Army’s New Laser Cannon Blasts Drones Out of the Sky, Even in Fog
September 6th, 2014Runs on diesel, uses an Xbox controller.
Via: Wired:
Boeing is building a laser cannon for the U.S. Army, and the new weapon has now proved it will be as capable at sea as on land. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD)—basically a high-energy laser mounted on top of a big truck—was successfully used to blast some UAV drones and 60mm mortars out of the Florida sky earlier this year, Boeing announced Thursday.
This test was done in a windy and foggy environment, an essential step to proving the technology is useful for naval deployment. The HEL MD used a 10-kilowatt laser—a much less powerful version of what it will eventually fire—to “successfully engage” more than 150 targets at Eglin Air Force Base, a Department of Defense weapons testing facility on the Florida Panhandle. In other words, it disabled or destroyed them.
In simple terms, the laser makes an incredibly powerful, highly focused beam of light and aims it at a moving target. Light equals heat, and, after enough heat has been transferred, the target is compromised and crashes or blows up. The Army and Boeing (which landed a $36 million contract for the project) have been working on this for the better part of a decade, par for the course for a next-generation weapons platform.
The lithium ion batteries that power the HEL MD’s laser are charged by a 60 kW diesel generator, so if the Army can keep the fuel tank full, they can shoot down incoming threats indefinitely. The system uses a telescope and infrared-based, wide field of view camera to locate and designate targets. Boeing has designed the system to be operated by a driver and an operator with a laptop and an Xbox controller. Putting it on a truck makes the system mobile, and thus much more useful in battle situations.
Russia Dispatches Naval Force to Reopen Arctic Base
September 6th, 2014Via: AFP:
Russia on Saturday sent six ships carrying personnel and equipment to a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic that it is reopening to bolster its presence in the region, Russian news agencies reported.
Moscow is ramping up its military presence in the pristine but energy-rich region as other countries such as Canada and Norway are also staking claims to access its resources.
President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the military to return to a base on the far-Northern New Siberian Islands that was abandoned in 1993.
On Saturday, a fleet of six ships including two large landing ships set off from the port of Severomorsk in northern Russia, a spokesman for the Western military district, Vadim Serga, told ITAR-TASS news agency.
The ships will be accompanied by several icebreakers.
More Screens: NZ Pupils Struggling to Speak
September 6th, 2014Via: New Zealand Herald:
Fewer children starting school can speak in sentences, prompting an investigation by education chiefs.
Primary schools around the country have noted a decline in the spoken-language abilities of new entrants and the Ministry of Education will look into the reports.
School leaders and a specialist in linguistics suspect the problem could be caused by factors including children using gadgets too often and parents not talking to them enough.
NIH Scientist Martin Rogers Found Dead
September 6th, 2014Via: NBC:
About two weeks after he went missing, police announced an NIH scientist has been found dead in his car.
Martin John Rogers, 54, left his Gaithersburg home around 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 21 to go to work. As he was leaving, he told his wife of 25 years that he was going to a meeting — but his co-workers said he never showed up to work that morning.
“This is like a bad dream that you read about in the newspaper, and if you tried to pick someone that would wander off like this and disappear, you would never pick my husband,” said Kelley Rogers, Martin’s wife.
Martin Rogers had worked at the National Institutes of Health for 15 years and specialized in tropical diseases.
Police said surveillance video captured Martin checking into a hotel in La Valle, Maryland, looking “stressed out.”
Intel’s New Mobile Chips Are Always Listening
September 6th, 2014Via: MIT Technology Review:
A new line of mobile chips unveiled by Intel today makes it possible to wake up a laptop or tablet simply by saying “Hello, computer.” Once it has been awoken, the computer can operate as a voice-controlled virtual assistant. You might call out “Hello, computer, what is the weather forecast today?” while getting out of bed.
Tablets and lightweight laptops based on the new Core M line of chips will go on sale at the end of this year. They can constantly listen for voice instructions thanks to a component known as a digital signal processor core that’s dedicated to processing audio with high efficiency and minimal power use.
“It doesn’t matter what state the system will be in, it will be listening all the time,” says Ed Gamsaragan, an engineer at Intel. “You could be actively doing work or it could be in standby.”
It is possible to set any two- or three-word phrase to rouse a computer with a Core M chip. A device can also be trained to respond only to a specific voice. The voice-print feature isn’t accurate enough to replace a password, but it could prevent a device from being accidentally woken up, says Gamsaragan. If coupled with another biometric measure, such as webcam with facial recognition, however, a voice command could work as a security mechanism, he says.
Manufacturers will decide how to implement the voice features in Intel’s Core M chips in devices that will appear on shelves later this year.
The wake-on-voice feature is compatible with any operating system. That means it could be possible to summon Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana in Windows, or Google’s voice search functions in Chromebook devices.
Nevada, Tesla Announce Gigafactory Deal
September 4th, 2014Via: USA Today:
Tesla Motors and Nevada made it official on Thursday evening: the electric car company’s highly sought battery “Gigafactory” and its projected 6,500 jobs are coming to the Reno area.
Mutual congratulations between the electric-car maker and Silver State officials aside, the news of the announcement event in Carson City was the huge incentives the state will have to contribute to seal its end of the proposed deal: a package estimated to be worth $1.25 billion over 20 years.
Britain: Robots Help Deliver Meals and Transport Waste and Equipment at New Hospital
September 4th, 2014Via: Western Daily Press:
This is the incredible fleet of robots helping to provide food for almost 1,000 patients at a new £430 million super hospital.
Southmead Hospital in Bristol has deployed a fleet of 12 automatic guided vehicles to deliver meals to its 950 patients.
The droids, which start work at 10.15 every morning, are capable of opening doors, operating lifts and picking up food without any human assistance.
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After completing their rounds, the machines return to their charging stations until they are called upon again for the next meal.
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The automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are also used to transport waste, linen, supplies, sterile instruments, endoscopes and pharmacy items around the building.
Red Light Camera Industry Fights Citizen Vote
September 4th, 2014Via: WTSP:
Florida’s leading red light camera-provider American Traffic Solutions confirms to 10 Investigates Wednesday that it has joined the fight to prevent a citizen-backed referendum on red light cameras from ever reaching a ballot. The city is also fighting the referendum on grounds that it infringes upon city council’s power.
However, the enemy of the city’s enemy is not its friend in this case; the city is objecting to the intervention from the industry-backed group.
As previously reported by 10 Investigates, Tampa law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt incorporated a group last week called “Keep Florida Roads Safe,” and immediately filed lawsuits to prevent voters from having a say on red light cameras (RLC). The firm has represented ATS before, but would not reveal if it formed the new group on behalf of ATS.
Robirds
September 4th, 2014Via: Slash Gear:
Unless you look really close, this robot peregrine falcon would almost look like the real thing from a distance, especially while flapping its wings high above the sky. That resemblance to a real avian predator, however faint, might just be enough to scare away other birds that would other wise ruin crops or even endanger human lives.
These robotic birds, or robirds, as they are fondly called, aren’t toys, even though they may look like one. Developed by Clear Flight Solutions, they are design for a very serious purpose, to keep birds away from critical areas. These cover agricultural lands where avians can be as deadly or as troublesome as pests, to airports where a flock of birds can mean life or death for airplane passengers and crew.
BP Found Grossly Negligent in 2010 Spill
September 4th, 2014Via: Bloomberg:
BP Plc acted with gross negligence in setting off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a federal judge ruled, handing down a long-awaited decision that may force the energy company to pay billions of dollars more for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier held a trial without a jury over who was at fault for the environmental catastrophe, which killed 11 people and spewed oil for almost three months into waters that touch the shores of five states. The case also included Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co., though the judge didn’t find them as responsible for the spill as BP.
“BP’s conduct was reckless,” Barbier wrote in a decision today in New Orleans federal court. “Transocean’s conduct was negligent. Halliburton’s conduct was negligent.”
