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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Using Microbes to Generate Electricity

Filed under Energy, Featured, Videos by jtozer on February 28, 2013 at 7:22 am {no comments}

Humanity is running on full power.

From the lights in our houses to our mobile devices, we are an energized society. And future energy sources could come from some pretty unlikely places.

Dr. Lenny Tender, an NRL research chemist, explains the mechanics of his benthic microbial fuel cell. A recent recipient of the Arthur S. Fleming Award, Tender is an internationally recognized leader in microbial fuel cell research. (Photo: Jamie Hartman, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

Dr. Lenny Tender, a research chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), has co-invented a device, known as a benthic microbial fuel cell, that persistently generates electrical power in marine environments. The fuel cell is being developed to persistently operate oceanographic sensors.

“It’s able to generate electricity just like a windmill,” Tender said. “It’s an energy harvester.”

The fuel cell draws electricity from the sea floor, creating an interface between the sediment on the bottom of a marine environment and the overlying water.

“At the bottom of the marine environment we have sediment, and the mud at the bottom of a harbor, river, lake or the ocean actually has quite a bit of fuel in it,” says Tender. “If you can think of anything that has ever lived in the marine environment, phytoplankton, sea creatures, etc., when they die they settle on the sea floor. And like leaves on the lawn, they start decomposing. This represents a pretty potent fuel source. What we do is put electrodes into this already made battery.”

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Marines Learn How To Detect Invisible Threats

Filed under Featured by jtozer on November 6, 2012 at 7:59 am {no comments}

I would love to say this is a post about ghost hunting, but that would be silly. Ghosts aren’t always invisible.

– JLT

An AN/PDR-77, a device used to detect and measure radiation, sits outside a simulated disaster site during a 2nd Marine Logistics Group training exercise aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Devin Nichols)

Deadly radiation kills if it goes undetected, so it falls upon specially trained Marine to alert units of the unseen danger.

More than 30 Marines from various units within the 2nd Marine Logistics Group learned how to counter radiation by using the AN/PDR-77 during the Monitor Survey Reconnaissance Course.

“Every unit is responsible for having a select number of Marines who are certified with this equipment,” said Sgt. Steven D. Potts, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense specialist with Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd MLG.

It could possibly save the lives of many service members, he added.

CBRN defense specialists trained the Marines to use the AN/PDR-77, a small, box-shaped sensor that detects alpha, beta, gamma and X-ray radiation.

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A Dirigible A Day Keeps The Threats Surveyed

Filed under STEM, Technology by jtozer on July 14, 2012 at 12:17 pm {no comments}

The Army accepted the last ordered Persistent Threat Detection System. Many of the systems are currently providing a situational awareness for soldiers serving in Afghanistan. (Courtesy photo)

The Persistent Threat Detection System entered its next chapter as Lt. Col. Michael Parodi, product manager Meteorological and Target Identification, was on hand at the Lockheed Martin facility in Dayton, Ohio; to accept the delivery of the last PTDS ordered.

Since its original introduction as a quick reaction capability, the Army has procured 66 systems that have been used in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Persistent Threat Detection System, or PTDS, is a large aerostat tethered to a mooring platform, which is accompanied by a Ground Control Station, or GCS. The system is equipped with both visual and audio surveillance technology.

Since the Civil War, when Union Soldiers utilized hot air balloons to serve as a surveillance platform, lighter than air technology has been a part of the Army’s inventory. As U.S. forces began a troop surge in Afghanistan while maintaining security in Iraq the need to provide soldiers with a persistent view of the battlefield was paramount.

In 2008, (then) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates directed an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or ISR, surge dedicated to providing soldiers with the ability to understand their environment.

One of the systems that was fielded to support the ISR surge was PTDS.
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National Museum USAF Displays Formerly Classified Reconnaissance Satellites

Filed under Space, STEM, Technology by Carla Voorhees on February 1, 2012 at 9:44 am {no comments}

by Rob Bardua, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

1/26/2012 – DAYTON, Ohio (AFNS) — Military, government and industry officials gathered Jan. 26 to officially place three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites on public display in the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force here.

Gambit 1 KH-7 is one of three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites that went on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, starting Jan. 26, 2012. The three satellites were among the most important U.S. photo reconnaissance systems used from the 1960s to the 1980s, and played a critical role in winning the Cold War and maintaining U.S. national security. (U.S. Air Force photo)

The three satellites — Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 — were among the most important U.S. photo reconnaissance systems used from the 1960s to the 1980s, and played a critical role in winning the Cold War and maintaining U.S. national security, officials said.

Passing in space high over their targets, these satellites used specially-designed film and cameras to take photos in orbit. The satellites were unmanned and unlikely to be shot down, and therefore minimized risks to military personnel while still obtaining information about areas of the world that the U.S. could not access.

Led by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, Central Intelligence Agency and industry partners worked together to create these amazingly complex and capable satellites, officials said.

According to retired Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson, the NRO director, NRO reconnaissance systems — from planes to satellites such as Gambit and Hexagon — have been and continue to be the foundation for global situational awareness in protection of our nation.

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Army Hosts Indian Delegation to Discuss Future R&D Collaboration

Filed under Education & Culture, Policy, Technology by Armed with Science on September 17, 2010 at 10:48 am {5 comments}

CERDEC and DoD representatives met with an Indian delegation at Fort Monmouth to discuss potential collaboration efforts in emerging information and command and control technologies, Aug 31 – Sept. 3.

CERDEC and DoD representatives met with an Indian delegation at Fort Monmouth, Aug 31 – Sept. 3. (Photo: US Army/CERDEC)

Representatives from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force met with an Indian delegation at Fort Monmouth, NJ, to discuss potential collaboration efforts in emerging information and command and control technologies, Aug 31 – Sept. 3. The event was hosted by the US Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC).

Government, industry and academia representatives from both countries presented research and discussed projects in the areas of service-oriented architecture, intelligent agents, language translation and artificial intelligence technologies.

“We see India as a key, strategic ally that has growing influence in the region, as well as worldwide. We’re getting a lot of guidance from administration and from our senior officials in DoD to build this relationship and to look at opportunities where we can cooperate. This workshop creates the right venue to do so by bringing the right people together to have those discussions,” said Matthew Warren, director for the Pacific Armaments Cooperation Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

As part of the workshop, CERDEC hosted a technical interchange meeting and panel discussion with industry representatives from both countries. The discussion focused on trends in information technology research to enhance coalition operations.

Workshop participants also visited CERDEC labs and traveled to Ft. Dix, N.J. to attend a coalition partners’ session at the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance On-The-Move Event 2010 – or C4ISR OTM E10 – to learn more about CERDEC efforts to support systems-of-systems integration.

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