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‘Military’ Stories

USAF eying 18,000 iPad 2 tablets to cut pilot workload

Shane McGlaun, Feb 13th 2012 Discuss [0]

The United States Air Force is considering a massive purchase of iPad 2 tablets to outfit some pilots with tablet computers. There is a chance the tablets purchased might not be iPads, but the chance is slim. The USAF Air Mobility Command is reportedly going to issue a request for proposals to buy somewhere between 63 and 18,000 "iPad 2, brand-name or equivalent devices." Read The Full Story

iRobot Warrior robot can lift 150 pounds, uses an Xbox controller

Mark Raby, Feb 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

This guy eats Roombas for breakfast. It's called the Warrior, it weighs 450 pounds, and it can carry stuff, destroy stuff, or do stuff (like opening a door). Although you won't find this bad boy at Sears anytime soon, it is created by the same company everyone knows and loves for the Roomba and Scooba floor-cleaning robots. But iRobot's reach has long extended beyond the domesticated fare. This latest creation is the newest in its history of offering military-grade robotics. Read The Full Story

DARPA begins testing LS3 robot pack mule

Rue Liu, Feb 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

DARPA has begun real world testing of a quadruped robot that can traverse all sorts of terrain and act as a pack mule for soldiers. This semi-autonomous robot is called Legged Squad Support System (LS3) and is developed from Boston Dynamic's Big Dog and Alpha Dog robots. The agency has released the first field test video of the LS3 navigating an outdoor terrain. Read The Full Story

US denies any link to failed Russian Phobos-grunt probe

Shane McGlaun, Jan 24th 2012 Discuss [0]

Russia continues to look for what caused the failure of its Phobos-grunt probe. The failed propulsion system ultimately led to the massive spacecraft falling back into the atmosphere and burning up. Russia is so far looking in the wrong place according to some of its own scientists. Russian officials have been hinting that the US radar station in Alaska may have had something to do with the failure of the probe. Read The Full Story

Military weapon source code to be tested by casual gamers

Shane McGlaun, Jan 20th 2012 Discuss [0]

The Pentagon has a new plan for testing the software and code that is used in weapons systems. The plan is to integrate that code into some video games that are released to gamers and let the crowd sourced testing of the code begin. The code won't be used in shooters like America's Army though, it would be used in "fun to play" games like puzzle games and such that normal folk could pick up and play. Read The Full Story

U.S. Navy making Android, iOS app-controlled RoboCopter drones

Rue Liu, Jan 13th 2012 Discuss [0]

The military, as we've come to expect, is continuing to tinker with developing drones that can be controlled by Android and iOS apps. This time, the U.S. Navy is announcing a new $98 million project that will develop unmanned helicopters for the Marines. But unlike other drones, these will be completely autonomous meaning they will not need human operators for take off and landing. Read The Full Story

Cockroach RoboBugs could be coming soon — espionage at its finest

Cory Gunther, Jan 13th 2012 Discuss [0]

These might not be interstellar cockroaches like we saw on Men in Black but they are what many call RoboBugs, or Cyborg bugs. Since cockroaches are basically indestructible and seem to live forever what better bug to make our robobugs with right? You might not know much about this but scientists have been working on these type of bomb-sniffers, espionage, and search and rescue bugs for long time and might have finally made a break-through. Read The Full Story

UFO spotted on flatbed was actually a military drone

Shane McGlaun, Dec 22nd 2011 Discuss [9]

Residents in a small community in Cowley County, Kansas got the thrill of the year recently when a flatbed trailer came driving down main street with what appeared to be a saucer shaped craft on the trailer. According to the local sheriff's office, the company that was transporting the craft asked for assistance since they had to move it over the ground. Read The Full Story

NATO drone captured by Iranians using GPS hack?

Shane McGlaun, Dec 16th 2011 Discuss [3]

The US fleet of aerial drones has been hit with a virus in the past that was very hard to remove. The virus was actually in the computer systems where the drones are controlled in the Predator and Reaper drone issue. A lost NATO stealth drone has been in the news a lot lately after it was captured in Iran. Read The Full Story

Army hypersonic weapon test success

Shane McGlaun, Nov 18th 2011 Discuss [7]

We have talked on several occasions about the DARPA hypersonic test gliders that have been in testing for a while now. So far, DARPA has lost both of its test vehicles with no explanation as to what happened. It seems that the US Army has been more successful than DARPA has. Yesterday the Army conducted a test flight of its new hypersonic weapon that can travel up to five times the speed of sound. Read The Full Story

Green wind farms disrupt weather and military radar

Shane McGlaun, Nov 7th 2011 Discuss [1]

One of the things that Obama wants to leave as his legacy is a big push to more the country to green energy sources. One of the green power sources that are becoming increasingly common is wind farms that use giant windmills to generate electricity. The problem that the military and National Weather Service has found is that these wind farms interfere with radar. Read The Full Story

PETMAN humanoid robot ready for the US Army

Rue Liu, Oct 31st 2011 Discuss [5]

Known for developing the quadruped robots the BigDog and AlphaDog, Boston Dynamics has unveiled a new addition in the form of a biped humanoid robot called the PETMAN. Although still sporting a flashing red light in place of a life-like head, the movement and capabilities of the PETMAN is eerily human-like, walking, squatting, doing push-ups and even resisting efforts to push it off balance. See for yourself in the video after the cut. Read The Full Story