Armed with Science | Tag Archive

Behold! The Ultimate UAV Remote

Filed under Technology, Videos by jtozer on May 15, 2013 at 7:07 am {no comments}

The holy grail of home entertainment systems always has been a master remote control for separate components of differing brands. Well guess what? The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has developed something similar for military ground, air and undersea unmanned systems that will work across the services, as outlined in a new video released May 1.

Behold the master of all remotes.

(screen shot provided by the Office of Naval Research)

This Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)-prescribed data model is a piece of software that enabled development of the Common Control System, which is comprised of many different common control services.

The Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Control Segment (UCS) software can be added to any unmanned system to make it able to communicate and work with any other.

It will run on any type of platform or hardware, and it can overlay existing systems running on propriety software to make them work with any others.

The groundbreaking UCS-2, or Universal Character Set, computer code-based software acts as a gateway that allows the warfighter to control an entire unmanned system, from the vehicle itself to its payload. The various services within the Common Control System are now available for download by all of the military services through an OSD-sponsored online “store.”

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Lasers Bring New Urgency to Electric Power Research

Filed under Technology by jtozer on May 9, 2013 at 7:00 am {no comments}

In the wake of the recent announcement that laser weapons will be put on U.S. Navy ships, the need for reliable, high-voltage shipboard power has become a matter of national security, officials said at the Electric Ship Technologies Symposium outside Washington, D.C.

(Graphic photo by Jessica L. Tozer)

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored event featured some of the world’s top scientists and engineers in power systems, who agree that a new era in electric power is within sight.

“The work being done in this area is vital,” said Dr. Thomas Killion, who heads ONR’s Office of Transition. “As the upcoming deployment of a shipboard laser weapon reminds us, we need power generation and power management systems with greater-than-ever capabilities, but from devices that are smaller than ever.”

Earlier this month, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert announced that for the first time a laser weapon system (LaWS) will be placed onboard a deployed ship, USS Ponce, for testing in the Persian Gulf in 2014.

The announcement underscored the need for accessible high-power electric generation, capable of meeting the substantial demands that will be needed to power laser systems and other high-power weapon systems.

As the technology advances, and faced with rising and unpredictable fossil fuel costs, the Navy’s next-generation surface combatant ship will leverage electric ship technologies in its design. While electric ships already exist, design characteristics of a combatant ship are more complex with regard to weight, speed, maneuverability—and now, directed energy weapons.

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Navy Unveils Its First Laser Gun

Filed under Technology, Videos by jtozer on April 25, 2013 at 11:05 am {no comments}

We all know the old saying about the unfortunate soul who brought a knife to the gunfight. In the not-too-distant future, we should be able to say we bested our adversaries because we had lasers, and they showed up with only a gun.

In fiscal year 2014, the Navy will put a solid-state laser gun aboard USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf. The tests we run with this weapon will help us develop a prototype system that can be tailored to many surface combatant classes.

Watch a demonstration of the high-energy laser aboard a moving surface combatant ship

It’s impossible to overstate the significance of this milestone and our continued research into directed energy. I’ve been working with weapon systems for 30 years, and this capability is poised to change the face of modern warfare.

As Navy leaders have said, we never want to see a sailor or Marine in a fair fight. We always want them to have the advantage.

This new kind of weapon will give our warfighters options like no other system before. I like to use the “five Ds” when describing its myriad of capabilities: deter, disable, damage, defeat and destroy. The solid-state laser can vary the power and accomplish each of these, independently or sequentially. (more…)

STEM Technovation For Women

Filed under STEM by jtozer on March 21, 2013 at 7:27 am {no comments}

Women’s History Month is in full swing, and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is helping to meet the challenge of encouraging young women to become scientists.

The Technovation Challenge — funded by ONR to introduce girls to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers — provides an opportunity for girls from around the country to design and pitch mobile phone apps to leaders in computer science and business.

The challenge spans 12 weeks and ends May 1 at the World Pitch event in San Francisco. During the challenge, teams of high school girls are mentored in design, computer coding and business; nearly every mentor is female.

“ONR is helping girls develop into future technology leaders,” said Cmdr. Joseph Cohn, deputy director of research for Navy STEM. “We understand the importance of recognizing the historic technological contributions women have made. We also need to celebrate the efforts girls and young women—tomorrow’s leaders—are making today.”

ONR’s support has helped the Technovation Challenge transition from a pilot program for 45 girls in a single location to a nationwide program. It has since expanded to 18 countries.

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Navy Testing New Fire-Resistant Clothing

Filed under Featured by jtozer on March 14, 2013 at 7:43 am {no comments}

Hey, who wants fire resistant clothing? Oh that’s right. Everyone.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is answering a sailor’s request for delivery of new flight deck clothing that could significantly boost personnel safety on aircraft carriers across the Navy.

Sponsored by both ONR’s TechSolutions rapid-response program and Naval Air Systems Command, new flame-resistant jerseys and trousers could be worn by Navy flight deck crews across the fleet as early as 2014. The evaluation of the prototypes began in December on USS Stennis (CVN 74); prototypes will also be tested on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and a third carrier yet to be selected.

The obligation to ably equip sailors is a guiding principle in the Chief of Naval Operations’ Sailing Directions.

“The safety of our sailors and Marines is Job One,” said Master Chief Charles Ziervogel, who heads the ONR TechSolutions program. “We must always be looking for ways to evolve and improve our sailors’ equipment and gear.”

The rapid response and delivery program accepts recommendations and suggestions from Navy and Marine Corps personnel on ways to improve mission effectiveness by applying new and improved technology capabilities. Typical turn-around time for a working prototype is approximately 12-18 months.

The quick-drying, flame-resistant uniform is designed as an upgrade to today’s flight deck clothing, and is more comfortable for personnel.

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MMO War Games For The Military

Filed under Technology, Videos by jtozer on March 1, 2013 at 7:35 am {no comments}

There aren’t a lot of jobs that would allow (I said ALLOW) you to play MMOs at work. This should come as no surprise, though; clearly there are reasons for that. There are, however some careers that welcome massively multiplayer online gaming as a part of their work week. Video game designers. Blizzard employees. Escapist Magazine reviewers. The Navy.

Yeah. You read that right. The U.S. Navy.

Ah-ah-ah, not so fast shipmates. This doesn’t mean you can abandon your proverbial (or in some cases literal) ship and hop online to help your guild blaze through the next dungeon.

Okay, lemme explain.

No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Introducing the Massive Multiplayer Online War Game Leveraging the Internet (MMOWGLI) exercise. Ha. Only the military could create such a crazy acronym for an already complicated acronym to describe online gaming.

Anyway…

MMOWGLI is a joint effort between the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Institute for the Future (IFTF). It’s an online game designed to crowd source ideas and strategies that may provide insight into some of the Navy’s toughest problems.

Combining the military mission with online gaming, MMOWGLI creates an environment where players are asked to share new ideas and collaborate with others to earn innovation points and win the game.

The em2 MMOWGLI round that’s currently being played is an effort to generate innovative ideas advancing the Navy’s capabilities in the electromagnetic spectrum.

“em2 MMOWGLI is my first crowd sourcing experience and an idea that I viewed with skepticism before joining the fray,” says Gerald O’Donnell, concepts developer at Navy Warfare Development Command. “Experiencing the game has made me a believer.”

Here are the details:

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ONR Program Uses Cell Phones to Fight Epidemics

Filed under Life Sciences, STEM, Technology by jtozer on February 3, 2013 at 7:34 am {no comments}

Take that, influenza virus! (Graphic from the CDC)

A program managed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to get ahead of epidemic outbreaks has led to the deployment of new healthcare monitoring and information collection technology in South America and Africa.

Building off of an original project funded by ONR, researchers are collecting data through a text message-based system set up to take advantage of widespread access to handheld devices in Colombia and Zambia.

Through the collection of pictures, videos, texts and geo-location information from cell phones in a given population, researchers can perform complex data analysis and begin to track and map a fluid situation such as an earthquake or the spread of disease.

In Sailing Directions meant to guide the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert has called on the service to employ resources in a variety of situations.

“The U.S. military continues to take on a bigger role in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations around the globe,” said Cmdr. Joseph Cohn, program officer in ONR’s Warfighter Performance Department.

“Real-time epidemiological data allows military decision-makers to be medically prepared and, more locally, provide quicker responses to potential disease outbreaks in close quarters common to military facilities like ships.”

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Free Search Engine Connects Classrooms with Science and Technology

Filed under Education & Culture, STEM by jtozer on January 3, 2013 at 7:19 am {no comments}

An educational search engine funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) has gone mobile with the release of an iPad app.

Gooru, a free search engine for learning that brings together science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational materials on the web-developed the Gooru Collections iPad app to bring thousands of assorted multimedia resources to teachers and students on the go.

Launched with initial investment from ONR, Gooru provides a one-stop shop for fifth- to 12th-graders and their teachers to discover and share high-quality videos, games, digital textbooks, quizzes and other interactive products related to STEM and eventually other subjects.

“ONR’s STEM efforts are looking for ways to inspire, engage and educate current and future STEM leaders,” said Cmdr. Joseph Cohn, ONR’s deputy director of research for STEM. “This technology promises to have a broad reach and would facilitate millions of students and teachers in developing a deeper understanding of a range of STEM disciplines.”

Last year, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced plans to strengthen the service’s future workforce by doubling the investment in STEM education over the next five years. The secretary shared this vision at a conference sponsored by ONR, which coordinates the Navy’s STEM efforts and offers a collaborative website at STEM2Stern.org.

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