. With its 3D-printed shell, Local Motors' Strati has just 64.
> 
> BY EZRA DYER
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Oct 2014)

SMA had posted LockMart's announcement that they were developing a fusion energy concept. Here is a roundup of commercial fusion energy projects from NextBigFuture. Canada has an entry with a company called General Fusion working out of BC. The reality is the fundamental physiscs problems of containing the reaction have not been overcome, hence the long timelines for some of these projects:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/10/updated-prospects-for-commercial.html



> *Commercialization Targets for Nuclear Fusion Projects*
> 
> LPP Fusion (Lawrenceville Plasma Physics) - the target is to make LPP Fusion with a commercial system 4 years after net energy gain is proved. The hop is two years to prove net energy gain. Then 2019-2022 for a commercial reactor (2022 if we allow for 3 years of slippage). They could lower energy costs by ten times.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (21 Oct 2014)

"Heating or cooling a person" has other uses besides reducing energy use in buildings. 

http://www.wired.com/2013/10/an-ingenious-wristband-that-keeps-your-body-at-the-perfect-temperature-no-ac-required/



> *MIT Wristband Could Make AC Obsolete*
> By Kyle VanHemert
> 10.30.13  |
> 9:30 am  |
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (22 Nov 2014)

Climbing walls like a lizard...

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/11/human-wall-crawling-has-arrived-with.html



> *Human Wall Crawling has arrived with scaling of gecko like synthetic adhesion *
> 
> In a practical demonstration, a synthetic adhesion system enabled a 70 kg human to climb vertical glass with 140 square centimeters of adhesive per hand. They have developed a synthetic adhesion system that allows efficient scaling over four orders of magnitude of area. The synthetic adhesion system creates a nearly-uniform load distribution across the whole adhesive area, improving upon the adhesive-bearing structures of a gecko's toe and enabling a human to climb vertical glass using an area of adhesive no larger than the area of a human hand. These results show that gecko-inspired adhesives can be scaled from laboratory-scale tests to human-scale applications with little decrease in performance.
> 
> ...



Follow the link for a video


----------



## a_majoor (27 Nov 2014)

Having full duplex capability for radio would go a long way to revolutionizing the ability to transfer and handle data and other information networks on the battlefield:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/532616/simple-circuit-could-double-cell-phone-data-speeds/



> *Simple Circuit Could Double Cell-Phone Data Speeds*
> A circuit that lets a radio send and receive data simultaneously over the same frequency could supercharge wireless data transfer.
> 
> By Tom Simonite on November 24, 2014
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (2 Dec 2014)

Graphene body armour? It would be great if it works, but I suspect that there will be a lot of issues in scaling:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26626-bulletproof-graphene-makes-ultrastrong-body-armour.html#.VH56Or5BBIB



> *Bulletproof graphene makes ultra-strong body armour*
> 
> 19:00 27 November 2014 by Rebecca Boyle
> 
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (14 Jan 2015)

Speaking of hypersonic weapons...and a defence against them.

*Defense Update*



> *US considers Extended Range THAAD, enhanced BMS to defend against attacking hypersonic gliders*
> Jan 9, 2015
> 
> _THAAD ER is currently in a company funded concept phase. The Missile Defense Agency has supported the study with approximately $2 million in FY14 funding to study the potential concept of operations._
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (19 Feb 2015)

Israel demonstrates more economical reverse osmosis water desalinization. It would be interesting to see if this approach could be scaled to ROWPU sized units. In the comments section, a person posting as "Goat Guy" suggests another possibility for economical large scale water purification:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/02/isreal-scales-up-reverse-osmosis.html



> *Israel scales up Reverse Osmosis Desalination to slash costs with a fourth of the piping*
> 
> The traditional criticism of reverse-osmosis technology is that it costs too much. The process uses a great deal of energy to force salt water against polymer membranes that have pores small enough to let fresh water through while holding salt ions back. However, Sorek desalination plant in Israel will profitably sell water to the Israeli water authority for 58 U.S. cents per cubic meter (1,000 liters, or about what one person in Israel uses per week), which is a lower price than today’s conventional desalination plants can manage. What’s more, its energy consumption is among the lowest in the world for large-scale desalination plants.
> 
> ...





> GoatGuyNBF Moderator 3 hour(s) ago
> 
> Its one of those things that makes me just kind of bang my head on the countertop: we invent magnificent technologies such as reverse osmosis which through the magic of membrane science, wicked-cool engineering, aggressive cost-savings and straight necessity, can have a 25 acre (10 ha) setup producing domestic water for 1.5 million people, at a cost of about $150,000,000 a year, or a hundreds smackeroos-a-head. Understand tho: the people of Israel have becomes hyper vigilant in efficiently using and re-using and re-re-using water.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Feb 2015)

DARPA studies how robotic systems could enhance squad level operations. Given that our enemies _already_ know how to operate in complex terrain that masks them from sensors and long range fire, I'm not really clear if this is the way to go. Having a robot with a Coyote mast to sense what is going on around you will be useful in some circumstances (but then again so will having a robot that is carrying a .50 HMG and 1000 rounds of ammunition), but patrolling through a city street, crowded marketplace, dense woodland and so on will strain robotic sensor systems just as much as it strains the actual soldiers:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/02/darpa-developing-squad-level-robotics.html



> *DARPA Developing Squad level Robotics and sensing technology*
> 
> DARPA’s new Squad X Core Technologies (SXCT) program aims to address the challenge and ensure that dismounted infantry squads maintain uncontested tactical superiority over potential adversaries without being overburdened by cumbersome hardware. The goal is to speed the development of new, lightweight, integrated systems that provide infantry squads unprecedented awareness, adaptability and flexibility in complex environments, and enable dismounted Soldiers and Marines to more intuitively understand and control their complex mission environments.
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (20 Feb 2015)

A new natural material that could well be the strongest stuff on the planet. Materials Engineers have some work ahead of them.

*Limpet teeth are strongest natural material known*

Vegetarian sea snail makes material stronger than spider silk

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/limpet-teeth-are-strongest-natural-material-known-1.2965059



> Scientists have discovered a natural material stronger than titanium, Kevlar and even spider silk. In fact, measurements suggest it's the strongest biological material known.
> 
> The remarkable material was discovered in a place you might not have expected — in the teeth of a tiny, vegetarian sea snail called the limpet, reports a team of scientists led by Asa Barber, a professor in the school of engineering at  the University of Portsmouth in England.
> 
> ...



Link to the Article / Paper in the Journal Interface.

http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/105/20141326


----------



## a_majoor (2 Mar 2015)

NextBigFuture on the rapid growth of exoskeleton technology. Some of this seems very appropriate for support troops (carrying heavy stuff in a warehouse, repairing machinery etc.), but the key limiting factor is the low energy density of batteries. For practical use, some form of fuel cell or IC engine may have to be developed to power these things:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/03/lower-body-exoskeleton-audi-chairless.html



> *Lower Body Exoskeleton - Audi Chairless Chair part of exoskeleton for worker trend*
> 
> Audi is testing a new technology that eases many assembly activities: the so-called “chairless chair.” This high-tech carbon-fiber construction allows employees to sit without a chair. At the same time, it improves their posture and reduces the strain on their legs.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Mar 2015)

More details on the Google Loon project. The military implications of having hundreds or thousands of super cheap high bandwidth communications relays in and over the AO should be fairly obvious (although balloons drifting in and out of range will be an issue), and it isn't a big step to consider adding at least wide angle sensors to provide a layer of coverage on the ground as well:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/03/cnes-partners-with-google-to-deploy.html



> *CNES Partners with Google to deploy Global 100,000 Internet Loon Ballon Networks*
> 
> The French space agency, CNES, on Dec. 11 said it is partnering with Google on the Google X Project Loon to deploy more than 100,000 balloons in the stratosphere to provide high-speed Internet to regions without it.
> 
> ...




This is related; a broadband net that can be set up virtually anywhere, and can be powered off a car battery. Small mash nets like this may be the future of tactical communications, using suitably militarized equipment:

http://www.broadband-hamnet.org



> Broadband-Hamnet
> Welcome to the Broadband-Hamnet™ web site	PDF	Print	E-mail
> Written by Jim Kinter, K5KTF
> Monday, 18 January 2010 23:34
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (16 Mar 2015)

Using origami to manipulate the properties of objects. While this demonstration is using a piece of paper to deform in a controlled way to protect whatever is in the center, you could imagine a radar dish or satellite antenna unfolding from this pattern. More generally, controlled "folding" could be used to make things like crash barriers which bring a vehicle to a stop under control, or other energy absorbing structures and features.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530123.200



> *Origami doughnut squashes up to protect what's inside*
> 11 March 2015
> Magazine issue 3012. Subscribe and save
> 
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (19 Mar 2015)

Related to this topic: 3d printers for every home one day? Much like the replicators from Star Trek?

Washington Post



> *This mind-blowing new 3-D printing technique is inspired by ‘Terminator 2​’*
> 
> (...SNIPPED)
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (25 Mar 2015)

*May the force-field be with you: Boeing granted patent for 'shock wave attenuation'*

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/tech/boeing-shock-wave-attenuation-patent/



> Boeing has been granted a patent for a force field-like defense system, leading excited sci-fi fans to herald the advent of something previously seen only in the realms of "Star Wars" or "Star Trek."
> 
> Filed in 2012, the USPTO has granted the aerospace giant a patent for a "method and system for shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc."
> 
> ...



Link to the patent.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8981261.PN.&OS=PN/8981261&RS=PN/8981261


----------



## a_majoor (25 Mar 2015)

An interesting aside; Liek Myrabo proposed using a similar system focusing microwave energy in front of an aircraft or spacecraft (he called it an airspike) to deflect air and shockwaves away from hypersonic vehicles in 1995. This would reduce the heat build up and drag on the moving vehicle.

If this is related it is an interesting repurposing of an earlier technology.


----------



## cupper (27 Apr 2015)

*Graphene produces a working 3D holographic display*

A wide viewing angle, full-colour, floating 3D display has been built using graphene-based materials.

http://www.cnet.com/news/graphene-produces-a-working-3d-holographic-display/



> Since "Help me, Obi Wan, you're my only hope" hit the big screens in 1977's "Star Wars," we've been dreaming of a full-3D holographic display. Mastering the technology isn't easy, though. We've seen multiple attempts that approximate a 3D display, like a 2D image visible from all directions, but the tech world wasn't quite up to the challenge of true 3D yet.
> 
> A new effort from Australian universities looks like it could be the real deal, with materials made from the versatile carbon-based graphene as the key.
> 
> ...


----------



## cupper (27 Apr 2015)

Interesting concept. Article seems to have an anti-military bias.

*Meet the Man Building Autonomous Kamikaze Swarm Drones for the US Military*

http://www.vice.com/read/we-spoke-to-the-guy-behind-the-new-self-flying-killer-drone-swarm-333



> A few days ago the US Navy released a video unveiling a new weapons project called LOCUST. In the space of a minute the system fires up to 30 drones out of a cannon. Once they've left the launching tube they come together autonomously in a "swarm" designed to attack and overwhelm their target through sheer numbers.
> 
> The video shows the drones flying in formation before cutting to a CGI animation of them destroying a small settlement that looks like it could be somewhere in the Middle East or Central Asia. From the ground you might expect an attack to look a bit like a colony of seagulls descending on your bag of chips, if all the birds were packed with explosives and detonated on impact.
> 
> ...



Link to the video:   https://youtu.be/Tsj5VX093MY


----------



## Colin Parkinson (29 Apr 2015)

ambulance drone

http://www.dronethusiast.com/flying-defibrillator-delivers-help-minutes/


The Flying Defibrillator Drone

Alec Momont of TU Delft’s Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering designed his prototype for an ambulance drone together with the Living Tomorrow innovation platform as part of his graduation programme. When the emergency services receive a cardiac arrest call, this unmanned, autonomously navigating aeroplane can quickly deliver a defibrillator to the emergency scene. Via a livestream video and audio connection, the drone can also provide direct feedback to the emergency services and the persons on site can be instructed how to treat the patient. The drone finds the patient’s location via the caller’s mobile phone signal and makes its way there using GPS. The drone can fly at around 100 km/h, weighs 4 kg and can carry another 4 kg.


----------



## Bearpaw (30 Apr 2015)

Article on Self-Steering Ammunition on link below:

http://www.livescience.com/50648-darpa-self-steering-bullets.html?cmpid=NL_TND_weekly_2015-04-29


----------



## a_majoor (25 May 2015)

An announcement of a multi use EMP weapon carried by a drone aircraft. Rapidly flying over an area and selectively targeting devices, buildings or antenna could degrade networks without necessarily knocking them out. Degrading a network but leaving a few pathways for information to flow through provides a means of really focusing your listening assets and identifying key targets. This also has implications in knocking out or degrading a 4GW enemy's use of the internet for C3I and PSYOPS or IO campaigns. Groups like ISIS or the Rebel factions in Eastern Ukraine might have a hard time recovering from this sort of treatment layered on top of other means:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/05/multi-use-non-nuclear-electromagnetic.html



> *Multi-use non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse drone is an operational system in US air force*
> 
> Boeing's "CHAMP," is short for Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project. It is a non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse weapon. CHAMP carries a small generator that emits microwaves to fry electronics with pinpoint accuracy. It targets not nations or cities but individual buildings, blacking out their electronics rather than blowing up physical targets (or people).
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (3 Jun 2015)

While high speed artillery rounds have the advantages listed in the article (potential for AA fire and much more kinetic energy on impact), I think this would also bring conventional tube artillery some advantages as well. I expect that the rounds would have a considerable range andvantage over conventional rounds, giving the guns a much longer reach (reaching out and touching someone ecomes a whole new ball game):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/mach-3-naval-guns-are-double-speed-of.html



> *Mach 3 naval guns are double the speed of standard shells and brings some benefits expected from hypersonic railguns*
> 
> A guided HVP (Hyper Velocity Projectile.) round from a standard Mk 45 deck gun could bring a significant margin of the railguns promised capabilities to the fleet sooner, USNI News understands. The HVPs from a traditional deck gun will be slower than one launched from a railgun — a little over Mach 3 versus Mach 5 — but still more than double the speed of an unguided regular shell from the service’s Mk 45 five-inch gun found on its guided missile cruisers and destroyers, according to information from NAVSEA.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (5 Jun 2015)

A design for a small, compact engine. If it works and is scalable, it could provide a huge logistics revolution buy reducing the amount of fuel needed in the field (both through thermodynamics, as it is touted as being far more efficient than conventional IC engines, and because lighter engines mean the rest of the vehicle can also be lighter, for even better fuel economy).

http://liquidpiston.com/technology/how-it-works/

and more on NextBigFuture:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/lightweight-and-quiet-power-to-enable.html



> *Lightweight and quiet power to enable armored military exoskeletons*
> 
> General Atomics is looking at a hybrid-electric power unit with a liquid piston engine that fits in the palm of the hand that will run at 10,000 RPMs. A lightweight and quiet power source is the key to the new powered military exoskeletons.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (9 Jun 2015)

This is literally mind blowing. Inserting billions of nanoparticles in the brain to allow for external stimulation, or the generate electromagnetic fields to allow direct mind/computer interfaceing:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/20-billion-nanoparticles-electrically.html



> *20 billion nanoparticles electrically stimulate mice brains with the goals of imaging brain activity, precisely target medical treatments and enabling better brain computer interfaces*
> 
> Sakhrat Khizroev of Florida International University in Miami and his team inserted 20 billion of these nanoparticles into the brains of mice. They then switched on a magnetic field, aiming it at the clump of nanoparticles to induce an electric field. An electroencephalogram showed that the region surrounded by nanoparticles lit up, stimulated by this electric field that had been generated.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Jun 2015)

Considering that every desk in the CF has a desktop, we could tap into something like this to make our own "cloud" supercomputer(s) for various taskings. Certainly cyberwarfare (both offensive and defensive) would be enhanced with supercomputer power to do things like crypto, analysing "big data" patterns of network usage and other tasks, for a very simple example:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/startup-sentent-can-link-one-million.html#more



> *Startup Sentent can link one million processors from excess data center capacity for deep learning artificial intelligence*
> 
> A private company called Sentient with only about 70 employees, says it can cheaply assemble even larger computing systems to power artificial-intelligence software.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (12 Jun 2015)

NextBigFuture on cheap, massively networked drone and UAV's being the next transformation in US military thinking and doctrine ("New Look" use of nuclear weapons being the first, AirLand Battle and related thinking being the second and this being the "third offset"). Since this is very technocentric, _by itself_ it is an incomplete solution and certainly is no help against programs like "Hybrid Warfare" (Russian), "Unrestricted Warfare" (Chinese) or even the American formulation of 4GW (generally applied to sophisticated modern insurgencies like ISIS). If this could be successfully allied to sophisticated doctrines like Hybrid Warfare, Unrestricted Warfare or 4GW as the kinetic arm, then the US would have a supple and flexible means to deal with opponents in any place and at any scale.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/usa-revamping-military-to-re-establish.html



> *USA Revamping military to re-establish superiority gap over China and Russia with a lot of drones and missiles*
> 
> The military playing field is more even than it has been for many years.
> 
> ...



And a roundup of recent posts here shows that a lot of what is needed to impliment these ideas is already out there, the power comes from the synergy between the various ideas rather than from any one in particular:

Duplex radio capability: http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1340127.html#msg1340127

Squad level robotics:
http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1353227.html#msg1353227

Wide area Internet coverage
http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1356441.html#msg1356441

Swarming Drones
http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1364168.html#msg1364168

EMP drone weapon
http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1368763.html#msg1368763

Compact engines
http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1370878.html#msg1370878

Formation of mass cloud supercomputers
http://army.ca/forums/threads/91633/post-1371725.html#msg1371725


----------



## a_majoor (14 Jun 2015)

Massive networking and drone technology has the potential to change things at sea as well:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/game-changers-for-submarine-warfare.html



> *Game Changers for submarine warfare : undersea sensor networks, 70 day UUVs and 200 mile range torpedos*
> 
> Undersea research and development has been a distinct U.S. military advantage since the end of WWII, but commercial and scientific interest in offshore resources is prompting a rapid expansion and diffusion of undersea study and expertise. American undersea forces will likely become more vulnerable to inadvertent detection by civilian and foreign entities, while rival military and non-state forces could more easily access and incorporate new technologies in their undersea sensors, unmanned vehicles, and weapons.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (16 Jun 2015)

And now tin foil hats have become a real need for military forces (or at least pretty solid Faraday cages for electronic equipment):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/06/usa-and-russia-are-integrating-more.html



> *USA and Russia are integrating more multi-use non-nuclear EMP weapons and China is trying to catch up*
> 
> Multi-use EMP weapons are being added as a standard military weapon by the USA and Russia.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Jul 2015)

US Marines are experimenting with a portable laser system. Although it is about as portable as a C-16, this could be mounted on light vehicles for use against things like UAV's:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/07/on-way-to-personal-ray-guns-650-pound.html



> *On the way to personal ray guns, a 650 pound squad level ten kilowatt combat laser*
> 
> Boeing's new Compact Laser Weapon System (LWS) breaks down into four parts, each transportable by one or two Marines. Boeing says these components include:
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (12 Jul 2015)

NFB rounds up several developments (I omitted the last two parts since they are repeats of previous articles/posts). The squad support robot and using robotic helicopters has been successfully field tested in Afghanistan, and interestingly there was also a synergistic test (the robot helicopter flew the robot vehicle to waiting forces). The idea seems sound, and such support would seem to allow smaller formations to have integral support on the front line (with the understanding that there will be a certain amount of "tail" needed to maintain and program these beasts). Light units, in particular, would benefit since their fatal weakness is the inability to carry enough weapons and stores to carry out prolonged missions (and if your air transport is denied for any reason at all, weather, enemy activity, poor staff planing, then you will indeed be on a "prolonged" mission).

Mechanized mules to carry weapons like mortars and HMG's or ATGM's seem to be a logical next step, and robotic helicopter gunships are also likely on the horizon as well. Some interesting pictures and video on the link:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/07/squad-level-large-wheeled-robot-robot.html



> July 11, 2015
> *Squad level large wheeled robot, robot helicopter bot and combat lasers*
> 
> A squad level mission support ground transport robot has been operated in Afghanistan and has been tested for several years. Squad Mission Support System is an unmanned all terrain wheeled vehicle developed by Lockheed Martin.
> ...



Edit to clarify what was flying what...sigh


----------



## GnyHwy (12 Jul 2015)

If the first pic flies then I will be really impressed.


----------



## a_majoor (19 Jul 2015)

Airless tires becoming closer to reality. They are already in limited use, but this brings them to the state where they could be installed in light duty vehicles:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-cars/airless-tires-roll-towards-consumer-vehicles



> *Airless Tires Roll Towards Consumer Vehicles*
> By Evan Ackerman
> Posted 17 Jul 2015 | 20:00 GMT
> 
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (19 Aug 2015)

Speaking of carriers as floating drone factories...

Reuters



> *3D printed drone launched from warship*
> Wed Aug 19, 2015 8:10am EDT
> 
> By Matthew Stock
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Aug 2015)

More on unpowered exoskeletons. While this isn't as exciting as the powered battle armour of Robert A Heinlein's "Starship Troopers", it is certainly much more practical since it dispenses with batteries, fuel cells or other power sources. A soldier could either carry the current load much farther without extra expenditure of energy, or _actually_ man pack things like a C-16 or 81mm mortar.:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/08/passive-exoskeletons-transfer-two.html



> *Passive Exoskeletons transfer two-thirds of weight to the ground*
> 
> Australian researchers have developed a simple, lightweight (3 kg) fully-passive exoskeleton. This system uses Bowden cables to attached to a rigid backpack frame. The cables run down the back and legs to the base of the boot and transfer approximately two thirds of the backpack load to the ground
> . This load force bypasses the user’s body, reducing compression forces from the backpack load through the torso and legs.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Sep 2015)

The IDF has deployed a series of robotic combat vehicles, and is in the process of developing more for situations like tunnel warfare.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/09/armed-robotic-ground-vehicles.html



> *Armed Robotic ground vehicles patrolling Israeli borders*
> 
> Israel has unmanned ground vehicles that can carry remote-controled weapons and sensors for surveillance missions for patroling the Gazan border.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (7 Oct 2015)

The joy of simple technologies like kites:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/darpa-parafoil-system-provides.html



> *DARPA parafoil system provides the equivalent of a mast as tall as a skyscraper*
> 
> DARPA’s Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) research effort recently demonstrated a prototype of a low-cost, fully automated parafoil system designed to extend maritime vessels’ long-distance communications and improve their domain awareness. Towed behind boats or ships, TALONS could carry intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications payloads of up to 150 pounds between 500 and 1,500 feet in altitude—many times higher than current ships’ masts—and greatly extend the equipment’s range and effectiveness.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (13 Oct 2015)

Emerging C-RAM and counter drone systems roundup at NextBigFuture:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/antidrone-weapons-50mm-cannon-high.html



> *Antidrone weapons 50mm cannon, high energy lasers and radio frequency interference*
> 
> Army engineers, who are seeking to adapt ongoing research to counter aerial systems that could threaten Soldiers, successfully shot down two aircraft as part of their final technology demonstration.
> 
> ...



The fact that we _had_ some of this capability in the 1980's and early 90's and then simply put it on the shelf and forgot about it is more than annoying, it shows how dangerously short sighted we are when it comes to defining capabilities.


----------



## a_majoor (13 Oct 2015)

A very interesting concept: drones made of materials that vanish after use. Delivery could be via an autogyro like device (thrown off the back of an airplane, it deploys blades which spin for lift and allow it to make a precision touchdown), but after you retrieve the package, there is no more delivery device to worry about, pack up or otherwise consider:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/darpa-making-drones-that-deliver-goods.html



> *DARPA making drones that deliver the goods and then vanish*
> 
> It sounds like an engineering fantasy, or maybe an episode from Mission Impossible: A flock of small, single-use, unpowered delivery vehicles dropped from an aircraft, each of which literally vanishes after landing and delivering food or medical supplies to an isolated village during an epidemic or disaster. And it would be nothing more than a fantasy, were it not that the principle behind disappearing materials has already been proven.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Oct 2015)

Massive networking in the real world. A few issues were noted, particularly the need for a better means of launching the drones (multiple launchers working in parallel would seem the best bet), and I think the means of communication has some issues with ECM and jamming in a real military context, but this is an interesting start:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/one-operator-controls-50-drones-at-one.html



> *One operator controls 50 drones at one time *
> 
> A team at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, has succeeded in launching 50 drones that were all piloted by a single person.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (22 Oct 2015)

Low cost UAV delivery drones. The CQ should love these!

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/robotic-cargo-drone-for-under-1-million.html



> *Robotic cargo drone for under $1 million and 120 mile range*
> 
> The Air Force needs a low-cost, expendable, autonomous cargo drone to carry out resupply in contested airspace. Though the 3-ton payload Lockheed/Kaman K-MAX autonomous cargo helicopter is too high-end, the U.S. Marine Corps has operationally demonstrated the concept’s reliability in Afghanistan since 2011. Yet something like the SOCOM/MMIST CQ-10A/BSnowgoose costs less than $1 million and is capable of carrying 600 pounds of cargo 200 kilometers (120 miles).
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (25 Oct 2015)

Interesting development in robotics: one which can fly and swim using the same appendages:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/harvard-demos-insect-sized-flying.html



> *Harvard demos insect sized flying submarine robot *
> 
> Researchers at the Harvard Paulson School have demonstrated a flying, swimming, insectlike robot, easing the way to create future aerial-aquatic robotic vehicles. The research was presented recently in a paper at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Germany, where first author Chen accepted the award for best student paper.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Oct 2015)

Frustratingly short of detail, but finding ways to desalinate water cheaply and effectively is imperative in many places (and this sort of technology is also useful for things like wastewater treatment or remediating tailing ponds as well):

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/10/pervaporation-eliminates-need-for.html



> *Pervaporation eliminates the need for electricity in desalination to cut energy usage in half*
> 
> Scientists at Alexandria University in Egypt are developing an innovative water-purifying technique that uses half the energy as previous methods. They have created a membrane that can both clean and desalinate water, that could offer Egypt and other developing countries an inexpensive new water source. The method uses materials from North Africa and could make water desalination a more affordable process, according Digital Trends. Researchers ultimately plan to mass-produce the membrane and print sheets for individual use.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (31 Oct 2015)

The science of "photonics" just became more exciting. Fibre to the desktop will eventually become "fibre all the way" (although this probably means that we can now process funny cat pictures and XKCD a million times faster than ever....)

http://qz.com/#532580/scientists-have-found-a-way-to-make-light-waves-travel-infinitely-fast/?utm_source=parWD



> *Scientists can now “squeeze” light, a breakthrough that could make computers millions of times faster*
> 
> Have you ever wondered why we don’t use light to transmit messages? Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, but while we use light to carry signals along fiber optic cables, we use electrons to process sound and information in our phones and computers. The reason has always been because light particles–photons—are extremely difficult to manipulate, whereas electrons can be manipulated relatively easily.
> 
> ...



Actual article here: http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v9/n11/full/nphoton.2015.198.html


----------



## a_majoor (8 Nov 2015)

Using a tether to send power and comms to micro drones gives them much more versatility:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/11/microtethered-drone-never-needs-to-land.html



> *Microtethered Drone never needs to land*
> 
> The Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC) system is designed to provide long term persistent stare capabilities and enable reliable long distance communications. PARC uses CyPhy Works’ patented microfilament system to deliver extreme endurance, increased capabilities, and a smaller logistical footprint. PARC flies itself, so very little user training is required; and when operating the system the user can focus on the data that PARC produces, instead of the system itself.
> 
> ...


----------



## Colin Parkinson (9 Nov 2015)

Likely good in the desert, be a pain to deploy in Scandinavia. Plus you have to get all air traffic to avoid the area and it's not immune to being cut by a stray bullet. Also how do they deal with the issues of ring state vortex?


----------



## a_majoor (9 Nov 2015)

Colin P said:
			
		

> Likely good in the desert, be a pain to deploy in Scandinavia. Plus you have to get all air traffic to avoid the area and it's not immune to being cut by a stray bullet. Also how do they deal with the issues of ring state vortex?



Remember this is a mini drone, so even small clearings in the forest can be used for launch and reterival. How you look for things in the forest is up to you (although if the opposition puts enough of these things are in fligt, you might discover that _you_ have to move slowly and carefully through the woods to avoid being spotted). The impression I got about the tether is it is like a monofiliment fishing line, so the odds of being cut by a bullet are very slim. How multi rotor vehicles like quad and hexcopters deal with ring state vortex will need an answer by an SME, but if you can reach up and grab it as it is coming in to land, that might solve a few problems.


----------



## Colin Parkinson (9 Nov 2015)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Remember this is a mini drone, so even small clearings in the forest can be used for launch and reterival. How you look for things in the forest is up to you (although if the opposition puts enough of these things are in fligt, you might discover that _you_ have to move slowly and carefully through the woods to avoid being spotted). The impression I got about the tether is it is like a monofiliment fishing line, so the odds of being cut by a bullet are very slim. How multi rotor vehicles like quad and hexcopters deal with ring state vortex will need an answer by an SME, but if you can reach up and grab it as it is coming in to land, that might solve a few problems.



It will be like having a kite, and even a light line will have wind resistant and won't be straight up and down. Attempting to operate in to small of a clearing means entanglement. Generally the advice given to all drone flyers is do not hover in place for to long of a period. I can see this providing a cheap and portable solution to temporary surveillance of an area, but likely the enemy will spot the drone and if it was stationary for a period, might decide that directly below it is a good place to drop some arty.


----------



## Oldgateboatdriver (10 Nov 2015)

True enough Colin, but for infantry, if it is very easy to launch and recover and light enough for two man team to carry, it could let you take quick look sees on the reverse slopes of the hill/ridge you're about to go up on and perhaps discover the platoon of tanks dug in there. 

Similarly, if you can set it up with a VHF antenna and ride it up 500 feet, it could enable you to have much better tactical comms if operating in mountainous terrain so you can check in or get your messages at set intervals. Always useful.


----------



## CougarKing (24 Nov 2015)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> The Navy wants robots to look for enemy submarines:
> 
> http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/08/16.aspx



An update on the ACTUV program described above:

Diplomat



> *US Navy’s Prototype Robot Ship Gets New Sonar
> 
> An autonomous vessel designed to track Chinese and Russian subs in shallow waters gets new sonar.*
> L1001025
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (25 Nov 2015)

Given the discussion on water purification in another thread, this caught my eye. Dispensing with the membrane is probably the biggest advantage if this works as advertised:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/11/scaling-shock-electrodialysis-for.html



> *Scaling Shock Electrodialysis for Desalination*
> 
> A team at MIT has come up with an innovative desalination approach that, unlike most traditional desalination systems, does not separate ions or water molecules with filters, which can become clogged, or boiling, which consumes great amounts of energy.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (1 Dec 2015)

Israel moves towards robotic enhancements to the force:

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/isr/2015/11/29/israel-outlines-unmanned-systems-plans/76330898/



> *Israel Outlines Unmanned Systems Plans*
> By Barbara Opall-Rome 12:02 p.m. EST November 29, 2015
> Robotic Forward Force To Team With Manned Maneuvering Units
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (3 Dec 2015)

DARPA works on an electrochemical process to create shaped charges and EFP's:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/12/darpa-has-been-working-on-hand-held.html



> *DARPA has been working on hand held Magnetic jet guns and China is copying it*
> 
> DARPA has been working on the MAgneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM) since about 2008.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (17 Dec 2015)

DARPA cancelled this program due to issues with the proposed fuel mixture (a bit too sensitive for use on an aircraft), but something like this is sure to appear sooner or later simply because small satellites are now so versatile and putting a satellite up on demand can be a huge force multiplier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOaJWoVLhAc


----------



## CougarKing (19 Dec 2015)

For those who imagined or predicted the use of such lasers on fighters:

CNN



> *USAF: Fighter jet lasers 5 years away*
> 
> 
> (...FULl VIDEO REPORT AT LINK ABOVE)


----------



## a_majoor (2 Jan 2016)

A waterless toilet, part of the initiative sponsored by the Gates Foundation. This would also be useful for us in isolated outposts, FOBS, on exercise and so on, without the smell, expense and chemicals of "blue rockets".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX0jAn-iNng for an explanation of how it works

https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/About/Media-Centre/news-archive/news-2015/Nano-Membrane-Toilet-finalist-for-Cleantech-Innovate-award



> Nano Membrane Toilet finalist for Cleantech Innovate award
> 03 November 2015
> 
> cross-section toilet
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Jan 2016)

Hypervelocity rounds created for railguns also have applications for conventional cannon. While I don't think the RCN has any more 5" guns, the Artillery branch does have 155mm cannons, and I'm sure that we can all think of applications for these kinds of rounds in our regular artillery park (especially the extended range these will be capable of)

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/01/us-navy-looks-at-three-ways-to-kill.html



> *US Navy looks at three ways to kill everything which include Hypervelocity Projectiles and Railguns*
> The US Navy is adopting a philosophy of increased lethality and "three ways to kill everything."
> 
> Hypervelocity Projectiles (HPV)
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (20 Feb 2016)

Just when your day couldn't get any worse:

http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/russia-reveals-new-flame-throwing-anti-tank-multicopter-uav/



> *Russia Reveals New Flame-Throwing Anti-Tank Multicopter UAV*
> A prototype of a new missile-firing multicopter drone was presented at a robot conference near Moscow.
> By Franz-Stefan Gady
> February 15, 2016
> ...


----------



## GR66 (29 Feb 2016)

https://www.eol.ucar.edu/system/files/APAR_brochure_2015.pdf


I came across this article while trying to learn a bit more about the radars on AAD Destroyers.  My understanding is that for the AAD version of the CSC there was a perference to install the Thales Smart-L search radar combined with the APAR radar which would handle the mid-course and terminal correction guidance to the SM-2 missiles (I gather this is what turns the AD capability of a warship into an AAD capability) as opposed to the US AEGIS system which I understand uses the AN/SPY-1 radar for mid-course correction and the AN/SPG-62 radar for terminal guidance.

As per the attached link, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in the US is in the process of mounting an APAR system on a C-130 aircraft in order to conduct detailed weather system analysis.

I'm curious if an airborne APAR radar such as this could have the capability to replace current AAD destroyers with an airborne missile control unit.  Such an aircraft could potentially deploy to support any naval taskforce equipped with SM-2 missiles, even if not accompanied by a dedicated AAD command ship and be provided with an AAD capability.


----------



## Cloud Cover (29 Feb 2016)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Just when your day couldn't get any worse:
> 
> http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/russia-reveals-new-flame-throwing-anti-tank-multicopter-uav/



That thing looks like a knock off of Aeryon's Skyranger, which has been weaponized by rebels in Libya (free fall drops an 2 pound explosive charge that looks like it is tie wrapped onto the tip of lawn dart).


----------



## Oldgateboatdriver (29 Feb 2016)

GR66 said:
			
		

> https://www.eol.ucar.edu/system/files/APAR_brochure_2015.pdf
> 
> 
> I came across this article while trying to learn a bit more about the radars on AAD Destroyers.  My understanding is that for the AAD version of the CSC there was a perference to install the Thales Smart-L search radar combined with the APAR radar which would handle the mid-course and terminal correction guidance to the SM-2 missiles (I gather this is what turns the AD capability of a warship into an AAD capability) as opposed to the US AEGIS system which I understand uses the AN/SPY-1 radar for mid-course correction and the AN/SPG-62 radar for terminal guidance.
> ...



Obviously, your brochure does not use APAR to mean the same thing (even though both use Phase Array Radars. In the Navy we use APAR to mean Active Phased Array Radar. Similarly, the difference between an AD (air defence destroyer) and an AAD (Area Air Defence destroyer) is more linked to the type of missiles carried, their number and the fire control system used. An AD destroyer can provide air defence locally, whereas an AAD will be able to provide protection to a spread out battle group under a much larger umbrella.


----------



## GR66 (29 Feb 2016)

Thanks for the correction.  I took the description from Page 2:

"About  APAR
The proposed APAR system consists of four removable, 
C-band *active electronically scanned* array antennas 
(AESA) strategically mounted on the fuselage of the NSF/
NCAR C-130 turboprop aircraft, using aerodynamic 
fairings."

And this from Wikipedia (sorry!):

"An active electronically scanned array (AESA), also known as active phased array radar (APAR)"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_electronically_scanned_array

to indicate that this was in fact an "APAR"-type radar that was being described.


----------



## a_majoor (12 Mar 2016)

Tiny drones that can be deployed from the flare dispensers of a jet fighter:

http://warisboring.com/articles/imagine-f-16s-deploying-swarms-of-tiny-drones/



> *Imagine F-16s Deploying Swarms of Tiny Drones*
> Actually, you don't have to imagine -- Perdix drones are real
> FeaturedMarch 10, 2016David Axe 11
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (14 Mar 2016)

Using origami to create floldable. flexible structures. Imagine shelters which can be sotred flat like Ikea furniture, but rapidly "self deploy" into a mod tent or larger sized object. Other applications can be imagined as well:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/03/harvard-creates-three-dimensional.html



> *Harvard creates three-dimensional actuated scalable snapology-origami-inspired transformable metamaterial*
> 
> Imagine a house that could fit in a backpack or a wall that could become a window with the flick of a switch.
> 
> ...


----------



## GR66 (16 Mar 2016)

The ScienceDaily website is reporting on new materials which could eliminate the need for de-icing.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160316082724.htm



> New material could make aircraft de-icers a thing of the past
> 
> Date:
> March 16, 2016
> ...



Lots of potential for Canada as related to Arctic security issues.


----------



## a_majoor (22 Mar 2016)

Shooting technology goes to 11:

Read full article at: http://tracking-point.com/taya-kyle-wins-american-sniper-shootout



> Smart Rifles To Dramatically Alter Battlefield Landscapesaid John McHale,
> Taya Kyle Wins American Sniper Shootout
> By TrackingPoint
> 8 DEC 2015
> ...



OTOH, so long as *our* shooters still have the basics of shooting drilled into them to the point of instinctive shooting and muscle memory, then EW, cyberwar and just the general FUBAR nature of combat screwing the trackingpoint type sight isn't going to affect *us* so much as it affects *them*.

It also means each and every shooter needs to fire far more than 100rds/year (and most of us don't even _get_ 100 rds/year.


----------



## a_majoor (23 Apr 2016)

It _is_ the 21rst century, after all Pictures and illustrations on link:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/04/armored-ground-vehicles-are-testing.html



> *Armored ground vehicles are testing combat lasers in the 10 kilowatt range nowand railguns tests, 30 kilowatt lasers next year*
> 
> The Fires Battle Lab at Fort Sill is now experimenting with new weapons technology that could potentially replace the howitzers and air defense missile systems of today.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (14 May 2016)

Mesh nets that can be created by nodes carried on land rover type vehicles. Given the intense demand for data transmission over the air in tactical settings, this sort of equipment on military vehicles could certainly help ensure data transmission throughout the field:

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/05/12/toyota-land-cruisers-emergency-signal-outback-video/



> *Toyota Land Cruisers provide emergency signal in Outback*
> 
> Companies are using balloons, planes and other high-tech apparatuses to provide WiFi in underserved areas. In the Australian outback, Saatchi teamed up with Flinders University to find a way to turn the massive fleet of Toyota LandCruisers into mobile communication hotspots using Wi-Fi, UHF and Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN). The solution is a small capsule-like device that attaches to the vehicle's window with suction cups, providing a signal range of up to 25 km (15.5 miles).
> 
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (26 Jun 2016)

Wouldn't the power requirements of directed-energy beam weapons be too large for anything a fighter-sized aircraft could provide? This is in spite of there being an artists' depiction of an F-35 shooting down another aircraft at the article link below.

Defense News



> *Air Force has directed energy weapons; now comes the hard part*
> Phillip Swarts, Air Force Times 12:16 p.m. EDT June 25, 2016
> 
> Over the past 20 years, the military and its partners in industry have figured out how to build lasers and other directed energy weapons. The devices have changed from often-hazardous chemical lasers to more reliable solid-state lasers. The power has grown from dozens of watts to dozens of kilowatts.
> ...


----------



## CougarKing (28 Jun 2016)

On the UUV front:

Naval Technology



> *GM and US Navy to install hydrogen fuel cells into next-generation UUVs*
> 
> General Motors (GM), the Office of Naval Research and the US Naval Research Laboratory have partnered to incorporate automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems into US Navy next-generation unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). The partnership seeks to develop hydrogen fuel cells that transform high-energy hydrogen into electricity and provide greater range and endurance to vehicles. As part of the collaboration, a GM fuel cell incorporated into a prototype UUV was tested in pools at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (8 Jul 2016)

S.M.A. said:
			
		

> Wouldn't the power requirements of directed-energy beam weapons be too large for anything a fighter-sized aircraft could provide? This is in spite of there being an artists' depiction of an F-35 shooting down another aircraft at the article link below.
> 
> Defense News



A 100kW laser might need 500kW to function (given the generally low conversion efficiency of lasers). The engine of a fighter produces considerably more power, and some of this can be tapped to run a generator and charge a capacitor bank for the laser weapon.


----------



## a_majoor (1 Aug 2016)

Tweaking the brain to enhance training and efficiency:

http://www.nextbigfuture.com./2016/08/halo-sport-brain-stimulator-boosts-and.html



> August 01, 2016
> *Halo Sport Brain Stimulator boosts and accelerates strength and skill gains by up to half the time needed for gains*
> 
> The US Military accelerated pilot and sniper training by 50% with neurotechnology similar to Halo Sport. We’re bringing these gains to athletics.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (28 Aug 2016)

Ultra long range artillery rounds on the way. There are two strands being discussed in the article, using ultra aerodynamic rounds derived from railgun projectiles, and an ultra long range guided shell. The claimed maximum range for the LRLAP is 116km, which provides for an interesting way of looking at artillery and "shoot and scoot" missions but also flight time. I personally would like to see things like this in mass production in order to achieve economies of scale, bringing the price down and allowing for widespread usage of this sort of munition would make it a real game changer rather than a silver bullet (in case of emergency, break glass).

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/08/high-velocity-projectiles-railguns-or.html



> *High Velocity Projectiles, Railguns or other new US weapons could neutralize North Korea's Missile threat*
> 
> Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, Senior Advisor and Senior Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), believes new US military technology like railguns will debut far earlier than expected and will nullify North Korea’s missile regime.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Aug 2016)

Programming the mind for greater effectiveness?

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/08/becoming-four-times-more-productive-at.html



> *Becoming four times more productive at work #gsummit*
> 
> Will Henshall is CEO/founder of www.focusatwill.com, a Los Angeles based tech platform that helps professionals be four times more productive at work. He has had a 30 year career as a start up entrepreneur, tech inventor and notably successful musician.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (2 Sep 2016)

Unjammable and broadband spectrum research by DARPA:

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/09/darpa-working-on-jam-resistant.html



> *DARPA working on jam resistant communication will also enable better usage of Wi-fi and other wireless spectrum*
> 
> In a vision shared by innovators, entrepreneurs, and planners in both defense and civilian contexts, the skies of the future will be busy with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Unseen but central to the realization of this vision is wireless communication within and between those future fleets of UAVs that is reliable and resistant to both unintentional and ill-willed interference. “If these UAVs can’t communicate, they don’t take off or they don’t operate the way we want them to,” said Josh Conway, a program manager in DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office. “As wireless communication becomes part and parcel of all kinds of platforms and devices in the coming years, we will need assured communications, especially for command and control, but for other things too, like data transfer.”
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (24 Sep 2016)

More on swarming warfare. The idea of a persistent cloud of drones overhead providing sensor and weapons coverage seems to cross so many boundaries, and the idea these weapons are semi autonomous will probably give many people the vapours, but the USMC is looking at this as their fire support/overhead cover in the near future:

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/09/autonomous-drones-swarms-of-10-40.html



> September 23, 2016
> *Autonomous drones swarms of 10-40 drones will support marines and will only be required to ask humans - May I airstrike them now ?*
> 
> US Marines could soon get a squadron of small autonomous drones constantly overhead, providing full surveillance and instant airstrikes on demand.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Oct 2016)

The United States is experimenting with hypervelocity projectiles to provide missile defense. These sorts of projectiles can also be used for more conventional artillery missions (more than doubling the range of shells)

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/10/us-defense-modelling-shows-upgradong.html



> *US Defense modelling shows upgradong all Big Navy and Army Guns with hypervelocity projectiles would shoot down most of a 100 missile barrage*
> 
> US Defense Department modeling shows that “if we can close the fire support with a controlled solution,” the hypervelocity projectile (HVP) weapons would be able to shoot down most of a 100-missile raid.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (26 Oct 2016)

The Marines want to hit the beaches with "A few good robots":

http://www.defensetech.org/2016/10/25/drone-swarms-storm-beaches-says-marine-general/



> *Drone Swarms to Storm Beaches: Marine General*
> POSTED BY: ORIANA PAWLYK OCTOBER 25, 2016
> The Marine Corps wants to deploy swarms of drones ahead of troops during amphibious operations in coming years.
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (4 Nov 2016)

Excusing the misleading headline, this is an interesting merger of combining consumer goods (I think this was supposed to have started as a gaming system) to military use:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/3/13507278/microsoft-hololens-military-helmet-concept



> *Microsoft's HoloLens could power tanks on a battlefield*
> by Tom Warren@tomwarren  Nov 3, 2016, 8:13am EDT
> 
> Microsoft might not have envisioned its HoloLens headset as a war helmet, but that's not stopping Ukrainian company LimpidArmor from experimenting. Defence Blog reports that LimpidArmor has started testing military equipment that includes a helmet with Microsoft's HoloLens headset integrated into it.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Dec 2016)

While this could also go under aircraft or logistics, it is an interesting idea which could have some relevance in more permissive environments. And of course, having a sensor and communications platform that high up also provides more coverage for the commander, overlapping and supplementing other systems.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/12/amazon-patents-blimp-warehouse-and.html



> December 29, 2016
> *Amazon patents blimp warehouse and billboards that use gliding drones for near instant fulfillment of sales*
> 
> Amazon has been awarded a patent for a giant flying warehouse that acts as a launchpad for drones to deliver items within minutes.
> ...


----------



## Dissident (30 Dec 2016)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> While this could also go under aircraft or logistics, it is an interesting idea which could have some relevance in more permissive environments. And of course, having a sensor and communications platform that high up also provides more coverage for the commander, overlapping and supplementing other systems.
> 
> http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/12/amazon-patents-blimp-warehouse-and.html



This could be brilliant for mobility of light forces. Arguably, this needs a corresponding "pick up" system.


----------



## a_majoor (2 Jan 2017)

Some future developments coming from the US army, including ambidextrous grenades and lighter body armour:

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/01/us-soldiers-will-get-improved-grenade.html



> January 01, 2017
> *US soldiers will get improved grenade in 2020 and 35% lighter body armor*
> 
> The Army‘s Top modernization programs in 2016 range from a new hand grenade designed to be easier for lefthanders to throw to hydrogen-powered vehicles
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (10 Mar 2017)

Using 3D printers to make weapons and ammunition. The article highlights one interesting issue, while it is cheaper to make prototypes and "one off" systems with a 3D printer, it takes a lot longer than using traditional manufacturing. Once the expensive tooling is in place, cranking out items becomes far faster than "printing" them:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/advice/a25592/the-us-army-3d-printed-a-grenade-launcher-it-calls-rambo/



> *The U.S. Army 3D-Printed a Grenade Launcher and Called it R.A.M.B.O.*
> Of course it's called Rambo.
> By Kyle Mizokami
> Mar 8, 2017
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (16 Mar 2017)

GBAD vs small drones and UAVs:

https://strategypage.com/htmw/htada/articles/20170302.aspx



> *Air Defense: AUDs Go To War*
> 
> March 2, 2017: Since 2014 a growing number of AUDs (Anti UAV Defense) systems have been designed and gone into testing and development. Some have apparently (and without much publicity) been sent to Iraq and Syria for use against the growing number of commercial UAVs ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is employing for surveillance or combat (when rigged to drop small explosive devices that have caused several dozen casualties). One of these AUDs, developed by a British firm (Blighter), has been delivered to U.S. troops in combat zones for use and, in effect, to see if it works as well in combat as it did during extensive testing (against 60 different UAVs during 1,500 test sorties). The Blighter AUDs can be placed on roof tops or any other high terrain or carried in a vehicles (truck or hummer). It can detect UAVs 10 kilometers away and identify and disable UAVs in less than 15 seconds. This is done by either jamming or taking over the control signal (and landing the UAV). Separately an Israeli firm has sold 21 AUDs to the U.S. military for use in the Middle East. No details were given other than the price ($743,000 each) and that these AUDs were light enough for ground troops carry in a backpack.
> 
> ...


----------



## Colin Parkinson (16 Mar 2017)

These conflicts have been a major factor in the growing success of DJI who is the largest manufacturer of retail drones. It won't be that hard to disrupt these types of drones as the frequencies they use are well known. I do expect that someone will soon offer kits to upgrade these drones to encrypted signals for at least controls if not video.


----------



## Rifleman62 (3 Jun 2017)

http://video.foxnews.com/v/5457542546001/?playlist_id=86861&cmpid=NL_SciTech#sp=show-clips

*(US) Air Force Academy cadet creates bulletproof substance* - Jun. 02, 2017 

Video at link.

Air Force cadet Hayley Weir had an idea that turned out to be a game changer. "It was just the concept of going out there and stopping a bullet with something that we had made in a chemistry lab." 

The 21-year-old Weir approached Air Force Academy Assistant Professor Ryan Burke with the idea. He was skeptical.

"I said, 'I'm not really sure this is going to work, the body armor industry is a billion-plus-dollar industry," he noted.

Weir's idea was to combine anti-ballistic fabric with what's known as a shear thickening fluid to create a less heavy material to use in body armor. She demonstrated the principle to Burke by combining water and cornstarch in a container and asking the professor to jam his finger into the paste-like goo.

"I jam my finger right into this bowl, and I almost broke my finger! Hayley's laughing because I've got this finger that I'm shaking and I'm saying, 'You know, that's pretty impressive stuff.'"

Convinced, Ryan worked with Weir for several months in a small lab at the Air Force Adacemy in Colorado Springs. They were helped and advised by Dr. Jeff Owens, Senior Research Chemist at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.

They tried combining several different ingredients to come up with the exact formula for the shear thickening fluid, and the correct way to layer it with ballistic fibers.

"The pieces are not new," Weir explains, "everything that we've used in there has been researched (before) in some capacity for ballistics protection."

They tested their combinations on the firing range, failing time and again, until one day their quarter-inch thick design repeatedly stopped a round fired from a 9mm handgun.

Weir and Ryan's excitement was tempered by the range safety officer who pulled his .44 Magnum and told them bluntly, "This will fail."

Ryan says, "We loaded it in and it stopped it. And it stopped it a second time, and then a third time."

They realized they had hit on something special, that could potentially lighten the average 26-pound body armor kit worn by servicemen in the field by as much as two thirds.

"This is something that our competition doesn't have right now," Weir explained. "And with this advantage our soldiers, if they wear this body armor, will be able to move faster, run farther, jump higher."

Body armor for the military and first responders may not be the only thing that can be improved by the new fabric. It could possibly be used to reduce or replace the thick metal plates that protect military aircraft, tanks and other vehicles.

"And there's some significant gravity and weight behind that," Ryan said. "And what it could mean for people like my friends who are still active duty in the military, that are going downrange, serving overseas."

A patent for the as yet unnamed design is pending, and if money is ultimately made, the Air Force will share the profits with Weir, Ryan and Owens.

"It doesn't feel like it's that great of an achievement," Weir muses, "just because it's been something that we've enjoyed doing."

The Air Force believes it is definitely a great achievement. They are providing the newly graduated 2d Lt Weir with a full-ride scholarship to Clemson University, where she will earn her Master of Materials Science and Engineering, before returning to the Air Force to continue her work.


----------



## a_majoor (11 Jun 2017)

Carrying lots of "stuff" has always been the bane of the infantry, especially light infantry. While this in its current form is more for a person going camping, you can imagine adapting something like this for being pulled behind an ATV, or by rear area troops moving things around for the CQ and other tasks:

http://newatlas.com/the-wheel-all-terrain-cart/49813/?li_source=LI&li_medium=default-widget



> *Startup reinvents the Wheel for hauling gear and drinks over any terrain*
> C.C. Weiss C.C. Weiss  June 1, 2017
> 
> Who wants to carry a fully loaded modern cooler, often a war zone-ready hunk of roto-molded plastic, plus chairs, tents and other accompanying gear, meters or miles to the campsite? The Real Wheel presents a better way to go about it. Its mono-wheel cart features an integrated cooler bag and table, rolling over pavement, dirt, rock, sand and whatever else is in the way. It carries up to 200 lb (91 kg), meaning you can load it up and make just one trip to camp, the beach, etc. It's essentially a tailgate on wheels – err ... wheel.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (13 Jun 2017)

A low cost drone which can stay aloft for 5 days running on a conventional engine. Certainly much more useful for long term surveillance, as a comms relay or for other uses, and not dependent on the weather like a solar powered aircraft:

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/06/gasoline-powered-drones-that-can-stay-aloft-for-five-days.html#more-133704



> *Gasoline powered Drones that can stay aloft for five days*
> brian wang | June 12, 2017 |
> 
> MIT engineers has come up with a much less expensive UAV design that can hover for longer durations to provide wide-ranging communications support. The researchers designed, built, and tested a UAV resembling a thin glider with a 24-foot wingspan. The vehicle can carry 10 to 20 pounds of communications equipment while flying at an altitude of 15,000 feet. Weighing in at just under 150 pounds, the vehicle is powered by a 5-horsepower gasoline engine and can keep itself aloft for more than five days — longer than any gasoline-powered autonomous aircraft has remained in flight, the researchers say.
> ...


----------



## Colin Parkinson (15 Jun 2017)

I can see where using solar cells as part of the skin to help reduce the amount of electricity needed to be produced could be useful, which would require less generation and drag on the engine, reducing consumption.


----------



## a_majoor (23 Jun 2017)

China demonstrates really huge "swarms" of UAVs. I'm sure there must be some sort of limit where the complexity of the swarm or logistical  tail makes this sort of thing impractical (the USMC is looking at "only" 40 drones for platoon and company level swarms, for example), but the limit clearly hasn't been reached yet:

http://www.janes.com/article/71624/china-launches-record-breaking-uav-swarm



> *China launches record-breaking UAV swarm*
> Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
> 22 June 2017
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (27 Jun 2017)

An interesting conceptual breakthrough; an algorithm that can allow you to make "universal" origami folds in materials. The idea of being able to package items and "fold" them into shape or manufacture items by simply "folding" them out of a single sheet of material may have advantages in reducing costs, making items stronger or lighter and avoiding holes or seams in items. Like most ideas, this will have advantages in certain applications, while more conventional means of building or manufacturing may continue to be more cost effective:

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/06/optimal-universal-origami-folding-with-more-practical-results.html



> *Optimal Universal origami folding with more practical results*
> brian wang | June 27, 2017 |
> 
> At the Symposium on Computational Geometry in July, Erik Demaine and Tomohiro Tachi of the University of Tokyo will announce the completion of a quest that began with a 1999 paper: a universal algorithm for folding origami shapes that guarantees a minimum number of seams.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (1 Jul 2017)

Update on the use of a lifesaving foam. Takes ideas like "Quick-clot" to a whole new level,

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/06/29/this-foam-could-save-your-life.html



> *Countless military lives could be saved in the future thanks to a new remarkable foam.*
> 
> Made by Arsenal Medical and fittingly dubbed ResQ Foam, this remarkable innovation rapidly expands inside the body and seals off the wound.
> 
> ...


----------



## Rifleman62 (1 Jul 2017)

See: https://army.ca/forums/threads/126060.0.html

I was going to post it here but posted in CFMG.


----------



## a_majoor (7 Jul 2017)

an interesting evolution of the reflex sight:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HPWATOC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01HPWATOC&linkCode=as2&tag=drhelenblog-20&linkId=97252ab9719ae487c640e3ecd15545be



> *Feyachi Reflex Sight - Adjustable Reticle (4 styles) Both Red and Green in one sight!*
> 4.0 out of 5 stars    150 customer reviews  | 68 answered questions
> Price:	$56.99
> Sale:	$16.57
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (22 Jul 2017)

Railgun progress"

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/07/navy-increasing-railgun-power-and-rep-rate.html#more-134853



> *Navy increasing Railgun power and rep ratebrian wang | July 22, 2017 |*
> 
> The US Navy work will focus over the next year on increasing railgun power with which projectiles are fired to the target of 32 megajoules and increasing the firing rate to 10 shots per minute, or one every six seconds. said Dr. Tom Beutner, head of Naval Air Warfare and Weapons for ONR.
> 
> ...



Possibly more interesting is this comment on the same thread:



> GoatGuy NBF Monitor in reply torick_cavarettifIncreased barrel lifetimes and...more » 7 hour(s) ago
> 
> I've heard of two important advancements at least in [1]. Relatively thin fire-and-unroll copper foils to line the 2 poles of the barrel. Unseen externally, a roll of foil is drawn down the interior of the barrel on each side (each pole); the projectiles are fired, and after each firing, another strip of copper foil is unwound. The damage caused by each shot is substantial to the strip of foil, but it retains enough integrity to be pulled into place without gumming up each shot.
> 
> ...



Hypervelocity ammunition with ranges out to over 180km will be a considerable game changer.


----------



## a_majoor (26 Jul 2017)

Toyota is working on solid state batteries for fast charging, long range electric cars. This sort of technology will also have major knock on effects for such items as radios, computers and other electronic gear that we use. Toyota is working on other areas, my only disagreement is hydrogen fuel cells require very difficult to manufacture, store and use hydrogen. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells which can work directly off of hydrocarbons exist and should be the way to go for military and vehicular fuel cell usage, unlocking the incredible energy density of hydrocarbons in one step:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-electric-cars-idUSKBN1AA035



> *Toyota set to sell long-range, fast-charging electric cars in 2022: paper*
> 
> TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp is working on an electric car powered by a new type of battery that significantly increases driving range and reduces charging time, aiming to begin sales in 2022, the Chunichi Shimbun daily reported on Tuesday.
> 
> ...


----------



## Bearpaw (16 Aug 2017)

Here  is a link to a recent development that will probably lead to a significant advance in equipment to scrub CO2 in submarines:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170816141830.htm

Bearpaw


----------



## a_majoor (26 Aug 2017)

France begins deploying the FELIN infantry system to troops:

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/08/until-exoskeletons-are-deployed-the-french-felin-body-armor-is-the-most-advanced-infrantry-system.html#more-136092



> *Until exoskeletons are deployed the French Felin body armor is the most advanced infrantry system*
> brian wang | August 25, 2017 |
> 
> France deployed the first versions of combat armor with the FELIN combat system.
> ...


----------



## jollyjacktar (26 Aug 2017)

Snazzy looking gear.


----------



## a_majoor (29 Aug 2017)

China is working on developing "swarm" warfare. This is in line with the US military's "Third Offset Strategy" which is also working to develop cooperative weaponry (although the current idea isn't just swarming drones, but to link everything globally in a cooperative sensor and shooter web. Swarms of drones and drone weaponry would not just be autonomous attack swarms, but could also provide sensor coverage and cue other weapons or units operating in range, or react to the sensor inputs form other units and devices).

https://www.ft.com/content/302fc14a-66ef-11e7-8526-7b38dcaef614



> *Drone swarms vs conventional arms: China’s military debate*
> Beijing split over pursuit of low-cost hybrid systems to add to its arsenal
> AUGUST 24, 2017 by: Emily Feng and Charles Clover in Beijing
> 
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (23 Sep 2017)

Shrinking a 105mm howitzer with its recoil system down to the point you can have a self propelled artillery piece mounted on a HMMVW or similar vehicle. the reduced crew is a nice touch as well. Something to consider if we want to continue to use 105mm howitzers for the Reserve Artillery park:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a28288/hawkeye-humvee-mounted-howitzer/



> *This Humvee-Mounted Howitzer Is Here To "Shoot and Scoot"*
> The Hawkeye Mobile Weapon System can fire and then move at a moment's notice.
> By Kyle Mizokami
> Sep 20, 2017
> ...


----------



## Old Sweat (23 Sep 2017)

With all due respect to the scientists and engineers who developed the howitzer, there are some questions I would like answered. One can pump that many rounds out of a conventional howitzer, (and I have seen it done) but can an average detachment lay it accurately and quickly enough to maintain the rate of fire? Second, and probably most important, what about the physics, specifically for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - that is the recoiling parts want to dissipate energy in the opposite direction. Are they using the firing out of battery technology the US Army developed in the sixties and seventies, but ultimately decided not to bring into service, or what?


----------



## Colin Parkinson (11 Oct 2017)

Looks a bit like an M102 Howitzer. I would design so can be jacked up, dismounted from the truck and then jacked down into place if used in static mode. Also useful that you could easily swap out the truck for another one.


----------



## a_majoor (13 Oct 2017)

From watching the video, it seems that the gun is going out of battery prior to firing, so the out of battery technology has either been revived or maybe independently recreated by these engineers.

The "can fire x rounds per minute" is mostly marketing hype. Yes a well drilled crew could fire that fast, but under what circumstances would that even make sense? They will either fire a few rounds then drive away (shoot and scoot) or bed in the truck and fire whenever called upon (much like a towed battery).

I can see this as a useful tool for a light unit, and if you want to make it more self contained, then attach a trailer carrying the ready ammunition. The major objection is a 105 is going to be outmatched in terms of range and weight of shot if the enemy is shooting back with 122, 152 or 155 artillery.


----------



## a_majoor (21 Oct 2017)

With the ever increasing number of electronic devices in use by soldiers and the military, this new technology for creating super capacitors should be quite useful.

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/10/paper-based-supercapacitor-will-get-boost-in-energy-density.html#more-138062



> *Paper-Based Supercapacitor Will Get Boost in Energy Density*
> brian wang | October 21, 2017 |
> 
> Using a simple layer-by-layer coating technique, researchers from the U.S. and Korea have developed a paper-based flexible supercapacitor that could be used to help power wearable devices. The device uses metallic nanoparticles to coat cellulose fibers in the paper, creating supercapacitor electrodes with high energy and power densities – and the best performance so far in a textile-based supercapacitor.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (30 Oct 2017)

The US Marines are looking for enhanced fire support in a small package. I have to wonder if there is anything which can meet the various demands being made (earlier posts looked at a low recoil 105mm which could be minted and fired from a HMMVW. Years ago the USMC had developed an automatic 120mm mortar which could be towed by a light vehicle or mounted on a LAV chassis as well, so there is a bit of a sense of reinventing the wheel here:

https://www.defensetech.org/2017/10/26/marines-want-truck-mounted-rocket-launcher-fits-osprey/



> *Marines Want a Truck-Mounted Rocket-Launcher that Fits in an Osprey*
> POSTED BY: HOPE HODGE SECK OCTOBER 26, 2017
> 
> ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Marine Corps is on the hunt for an uber-compact rocket launcher system capable of raining down suppressive fire on the enemy, then flying away in a V-22 Osprey or CH-53K King Stallion.
> ...


----------



## Old Sweat (30 Oct 2017)

Excuse me for asking, but this paragraph got my attention:

_“I don’t know what’s in the art of the possible, physics-wise, to get a vehicle that can withstand the recoil of rockets firing, and be a stable enough platform, and still be light enough to be lifted in a helicopter, and all that,” he said. “So I don’t know what industry can do, whether that’s possible or not … [but] that’s what we need.”_

Rocket systems are recoilless, but the trade off is a large and potentially dangerous back blast area. Stability is another matter entirely.


----------



## Colin Parkinson (30 Oct 2017)

A light system that useful for the Reserves and operations is quite doable, either in the 120mm Mortar or 105mm Gun/Howitzer. The only thing lacking is will and without will, no money will be found. The secret is not to try to reinvent the wheel, but to pick a design that is fairly robust and simple. We got 50+ years out of the C1/C2/C3 family because it was simple and built to last. Lightweight for a gun/howitzer means shorter lifespan. Going by our procurement failures, you want a gun that will last at least 2 generations. If you want light, go Mortars.


----------



## a_majoor (2 Nov 2017)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> Excuse me for asking, but this paragraph got my attention:
> 
> _“I don’t know what’s in the art of the possible, physics-wise, to get a vehicle that can withstand the recoil of rockets firing, and be a stable enough platform, and still be light enough to be lifted in a helicopter, and all that,” he said. “So I don’t know what industry can do, whether that’s possible or not … [but] that’s what we need.”_
> 
> Rocket systems are recoilless, but the trade off is a large and potentially dangerous back blast area. Stability is another matter entirely.



Sadly the standards of writing in virtually any technical subject are just awful these days. People with no training or background are expected to write technical articles, and it seems they are edited by equally inexperienced (to be nice) editors.



			
				Colin P said:
			
		

> A light system that useful for the Reserves and operations is quite doable, either in the 120mm Mortar or 105mm Gun/Howitzer. The only thing lacking is will and without will, no money will be found. The secret is not to try to reinvent the wheel, but to pick a design that is fairly robust and simple. We got 50+ years out of the C1/C2/C3 family because it was simple and built to last. Lightweight for a gun/howitzer means shorter lifespan. Going by our procurement failures, you want a gun that will last at least 2 generations. If you want light, go Mortars.



This was the point I was trying to get across (although probably badly worded). 120mm mortars with a range of 16km are probably a good fit for _our_ reserve, and something like the Dragonfire II would be at least a 75% solution for what the USMC is asking for, with the biggest issue being their desired range. Even the light 105 mounted on a HMMVW showcased upthread would not have the desired range, unless there were either special shells (which would probably reduce the actual HE charge inside), or they used some variation of the hypervelocity shells designed for railguns and now being adapted to 155 and 5" naval cannons. This is projected to double the range of a 155, although there is no information about things like accuracy, terminal effects etc. I really can't say how this would scale in a 105, although I imagine this technology would simply eat barrels at a rapid rate.

Still, if the USMC can find a system which works for them, it is probably a good fit for the CF's artillery park as well. Lightweight, mobile, long range and hard hitting would be a great fit for a lot of different potential missions.


----------



## a_majoor (2 Nov 2017)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> Excuse me for asking, but this paragraph got my attention:
> 
> _“I don’t know what’s in the art of the possible, physics-wise, to get a vehicle that can withstand the recoil of rockets firing, and be a stable enough platform, and still be light enough to be lifted in a helicopter, and all that,” he said. “So I don’t know what industry can do, whether that’s possible or not … [but] that’s what we need.”_
> 
> Rocket systems are recoilless, but the trade off is a large and potentially dangerous back blast area. Stability is another matter entirely.



Sadly the standards of writing in virtually any technical subject are just awful these days. People with no training or background are expected to write technical articles, and it seems they are edited by equally inexperienced (to be nice) editors.



			
				Colin P said:
			
		

> A light system that useful for the Reserves and operations is quite doable, either in the 120mm Mortar or 105mm Gun/Howitzer. The only thing lacking is will and without will, no money will be found. The secret is not to try to reinvent the wheel, but to pick a design that is fairly robust and simple. We got 50+ years out of the C1/C2/C3 family because it was simple and built to last. Lightweight for a gun/howitzer means shorter lifespan. Going by our procurement failures, you want a gun that will last at least 2 generations. If you want light, go Mortars.



This was the point I was trying to get across (although probably badly worded). 120mm mortars with a range of 16km are probably a good fit for _our_ reserve, and something like the Dragonfire II would be at least a 75% solution for what the USMC is asking for, with the biggest issue being their desired range. Even the light 105 mounted on a HMMVW showcased upthread would not have the desired range, unless there were either special shells (which would probably reduce the actual HE charge inside), or they used some variation of the hypervelocity shells designed for railguns and now being adapted to 155 and 5" naval cannons. This is projected to double the range of a 155, although there is no information about things like accuracy, terminal effects etc. I really can't say how this would scale in a 105, although I imagine this technology would simply eat barrels at a rapid rate.

Still, if the USMC can find a system which works for them, it is probably a good fit for the CF's artillery park as well. Lightweight, mobile, long range and hard hitting would be a great fit for a lot of different potential missions.


----------



## a_majoor (28 Nov 2017)

So now there seems to be an optical means of delving through camouflage and "stealth". One can imagine this technology shrinking down and eventually sight units and NVG type helmet mounts might incorporate this technology (although how long that will take is to be seen, NV technology was introduced in WWII, and light amplification first appeared in the 1960's, how long after that did man portable and helmet mounted NVG's arrive? How long before they became available in quantity?)

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/11/us-and-china-racing-to-deploy-quantum-ghost-imaging-in-satellites-for-stealth-plane-tracking.html



> *US and China racing to deploy quantum ghost imaging in satellites for stealth plane tracking*
> brian wang | November 27, 2017 |
> 
> China is developing a new type of spy satellite using ghost imaging technology which could spot stealth aircraft and see through smokescreens and camouflage.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (15 Dec 2017)

Using robots for what is essentially crowd control is another preview of the use of robots in the field:

http://www.businessinsider.com/security-robots-are-monitoring-the-homeless-in-san-francisco-2017-12?utm_content=buffer9d547&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-bi



> *Robots are being used to deter homeless people from setting up camp in San Francisco*
> Melia Robinson
> Dec. 12, 2017, 1:51 PM 	81,609
> 
> ...


----------



## Oldgateboatdriver (15 Dec 2017)

Good Lord! The way that thing looks, when it gets near you, you almost expect it to start chanting:

"E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E  ... E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E  ... E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E"  ;D


----------



## a_majoor (16 Dec 2017)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> Good Lord! The way that thing looks, when it gets near you, you almost expect it to start chanting:
> 
> "E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E  ... E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E  ... E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E"  ;D



I think you have to wait for the 2018 model with the death ray first.....


----------



## a_majoor (18 Dec 2017)

The perennial issue of bandwidth may have a workaround. While baloons may have to be switched out for UAV's, the demonstration of using lasers to send large amounts of data through free space is interesting:

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/12/india-will-deploy-two-thousand-google-laser-internet-links-for-highspeed-network-backbone.html



> *India will deploy two thousand Google laser internet links for highspeed network backbone*
> 
> To make Project Loon a reality, Google had to figure out how to send data reliably between balloons flying on the stratospheric winds. One solution, first proved out by sending a copy of the film Real Genius across more than 100 kilometers between balloons, was Free Space Optical Communications, aka FSOC, technology. After seeing these results in the stratosphere we wondered if it would be possible to apply some of that science closer to earth to help us solve other connectivity challenges.
> 
> ...


----------



## Rifleman62 (19 Jan 2018)

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/01/19/us-military-teams-up-with-silicon-valley-to-revolutionize-battlefield.html   (video at link)
*
US military teams up with Silicon Valley to revolutionize the battlefield* - Lea Gabrielle, Georeen Tanner - Fox News - 19 Jan 18

The U.S. military is partnering with Silicon Valley to step up its game on the battlefield.

The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUX), which is part of the Department of Defense, is connecting the U.S. military with companies developing leading-edge technology that would help it carry out missions quicker and cheaper.

"It's all about decision making faster than the enemy,” Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told Fox News.

As the commander of the air war in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, Harrigian knows that on today’s complex battlefields, winning often comes down to timing and efficiency. 

“We can't do what we need to do every day without software that's the leading edge,” he said.

Harrigian said it was time the military worked with an industry that could bring it to the forefront of technology – and bring greater efficiency on the battlefield.

“[Silicon Valley is] getting out in front of the world to develop software that is now integral to war fighting,” he said. “If you can imagine, there's a target out there that we see, that we want to get after quickly and put ordnance on it."

Private industry is on the same page.

Keith Salisbury represents Pivotal Software, one of the companies trying to help the military work smarter and faster.

“The war fighter needs a decision: ‘Do I engage or not?’” Salisbury said. “The process in general is a bunch of chat windows open on a computer screen—about 20 or more—and then a bunch of people start looking into systems to find out, ‘Where is that target? What are the surrounding facilities? Are there schools? Are there hospitals? Are there civilian populations? What munition would be appropriate? Do we engage or not?"

As part of a Defense Innovation Advisory Board, leaders from technology companies like Pivotal Software went to the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to see how they could help.

What they encountered was startling. 

"They saw lots of whiteboards,” Salisbury said. “They saw lots of Excel spreadsheets, lots of different systems, lots in writing, lots of erasing and a very manually intensive process." 

Even planning where and when to have refueling tankers was cumbersome and dated, he said.

“It's about 60 air refueling tankers and then you tag onto that another 150 to 200 fighters that are out there every day and we're war fighting so you can't have a fighter show up and not have a tanker there,” said Harrigian. “It would literally take us 8 to 10 hours to do that every day."

The solution? Make an app for that.

Experts were able to do that by putting software experts next to airmen.

"We paired with them and we taught them this new way of building software and we built the software application side by side with them,” Salisbury said. 

The Air Force says it takes half the manpower half the time and saves nearly a million dollars of fuel per week.

They have also developed a program to quickly answer that warfighter question: “To engage or not to engage?”

“Think about using Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Earth and then a tool that manages all our targets for us,” said Harrigian. “So all those are now combined into one tool that allows then the decision maker to see all the information at once and then we can immediately get after the target. It allows us to stay in front of the enemy.” 

_Fox News Correspondent Lea Gabrielle is a former Navy F/A-18C pilot who flew missions in Afghanistan from the deck of the USS George Washington for Operation Enduring Freedom._


----------



## a_majoor (25 Jan 2018)

Another UV for naval use. This one is a sailing vessel which plies the surface waters, but in conjunction with "wavegliders" and "Seagliders" a fairly robust "picquet line" of sensors could be deployed, either relaying information to deployed ships of a task force or directly to shore based command posts.

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/01/141674.html



> *CSIRO partners with Saildrone for ocean monitoring*
> brian wang | January 25, 2018
> 
> CSIRO has announced a partnership with San Francisco-based ocean technology start-up, Saildrone, to radically improve measurement and monitoring in Australian waters and the Southern Ocean.
> ...


----------



## a_majoor (28 Jan 2018)

An introduction to "Blockchains". This is the underlying technology behind "bitcoins" and other cryptocurrency, but it has many other uses as well. For ourselves, this could be used to make things like supply chain management, pay and allowances and other administrative tasks quicker, easier and ultimately cheaper as much of the checking functions of the admin and supply chain are automated, allowing much of the work to be done by fewer clerks and support staff.

https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Publications/nistir/8202/draft/documents/nistir8202-draft.pdf

59 page document, but well worth reading to understand how this works.


----------



## Colin Parkinson (7 Feb 2018)

and we can call it Phoenix II.....


----------



## a_majoor (25 Feb 2018)

Colin P said:
			
		

> and we can call it Phoenix II.....



Rising from the ashes....


----------



## Spencer100 (28 Feb 2018)

US army third arm via the Colonial Marines!  


http://www.businessinsider.com/army-mechanical-third-arm-2018-2


----------



## GR66 (24 Jun 2018)

From the Science Daily website...

"Infrared cameras are the heat-sensing eyes that help drones find their targets even in the dead of night or through heavy fog. Hiding from such detectors could become much easier, thanks to a new cloaking material that renders objects -- and people -- practically invisible."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180622174752.htm

This is a thin (< 1mm) sheet that they are claiming can absorb almost 94% of IR light it encounters.  By using electronic heating elements it can also be used to mimic other objects.  The example they use is making a tank look like a highway guardrail to an IR sensor.

I imagine one hitch would be that you still can't mask the hot exhaust plumes from a running engine, but it could be very useful for AT missile teams waiting to ambush an advancing armoured column for example.


----------



## a_majoor (2 Jul 2018)

The American military is replacing the Hellfire with an upgraded missile capable of using both laser and millimetric radar, as well as engaging moving targets. Reading the article I get the idea this is actually just an upgrade of the existing Hellfire, but with a new seeker (everything else seems to be the same). The idea of a "universal" tactical missile for aircraft, ships and ground platforms is good, and perhaps a program we should be buying into, to get our own ATGM house in order.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a21969023/hellfire-tank-killer-replacement-enters-production/



> *Hellfire Tank Killer Replacement Enters Production*
> The Joint Air Ground Missile will launch from helicopters, smash tanks, boats, virtually anything worth smashing.
> By Kyle Mizokami
> Jun 27, 2018
> ...


----------

