I don’t know about you, but I am sick of certain clichés about unmanned systems and combat. It’s just my opinion, but some commonly repeated statements confuse, rather than clarify. Here are a couple of my “favorites.” “The use of unmanned systems in combat will destroy the warrior ethos.” I’m sure you’ve heard this. “They’re […]
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) ambitious smartphone program may or may not reach its goal of providing advanced mobile communication devices to the warfighter, but it certainly has already scored one noteworthy achievement: creating stories for journalists. At last count, Google News has 300+ entries for “military smartphone.” Most of these stories report that the […]
AMREL releases the first Payload Controller that uses swappable, field-expedient Radio Control Modules (RCMs). Radio components are integrated into the RCM, which fit into AMREL’s revolutionary swappable device bays. RCMs can be easily switched in and out by ordinary personnel, enabling it to easily change applications. Developed under AMREL’s Flexpedient® Technology, RCMs were first used […]
An IEEE Spectrum article features an Al Jazeera video (see below) about Libyan rebels making their own weapons. The rebels transform a child’s toy into a weaponized UGV, prompting IEEE to conclude that “Anyone can (on principle, at least) build a robot, and given the need or the motivation, anyone can put a gun on […]
Officer.com recently ran an introductory article about Public Safety using what in the Defense world are referred to as Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (TUAV). No runway needed describes various applications, which for the most part, are the civilian equivalent of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR). Experts are repeatedly quoted that the technology not only exists […]
There’s nothing quite like the prospect of a half of a billion dollars to get the blood pumping, the brain scheming, and the pundits pontificating. The President’s ambitious Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP), which includes $70 million for robots, may not revive the American manufacturing sector, but it certainly has provided fodder for the technology media.
See the Rocky DB6, the world’s smallest rugged computer with full Windows 7/Linux, at FOSE 2011. This powerful little handheld weighs only 1.5 pounds, but supports the same programs as a laptop at a fraction of the energy. Come by AMREL’s booth 115 and ask about our FREE life-size die […]
In describing computer displays, what do the terms “transmissive,” “reflective,” and “transflective” mean? Transmissive is the most commonly used means of illuminating a computer display. The display is lit up from the back. While this method is fine for indoor use, strong sunlight may overwhelm it, making the computer screen difficult to read. Reflective method […]
Despite the ad with the drumming bunny, batteries in unmanned systems do not last forever. In fact the performing rabbit robot’s power lasts only three to four minutes. Battlefield robots do better (a typical UGV batteries may last about 2 hours), but power is a huge challenge. This seems counter-intuitive, since one of the main […]
Every once in a while, someone asks me to translate military jargon, or more often summarize a lengthy statement into an “executive summary.” Here are a couple of examples of my attempts to convert a dense forest of words into a simple “take home message.”
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