This first entry also happens to look like a Death Star and will be capable of 2 miles of live video streaming as well as seeing a tree so it does not bonk directly in to it. Have a peek at the demonstration video for the GremLion here, and try not to freak out too much over how incomplete it still is at the moment:

Next there’s the X-MAUS, a quad-copter that is able to unfold itself after it’s taken off so that it can fly as an airplane for more efficient movement. This model appears very much to be an erector-set constructed piece made with styrofoam and some gears that allow it to transform into a superhero on the fly.

Then there’s the QuadShot fro TU Delft, this one again appearing to come straight out of Star Wars, this time in the form of a B-Wing. These machines show up in Return of the Jedi, if you’d like to know, but they’re certainly not the inspiration for the QuadShot, right? These models and a whole lot more will continue the competition through the coming weeks and the whole thing will come to an end sometime this Summer!

[via ieee spectrum]

DARPA reportedly had 22 different stations along the flight path of the HTV-2 to collect data on the flight and oddly, when the flight was lost the only video came from a handheld camcorder used on the deck of one of the monitoring vessels by a crewmember. The video you can see below shows the aircraft as the third stage booster releases the craft.

According to DARPA, the flight was stable and controlled at Mach 20 for three minutes before the anomaly occurred. That is longer than the length of the flight the first craft accomplished. The changes made to the HTV-2 after the first failed flight were effective and the failure this time was due to other causes. Check out the video of the HTV-2 below along with a second video comparing the speed of the HTV-2 to other aircraft.

[via AviationWeek]

We wrote about this impressive tip of arrow looking glider yesterday and expressed excitement over its second launch. The first time this project was tested, the ship crashed into the ocean and could not be recovered. As this launch had the possibility of being the final test of the plane because of the budget crunch hitting the Pentagon, those hoping for the success of this piece of technology are likely digging their fingernails into their kneecaps at the moment.

If the project can be salvaged at this point, and if the project is able to move forward, the HTV-X, or whatever it’s called at the time, will aim at reaching anywhere in the world in less than an hour to deliver bombs to targets specified by the US Military. Furthermore, if the plane were to, theoretically, need to travel from Los Angeles to New York to hit a target, it could do so in less than 12 minutes.

Analysts are apparently saying that this method of destroying targets is far superior to launching ballistic missiles as at the moment missiles still travel predictable paths while a hypersonic vehicle like the HTV-2 can manuver in many ways. Analysts also note that this plane would not be mistaken for a nuclear missile, thus supposedly avoiding the possibility of triggering a nuclear confrontation.

The HTV-2 was launched for a test-run today a hypersonic vehicle launched by the military has “a long way to go” before deployment, so says Loren Thompson, analyst at the Lexington Institute with links to the defense industry. The launch today had the HTV-2 separate from its carrier rocket, perform some maneuvers, then contact was list. The test flight plan called for the HTV-2 Falcon to roll and dive into the Pacific Ocean, and by the sounds of it, at least the last part of the plan will take place one way or another.

UPDATE: DARPA has released a statement on today’s launch:

“Here’s what we know,” said Air Force Maj. Chris Schulz, DARPA HTV-2 program manager and PhD in aerospace engineering. “We know how to boost the aircraft to near space. We know how to insert the aircraft into atmospheric hypersonic flight. We do not yet know how to achieve the desired control during the aerodynamic phase of flight. It’s vexing; I’m confident there is a solution. We have to find it.”

“Prior to flight, the technical team completed the most sophisticated simulations and extensive wind tunnel tests possible. But these ground tests have not yielded the necessary knowledge. Filling the gaps in our understanding of hypersonic flight in this demanding regime requires that we be willing to fly,” said DARPA Director Regina Dugan. “In the April 2010 test, we obtained four times the amount of data previously available at these speeds. Today more than 20 air, land, sea and space data collection systems were operational. We’ll learn. We’ll try again. That’s what it takes.”

[via AFP]

The goal of this project is to create a missile system that can strike any target on earth within an hour. The first test of the HTV-2 ended after only 9-minutes of flight when the ship crashed into the ocean and could not be recovered. DARPA is set to test the missile again with a lift off from California. This may well be the final chance for the weapon.

If it has another catastrophic failure, it could be scrapped since the budget crunch has hit the Pentagon so hard. The design of the HTV-2 was very odd and in testing, it was found to be hard to stabilize in flight. The fear is a redesign of the vehicle could mean an end for the project.

[via Wired]

DARPA crowed-sourced the design of the XC2V military vehicle as a way to study the viability of designing military vehicles in this method and to see how much faster it would be than traditional design methods. This vehicle is a multipurpose ground transport that can take soldiers into and out of combat and can be converted to use as a medical transport too. The final design looks really cool and reminds me more than a little of an open desert trophy truck. The coolest part is that the crowd-sourcing really worked and worked very well. The company chosen to make the prototype you see in these photos is Local Motors.

The vehicle dubbed Flypmode won the XC2V competition and was given a 14-week deadline to build the first prototype. Local Motors didn’t need that long to get the bulletproof vehicle into the real world from the concept stage. The only thing I see that I have to wonder about is the exposed tires on the concept and the exposed engine bay on the front of the vehicle. They seem very susceptible to enemy fire.

[via Dvice]

The SST took over nine years to develop and cost over $110 million. The SST is able to create these larger and more detailed images because of its innovative design. The telescope has a curved charge coupled device (CCD) technology and a 3.5-meter aperture. This allows the SST to create wide-angle lenses and capture more light than any other ground-based telescope before. “Currently we have a ‘soda straw’ view of deep space, where we can only see one narrow segment of space at a time,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Travis Blake, DARPA’s Space Surveillance Telescope program manager. “The Space Surveillance Telescope should give us a much wider ‘windshield’ view of deep space objects, significantly enhancing our space situational awareness.”

The main concern is for the defense satellites the military has up there and the possibility of collision with all that debris in orbit. The new design makes the SST much more compact and nimble than previous generation telescopes, allowing it to cover more sky in less amount of time. If the SST is a success, the Air Force could deploy more of the telescopes around the globe, giving the military a complete 360° surveillance view of the planet.

[via PhysOrg]

The goggles look more like sunglasses to me and have some really cool features. They will be able to interface with drones flying overhead to give the solider details on what the drone sees and what the drone is firing at. That capability will mean that the solider can get the intelligence that the drone sees directly without waiting for someone else to offer the report.

Another cool feature is that the goggles could tell the solider whether that jet or helicopter on the horizon is friend or foe. The glasses were developed in cooperation with Vuzix, the same company that makes the video glasses for consumers. They would use a head tracker to know where the wearer is looking and could tell you things like the jet is a friendly F-16 at 21,000 feet, 30 miles out in theory.

[via Wired]

Boston Dynamics has announced that it won a DARPA contract to build a robot called Cheetah. The bot looks like the real animal it gets its name from, is faster than the fastest human, and has the agility to evade enemies. The Cheetah can zig zag as it runs and make tight turns as well as stop on a dime.

The company is working on another robot called Atlas that looks like Hector minus a head. As long as Atlas doesn’t develop a penchant for hot 70 starlets, we are all good. Atlas will be a walking bot that can walk over rough terrain, crawl if needed, and turn sideways to slip though narrow passages.

Via Wired

How awesome is that? It can be remotely controlled for precision flight and has its own power source inside. The device is dubbed the Nano Hummingbird and is a milestone as part of the Phase II contract awarded by DARPA to design and build a flying prototype. I can see this thing being used to spy on criminals and flown around just for fun.

The prototype is handmade and has a wingspan of 6.5 inches and a flying weight of 19 grams. That is less than the weight of an AA battery according to the firm. That lightweight is very impressive when you consider it includes all flight systems, batteries, communications, and the camera. The aircraft is larger than a hummingbird, but weighs less. I want one of these!

If you’ll recall, the Transformer project has a lot of different scenarios for usage. One of the more unique ones, though, is the ability for the Humvee to work as a medical transport, with the ability to fly out of a dangerous situation at the drop of a hat. That means wounded soldiers on the ground, as long as they are near the Transformer, won’t have to wait for an incoming helicopter to evacuate.

A few more details about the driving and flying vehicle have emerged as well. For example, the Transformer will be able to move at a speed of about 65 mph, while it’s driving around. However, while it’s in the air, it will be able to reach speeds of 150 mph. The design calls for lightweight anti-blast armor, as well as ballistic-proof windows installed throughout. And, as you can imagine, the Transformer will indeed be outfitted with heavy weapons for defense, as well as offensive maneuvers.

But, the real motivator for the Transformer to take shape, and actually find its way to the battlefield, is the supposed cost. According to DARPA, the Transformer will only cost around $203,000 to construct. That’s about the same cost as any high-end supercar out there, so it doesn’t look like cost will keep the Transformer from seeing the light of day.

[via DailyMail]

From Around the Web

Intel Reports Record Revenue: Earlier this afternoon, Intel came forward and announced their third quarter results, which turned out quite good for the company. This is the best quarter they’ve had since the second quarter of this year, so it looks like Intel is on a continual rise. The company reported $3 billion in profit, on a record $11.1 billion reported in revenue. Interestingly enough, it looks like the bump in numbers doesn’t have anything to do with Atom-based netbooks, and has quite a bit to do with a three percent increase in laptops and server chips sales. True enough, considering Atom chips decreased by four percent.

R3 Media Network

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Jaguar C-X75 Electric Supercar Unveiled at Paris: The push for electric cars isn’t just a small one. Nearly every car manufacturer out there is working on getting their very own eco-friendly, electric vehicles out in the market. Jaguar’s brand new C-X75 electric supercar was just unveiled at Paris. It’s capable of reaching speeds of 330km/h, or about 205mph, and can reach 62mph in just 3.4 seconds. It has four 145kW (195bhp) electric motors –one for each wheel– which produces 780bhp in total. Two micro-gas turbines spin at 80,000 rpm, which extends the range of the supercar to 560 miles.

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The aerospace defense company, called AAI Corporation, is a Maryland-based unit, and they recently won a $3.05 million contract with DARPA, with the explicit hope that the Corporation can get the Transformer technology up and off the ground. AAI is working with another company, called Carter Aviation Technologies, to develop something called “compound helicopter” technology. This would allow the vehicle to carry up to four passengers, but it would feature rotor blades on the top, where –if necessary– the vehicle would be able to ascend into the air in a moment’s notice. The take-off will be automated, so those in the vehicle won’t have to have any training in flight.

The armored flying vehicle is meant to do a lot different tasks. DARPA wants the Transformer project, known as the Transformer TX back in April, to partake in “strike and raid” scenarios, as well as “intervention, interdiction, insurgency/counterinsurgency, reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and logistical supply.” It would be, just as the Humvee is now, a work horse, but one that’s able to drive or fly on command. And the Transformer is supposed to be able to carry upwards of 1,000 pounds, as well as fly up to 10,000 feet, and travel 250 miles on a single tank of gas.

[via Wired]

The research is being funded by DARPA and is looking to perfect the brain prosthetic interface and the program has been granted $5.6 million to continue its research. Allowing the brain to control prosthetics isn’t the only thing the technology has a potential use for. The tech could also be used for other man to machines applications like brain implants to control tremor, neuro-modulators to control chronic pain, and implants for people with spinal cord injuries.

The goal of the project is to develop a compatible link between living tissue and computer technologies to the human nervous system with hundreds or even thousands of sensors embedded in a single fiber optic fiber. The researchers say that the fiber optic tech would not be rejected by the body like other materials and would not be attacked and destroyed by the body’s immune system.

This ambitious project, which was found in Pentagon budget documents last year but now made public thanks to a PDF, is called, right now at least, the Transformer TX, and for good reason. If you read the below quote close enough, there’s a bit of key language in there that makes us think this thing might actually be way too similar to a Hasbro-like Transformer:

The Government’s envisioned concept consists of a robust ground vehicle that is capable of configuring into a VTOL [Vertical Take Off and Landing] air vehicle with a maximum payload capability of approximately 1,000 lbs.

Now, we understand that flying cars is something that we all want, and that we’ve all wanted since well before the year 2000 disappointed everybody, but this wording makes us think that DARPA has something else planned for their little hover-Humvee. Instead of just saying the Humvee will have the ability to fly around and carry 1,000 pounds, they say it will “configure into” a VTOL. That makes us think this will be a Humvee by day, and turn into a hover-car by night (minus the night and day specific configurations, of course).

Size wise, this is going to be a bit bigger than your traditional military-grade Humvee. It has to be less than 30 feet in length, and should be about nine feet in width. DARPA also wants the Transformer TX to travel up to 250 miles on one tank of gas, and they want it to reach up to altitudes of 10,000 feet when it’s flying around. Best of all, though, while they know pilots are still the best way to navigate flying things, the Transformer TX would also be equipped with remote piloting, just in case a certain situation is too hairy for a crew.

Science and the development of technology is one of the reasons that military’s can remain pertinent, but this is a little out there. We imagine that DARPA isn’t going to stop the crazy schemes any time soon, but if this does indeed come to fruition, we hope it’s not going to cost millions of dollars to create, or keep maintained for that matter. (Though, we know that’s not likely.) Nevertheless, from a completely tech standpoint, this is ridiculously awesome, and we hope we get to see some video of a flying Humvee soon. Especially if they get that working prototype working by 2015, like they want.

[via The Register]

Darpa is said to be requesting information on approaches to develop a portable generator powered by human waste that could be sustainable for several years off the grid. The reactor would be used for land and water-based operations.

Waste management is a big issue around the world and something like this, as gross as it sounds, would kill two birds with one stone. It would also give new meaning to the term “brown out.” I love this story. At any rate, Wired hasn’t posted a “haha we got you” comment as of yet, but this still feels like a joke to me. Now, if we can just harness all the wasted wind power from flatulence, we can usher in a new era in clean (but smelly) power.

This project is currently in research stages. It involves combining the qualities of an aircraft with a submersible vehicle. Now, make no mistake: this is not a submarine that can fly. In fact, DARPA is stating this is a flying device first, but once in water, it could work like a submarine.

In theory, when the aircraft is in the air, it could dive into the water and then operate like a standard submersible. However, I don’t think it could take a long jaunt under water, just in brief spurts of time. The biggest challenge thus far is combining the traits of both kinds of vehicles to operate properly. For instance, it would need to be light enough to fly, but heavy enough to be submerged.

[via Gizmodo]

Continental Automotive Systems are the brains behind the ‘Boss’, the heavily adapted Chevy, and they’re not really viewing this as an opportunity to pick up DARPA’s $2m first-prize. Instead, it’s seen as a test-bed for a variety of intelligent safety, telemetry and driver assistance projects that will feed back into Continental’s industry partners. Right now, they’re working on the next-gen incarnation of ABS and ESC braking, embedded telematics such as Bluetooth hands-free, security and car access control, hybrid drives and adaptive cruise control, all of which will have some aspect of the Boss educating them.

“Since there are no human drivers in the Urban Challenge, the driverless cars must “see” roads and other vehicles with cameras, lasers, radar, sensors and other smart car technologies. Planning software continuously determines where and how to drive, how to avoid trouble and how to quickly reach a destination” DARPA

Adaptive cruise control is perhaps the most entertaining of the lot, with the car maintaining not only a constant speed but a safe distance between other traffic. It can predict a potential collision, warn the driver and, if their responses aren’t deemed sufficient to prevent it, intervene itself with extra braking and directing power to different wheels.

So what’s the experience like? Crazy, that’s what. Riding in the Chevy Tahoe was both amazing and uncomfortable: unpredictable, and difficult at times to accept that this was the SUV driving and not someone directing it via remote control. Of course, most drivers wouldn’t be happy giving up ownership of the steering wheel to a computer, and so the practical applications will be more transparent. I personally can’t wait until some of the technology filters down: while I might be happy with my own skills on the road, its everyone else driving that I don’t trust!

Many thanks to GM and Continental Automotive Systems for the opportunity to experience the Boss.

Ride along in the back seat!

Ride along in the front seat!

360-degrees video tour!