DARPA Wants 'Precision Jamming' To Take Enemies Out of the Conversation

DARPA Wants 'Precision Jamming' To Take Enemies Out of the Conversation: "

I KNEW IT!!!!


From POPSCI:

On the battlefield, communication is key. So while improving comms between our troops is a vital part of the military's technological mission, the mad scientists over at DARPA are scheming up a new way to deny communication to the enemy in a very precise way. DARPA is seeking proposals for a way to use an array of low-power transmitter nodes in the sky and on the ground to perform 'surgical jamming' that will knock out communications signals 'on the order of a city block corner' while leaving surrounding areas unaffected.

DARPA envisions two modes of operation for the technology, known as PREW (for Precise Electronic Warfare). One method, called point-to-an-area, will utilize an ad hoc array of transmission nodes that are precisely synchronized to project energy on a limited location in space -- an area, say, 100 meters across -- from as far as 20 kilometers away. Which frequencies DARPA will jam is their little secret, of course, but the idea is to knock out GPS satellite navigation, CB-type radio bands, and cell phone signals. So if friendly troops are conducting operations in an area and command wants to disable an enemy communications bunker or a missile installation, for instance, it can simply jam signals in that precise area without knocking out friendly communication links nearby.

The other M.O., point-to-a-spot, is even more precise. The array and range are the same as above, but this time, rather than homing in on a certain geographical locale, the nodes concentrate on a beacon. This beacon can be one of the nodes in the array, an active participant in the system, or a device that is unaware it's being used as a beacon. So the system could lock onto an enemy cell phone, for instance, creating a bubble of jammed space around it that moves wherever the cell phone moves. Beacons can also be planted, if the enemy isn't carrying a suitable marker beacon.

The applications for the aforementioned technology are vast. Enemy communications could be knocked down during the insertion or extraction of troops from combat zones, minimizing an enemy's ability to respond. Commanders could disable a particular defensive installation, like a radar site or an anti-aircraft installation. It's even feasible that an enemy missile in flight could be wrapped in satellite navigation denial, throwing it from its course.

But the technology could also be beneficially turned toward our own troops. If DARPA can harness the technology to place a bubble of cell phone blockage around traveling Humvees while still keeping soldiers' radio bands clear, they could rob insurgents of a primary means of remotely detonating IEDs. It's the closest DARPA's come to a force field yet; at least, as far as we know.

[via DARPA via The Register]

"

Is Quantum Mechanics Selectively Erasing Our Memory?

Is Quantum Mechanics Selectively Erasing Our Memory?: "

Scary to think about.....


From POPSCI:

In a paper published last week, MIT physicist Lorenzo Maccone hypothesizes that, yes, quantum physics is messing with our minds. The laws of physics work just as well if time is running forwards or backwards. But we all seem to experience time running in only one direction, and in the same direction as everyone else -- a mystery of physics that's yet to be solved.

So life as we observe it presents a quandary. Randomness -- or entropy -- naturally increases. A drop of food coloring in water will spread out. Heat from a pizza dissipates. But the laws of physics that govern the tiny particles that make up everything could just as well run backwards, so something doesn't jibe. Why don't we see more instances of molecules ordering themselves (sugar un-dissolving itself from my coffee, ice cubes spontaneously forming in my water) if it's just as likely according to the laws of physics?

Maccone says that we do see these events. We just don't remember them, because some quantum weirdness erases the memories. Using a bunch of math, he says that your memory and the event are in a state of quantum entanglement, and that when that state gets broken, the memory is erased.

What do you think is going on? Is time running backward sometimes? Are molecules organizing themselves behind our backs? All I know is that my brain hurts right now.

[Via Guardian Science Blog]

"

Mercedes to Launch Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car Into Production by 2010

Mercedes to Launch Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car Into Production by 2010: "

Finally!!!!!!!



From POPSCI:

Mercedes-Benz says the company will bring a fuel-cell hatchback to buyers in the US and Europe by early next year. But will there be enough filling stations to support it?

Just like its counterparts at Honda and GM who've announced they'll produce hydrogen fuel-cell cars, Mercedes-Benz hopes the whole 'if you build it' thing doesn't just apply to Shoeless Joe Jackson. Mercedes announced today the company will build a hydrogen-fueled version of its European B-Class hatchback called the F-Cell for the US and Europe. It'll arrive by early 2010, far ahead of the massive hydrogen infrastructure the company acknowledges will be required for wide adoption of such cars.

The company says it will build 200 units of the F-Cell, a car powered by a 136-horsepower electric motor with current generated by a fuel-cell generator. Power storage comes by way of a lithium-ion battery (35 kW output / 1.4 kWh capacity) supporting a driving range of 250 miles and a top speed of 106. According to a press release, the F-Cell will perform similarly to an economy car with a 2-liter, four-cylinder engine. The company also touts good cold-start capability at temperatures as low as -13 degrees Fahrenheit. Not likely a problem in California, where most of the country's hydrogen refueling stations are.

Still, with the number of such stations in California still in the low double digits, and few stations elsewhere in the country, the F-Cell's limited rollout will likely remain centered on the Golden State. Mercedes-Benz officials say the company is working with oil companies, utilities and government agencies in California and Germany to expand the hydrogen infrastructure to support F-Cell drivers.

"

Warming Oceans May Cause the Earth to Tilt

Warming Oceans May Cause the Earth to Tilt: "

As if we do not have enough to worry about. Now we have to worry about the earth tilting over.


From POPSCI:

Global warming and expanding oceans, beyond immediate effects on the surface of our planet, may even cause the earth's axis to shift

Human activity has widely affected our planet, reshaping surfaces, moving or extinguishing species, and warming the air and water. Now scientists say our reach has been extended even further -- warming oceans may even start to shift the Earth's axis of rotation.



Previously, the effect of warmer water temperatures was thought to be negligible and not strong enough to tilt the earth. But in a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers have found that global warming and the resultant expansion of the oceans could actually shift our rotational axis significantly.

Warming causes our axis to shift because warmer water takes up more space than cooler water, and actually expanding upward and outward as it warms. Increased water volume pushes up onto shallow continental shelves, redistributing weight on the planet and causing the Earth to tilt. According to the report, the north pole of our rotational axis will travel around 1.5 centimeters a year in the direction of Alaska.

That's not much, in the context of other forces and movement. (The earth wobbles around as much if not more under other influences, including seasonal changes, melting glaciers, and retreating ice sheets.) But it is significant enough that the effect of warming should be taken into account when monitoring the way our axis moves in the future, the researchers report. Moreover, it represents just how strong the effects of human caused global warming can be -- even moving the planet itself.

[via New Scientist and Discovery News]

"

The Equilibrium Concept: A Car That Acts Like A Person

The Equilibrium Concept: A Car That Acts Like A Person: "

Out standing. I will take two!!!



From POPSCI:

You love your car, but would you want it to be more human? One designer thinks so

Ask anyone who's ever talked back to their GPS navigation system: Product developers are pretty good at using technology to humanize inanimate objects. But how would you like it if your car responded to your presence -- lighting up with delight or panting like a pet dog? What if, more helpfully, it recognized your touch on the steering wheel, and queued up your favorite MP3s and set your seating position just the way you liked it? Creepy or no? Either way, that's the future envisioned in the Equilibrium (EQ), a concept car by Dutch designer Bob Romkes that uses artificial intelligence to simulate life and the personality of an individual. Imagine rows of faceless sedans parked at the mall suddenly springing to virtual life, each becoming a sort of Tamagotchi with a purpose.

Sure, some of Romkes's ideas for the all-electric, artificial-intelligence-laden vehicle are far-fetched -- or at least, have yet to be invented -- like the exterior surface. Romke calls it 'rubber metal,' and it's made both flexible and rigid by the use of nanotechnology. The fictional material can also change from opaque to transparent, opening up the possibility for a car that can blush if embarrassed (fluid leak maybe?). The seats are envisioned to be covered with a polymer inner skin that's dynamically formed into different shapes by electricity, to adapt to a driver's body.

Other features of the electric-powered HQ are possible, though largely the domain of the experimental vehicles automakers trot out at motor shows, like a steering wheel with biometric sensors to detect the driver's heartbeat. That might also come in handy if he or she dozes off behind the wheel.

Still, the most compelling vision put forth by Romkes's HQ is that of using technology to make cars more reactive to who's behind the wheel, both for convenience and safety's sake. Whether or not we want them to be more like the companions they already are may be a different conversation.

[via Yanko Design]

"

DARPA Wants Morphing Helicopter Blades By Yesterday

DARPA Wants Morphing Helicopter Blades By Yesterday: "

Future whirlybirds may change their rotor blades to suit the mission

Helicopters won't transform into rampaging Decepticons anytime soon, but near-future rotor blades could actively change shape on the fly.

Military lab DARPA has put out a call for rotor blades that could boost payloads by 30 percent and range by 40 percent, as well as reduce sound by 50 percent and vibration by 90 percent compared to the usual fixed rotor blades.

The agency envisions helicopter blades that can morph into different modes for 'fuel efficiency' or 'high maneuver,' as examples. Adaptive technologies could change the diameter, sweep, chord, and tip shape of the blades, as well as other features. Airfoil sections of the blades might incorporate flaps, slats and active flow control.

'Active rotor technology will enable morphing of the rotor to optimize performance, resulting in rotorcraft with revolutionary advances in mission robustness, and facilitating multi-role capabilities,' DARPA noted in its announcement earlier this month for the 'Mission Adaptive Rotor' program. It plans to invest in key technologies that could lead to such adaptive rotor blades for next-generation military aircraft.

Aviation Week reports that aircraft manufacturers have already begun experimenting with more limited adaptive blades. Sikorsky has begun experimenting with a rotor system that uses active blade flaps controlled electromechanically, and plans to put the active rotor through a wind tunnel next year at NASA Ames in California. That's the same wind tunnel where Boeing tested a SMART rotor with piezoelectric-controlled flaps.

Any proposals that respond to DARPA's call would do well to account for the trickiness of helicopter rotor dynamics. We say bring on the transforming blades.

[via Aviation Week]

"