DARPA: OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) Program
August 9th, 2019Coming to a favela near you!
Via: The Verge:
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is experimenting with using a swarm of autonomous drones and ground robots to assist with military missions. In a video of a recent test, DARPA showed how its robots analyzed two city blocks to find, surround, and secure a mock city building.
DARPA conducted its test back in June in Georgia, featuring both drones and ground-based robots. The demonstration was part of DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program, which is designed to eventually accompany small infantry units as they work in dense urban environments, and could eventually scale up to 250 drones and ground robots.
Rice University Team Uses Carbon Nanotube Films to Increase Solar Cell Efficiency
August 9th, 2019Via: Rice University:
Rice University scientists are designing arrays of aligned single-wall carbon nanotubes to channel mid-infrared radiation (aka heat) and greatly raise the efficiency of solar energy systems.
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Naik said adding the emitters to standard solar cells could boost their efficiency from the current peak of about 22%. “By squeezing all the wasted thermal energy into a small spectral region, we can turn it into electricity very efficiently,” he said. “The theoretical prediction is that we can get 80% efficiency.”
Nanotube films suit the task because they stand up to temperatures as high as 1,700 degrees Celsius (3,092 degrees Fahrenheit). Naik’s team built proof-of-concept devices that allowed them to operate at up to 700 C (1,292 F) and confirm their narrow-band output. To make them, the team patterned arrays of submicron-scale cavities into the chip-sized films.
Critical U.S. Election Systems Have Been Left Exposed Online Despite Official Denials
August 9th, 2019You can easily secure America’s e-voting systems tomorrow. Use paper
Via: Vice:
The top voting machine company in the country insists that its election systems are never connected to the internet. But researchers found 35 of the systems have been connected to the internet for months and possibly years, including in some swing states.
Apple Offers $1 Million for iOS Zero Clicks Kernel Hack
August 8th, 2019Via: Forbes:
Apple has massively increased the amount it’s offering hackers for finding vulnerabilities in iPhones and Macs, up to $1 million. It’s by far the highest bug bounty on offer from any major tech company.
That’s up from $200,000, and in the fall the program will be open to all researchers. Previously only those on the company’s invite-only bug bounty program were eligible to receive rewards.
As Forbes reported on Monday, Apple is also launching a Mac bug bounty, which was confirmed Thursday, but it’s also extending it to watchOS and its Apple TV operating system. The announcements came in Las Vegas at the Black Hat conference, where Apple’s head of security engineering Ivan Krsti? gave a talk on iOS and macOS security.
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The full $1 million will go to researchers who can find a hack of the kernel—the core of iOS—with zero clicks required by the iPhone owner. Another $500,000 will be given to those who can find a “network attack requiring no user interaction.” There’s also a 50% bonus for hackers who can find weaknesses in software before it’s released.
Apple is increasing those rewards in the face of an increasingly profitable private market where hackers sell the same information to governments for vast sums.
Amazon Delivery Robots Are Officially on the Streets of California
August 8th, 2019Via: zdnet:
Amazon has officially rolled out its last-mile delivery robots in a Southern California testbed. Called Scout, the delivery robot is designed to autonomously ferry parcels from urban distribution points to Amazon Prime customers, removing the need for vans and cars in last-mile delivery.
Amazon has previously tested its delivery robots in Washington State, but this marks the first California deployment. The robots, deployed in the Irvine area, will drive during daytime hours. Though designed to operate autonomously, the test robots will be accompanied by humans to ensure nothing goes wrong. So-called “Scout Ambassadors” will also be gauging public reaction to the robots, which is a big X-factor in plans to deploy autonomous mobile robots on city streets.
Severodvinsk, Russia: “Drink Iodine, 44 Drops Per Glass of Water”
August 8th, 2019Update: Is Putin Covering Up a Nuclear Disaster?
Via: Daily Mail:
Suspicions are growing today that Russia has suffered another nuclear accident after ambulances covered in protective film were seen transporting six people with serious radiation poisoning in a mystery explosion at a military base.
Alarming footage also shows men in protective clothing loading casualties into the vehicles in the wake of a blast at the Nyonoksa weapons testing site in the sub-Arctic Arkhangelsk region yesterday.
Earlier the clothes of the victims and the medics who first treated them were destroyed, it was reported, before causalities were transferred for treatment at the Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Centre in Moscow.
Moscow has thrown a veil of secrecy over the explosion, which killed two and left six injured on Thursday.
Radiation levels are said to have temporarily soared 20 times above the normal level in Severodvinsk, a city 18 miles away, sparking ‘panic’ and ‘hysteria’ and a rush to buy iodine from pharmacies.
Today, reports surfaced in Russia claiming the spike in radiation may have been caused when one of Vladimir Putin’s top secret Zircon hypersonic missiles exploded during tests.
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Ahh. Iodine for the rocket engine explosion, eh?
*wink*
Via: BBC:
A rocket engine explosion on a naval test range in northern Russia has killed two people and injured six, the defence ministry told Russian media.
The victims of the explosion in Arkhangelsk region were civilian specialists while military and civilian personnel are among the injured.
The ministry said radiation levels were normal but the city of Severodvinsk registered a “brief spike” in levels.
An area of the White Sea nearby has reportedly been closed for a month.
But the deputy head of Archangelsk port, Sergei Kozub, told the BBC the closure was planned before the accident.
Radiation levels peaked between 11:50 and 12:30 (08:50-09:30 GMT) before falling and normalising by 14:00, the city administration in Severodvinsk said on its website, without reporting how significant the spike had been.
It is unclear what could have caused radiation levels to rise.
Local people were reportedly urged to take precautions against radiation. No increase in ambulance call-outs was recorded, the administration added.
A woman in Severodvinsk named only Alina told Russian news site lenta.ru: “I work in the hospital where they’re bringing the injured.
“They advise everyone to close their windows and drink iodine, 44 drops per glass of water.”
Amazon Is Developing High-Tech Surveillance Tools for an Eager Customer: America’s Police
August 8th, 2019Via: NBC:
Amazon, known mainly for its online consumer marketplace, is becoming a potent resource for federal, state and local authorities, peddling an array of tools that harness the power of cloud-based computing, artificial intelligence and video analysis.
Some of the products seem mundane, offering agencies a relatively cheap method of storing, sharing and crunching data through networks of remote web servers known as the cloud. Others are contentious, making it easier for police to identify and monitor people. Together, they show how one company has broadened its influence by supplying law enforcement with technology that has modernized crime-fighting but is evolving too fast for government oversight to keep up.
JFK Files Reveal U.S. Planned to Buy Soviet Planes to Carry Out False Flag Attacks
August 7th, 2019Via: SputnikNews:
“There is a possibility that such aircraft could be used in a deception operation designed to confuse enemy planes in the air, to launch a surprise attack against enemy installations or in a provocation operation in which Soviet aircraft would appear to attack US or friendly installations in order to provide an excuse for US intervention,” the document reads.
Air Force Set To Deploy Drone Killing Laser Weapon On Military Dune Buggies
August 7th, 2019Via: ZeroHedge:
Raytheon published a company press release last week that detailed how it “will deploy two prototype high energy laser weapon systems” to the Air Force for a 12-month in-field operation against enemy drones.
The $23 million contract for two of Raytheon’s High Energy Laser Weapons Systems (HELWS) will be used by the Air Force in an unknown warzone overseas, most likely Syria for about one year.
Gold: $1500
August 7th, 2019Via: MarketWatch:
Gold prices on Wednesday jumped above an important psychological level at $1,500 amid a round of easy-money policies that helped to stoke fresh appetite for the perceived safety of precious metals.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s TMUBMUSD10Y, -4.93% fall to new lows not seen since 2016 below 1.7%, also helped to drive demand for bullion.
December gold GCZ19, +2.43% on Comex added $21.70, or 1.5%, at $1,506 an ounce in recent trade, marking the highest level for the precious metal since 2013 based on most-active contracts, according to Dow Jones market data.
