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Tech NewsGadgetsInvisible Tanks
Patton would’ve killed for a battalion of these babies. The British Army’s testing an “invisible” tank that works like the invisibility jacket Susumu Tachi put out a couple of years ago. Basically a camera/projector setup throws images of the surroundings onto the tank, letting you see through it, so it’s not quite the kind of … Continued
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Tech News
DARPA’s PowerSwim Brings Out the Aquaman in You
This crazy fin thing was developed by DARPA for scuba divers to swim 150% faster and with less effort than regular fins, helping to get places quicker and preserve oxygen along the way. Modeled after observing swimming habits of penguins and dolphins, it takes the strain away from smaller leg muscles, instead working the glutes … Continued
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Tech News
Navy to Get Robot Boats to Fight Pirates, Sets Stage For Historic Battle
Apparently, piracy (real piracy, not the BitTorrented variety) is all the rage off the coast of Somalia. The pirates, who probably don’t have peglegs or parrots but I picture them that way anyways, hijack ships and hold them and their equipment for ransom, sometimes killing crewmembers in the process. It isn’t pretty. But the US … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech News
Microrobot Military Patrol Jeep is Not Really Micro
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is soon to be guarded by the, ironically titled, Microrobot. Check out the gallery below: The unmanned vehicle may sound like a companion for your Roomba, but that it certainly is not. The Microrobot is entirely remote controlled and the operator officially has a rocking job. Infrared cameras, sonic waves, headlights … Continued
By Haroon Malik -
Tech NewsGadgets
Awesome: Boeing Tests Humvee-Mounted Laser Avenger
Yeah, you read that right: A laser strapped to a Humvee. The Avenger is Boeing’s air defense system typically loaded up with a heavy machine gun or Stinger missiles, but for a test a couple weeks ago, they mounted one of the systems on a Humvee equipped with a 1-kilowatt solid-state laser. During the test, … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
New iRobot Warrior X700 Carries Big Payloads and Big Guns
When we last checked in with iRobot’s Warrior, it was armless, pokey, weak and not killtastic. Their latest model, the Warrior X700, is the opposite of all of that, with plans for the urban warfare front: It sports a robo-arm that lifts 150 pounds, will tread a four-minute mile, lugs up to 500 pounds and … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Lockheed Martin One Shot Sniper System: One Shot, One Kill
Lockheed Martin’s scored a $2 million DARPA contract to develop the One Shot System, which will crunch data on and compensate for wind conditions so snipers can peg targets from further away, even during typhoon season. A prototype’s at least 9 months away, but Kotaku will be getting an eyeful of our own One Shot … Continued
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Tech News
New Armed Robots in Iraq Were Built For Killin’
We showed you the first gun-toting robots when they were first unleashed in Iraq, but those were merely bomb-disposal robots with guns attached to them. Now, from the same company, we have robots built from the ground up to be killing machines. Think of them as a very early version of the T-1000. Danger Room … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech NewsGadgetsRussia’s “Father of All Bombs” Not Quite That Manly
To our innocent eyes, the video of Russia’s “Father of All Bombs” looked pretty impressively explosive, but US big-boom experts are now questioning Russia’s hoax-y claims about the weapon’s size and power. For one, it might not even be a shockwave-generating thermobaric bomb—one expert says it actually looks like a fuel-air bomb, which is just … Continued
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Tech News
TerraMax Self-Driving RoboTruck to Take Soldiers Out of Harm’s Way
Self-driving cars have always fascinated me, ever since I saw a cover image of kids playing checkers in the back of an autonomous car on the cover of Boy’s Life in my elementary school library. (Checkers in a car! The future is now!) After years of waiting, the military is finally making my dreams a … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech NewsGadgets
Soldiers Go Solar
Australian soldiers are now beginning deployment with wearable solar panels. Just like most of us, their military is weighed down by too many gadgets that are consuming too much power. But unlike most of us, their use of night vision is for more than “recreational” purposes. So the government has spent £1million developing a 14- … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
io9
Must Read: We3
Must-read graphic novels are futuristic classics that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That’s why we’ve rated them 1-5 on the patented “crunchy goodness” scale. Title: We3 Date: 2004-2005 Vitals: Cute animals wear cybernetic super-soldier armor and go on a killing rampage. OMG cute puppy, cat and rabbit! They just want … Continued
By Charliejane -
Tech NewsGadgets
Router Drones to Deliver Wifi From the Sky
Military personnel already use unmanned drones for spying on areas from above, but Wired’s Danger Room reports that soon they’ll also be using them for a less exciting but just as important task: wireless networking. AeroVironment, a company that makes unmanned aerial vehicles, has been working on making router drones, planes that can fly around … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech NewsGadgets
Lockheed Martin Developing ‘Maple Seed’ Flying Cameras
The Pentagon is giving the war profiteers over at Lockheed Martin a nice chunk of change to develop a spy camera modeled after a maple seed. Loaded up with two rockets, the wee, single-winged camera would be used in large clusters over war zones, capturing loads of imagery to give a complete picture of a … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech NewsGadgets
Army Builds Foam and Woodchip Humvee
Next week, the US Army will begin testing a new Humvee that has a body and frame made completely from composite materials, Fiberglass, balsa wood, foam and carbon reinforcements. Conventionally, the Army has battled with how to protect Humvees from mines because ironically, adding more armor to the vehicles just weighs them down (and bring … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
Tech NewsGadgets
50-Knot Sentry Drone Is the Ultimate in RC Boats
Just eleven and a half feet in length, the Sentry is an unmanned surveillance craft from British defense firm Qinetiq that can hit speeds of 50 knots. The boat, which can work up to 16 miles from its controller, and go for up to six hours, is on show at an arms fair in London … Continued
By AddyDugdale -
Tech News
Life Saver Portable Water Filter Cleans the Crap Out of Your Water…Literally
The Life Saver water bottle is a military grade water sanitizer that can make the dirtiest of water drinkable in seconds. The bottle not only filters out bacteria, but also takes care of viruses and water that has been contaminated by fecal matter. The creator, Michael Pritchard, initially came up with the idea after watching … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Warrior Wear Army Clothing Has Built-in Tourniquet
A military clothing company has come up with Warrior Wear, a line of trousers and shirts with I.T.S. &mdash that’s an integrated tourniquet system &mdash attached for those fighting on the front line. If you are hit, you just pull the corresponding tourniquet tight to stem the bleeding from the wound. There are four tourniquets … Continued
By AddyDugdale -
Tech News
Million Rounds Per Minute: Ghastly Guns Putting the Hurt on You
We’ve seen some of these guns before, but the creatively named Metal Storm company keeps making videos about them that you won’t want to miss. The sound of that million-rounds-per minute gun firing is something you won’t soon forget. “Aaaaannnnk!” And it’s done. Let’s hope these monster weapons are only used by the good guys. … Continued
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Tech News
Getec V100 Tablet PC Laughs in the Face of Danger
Getec’s V100 is a tough laptop, a really tough laptop. You won’t have to rely on some pathetic drop-sensor to protect this machine. In fact, you probably have to throw it down the stairs just to boot it up. It’s built as a military machine, but we lucky civilians can get now one, too. The … Continued
By Msparkes