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Who Will Control the Swarm?

The world is already well on its way to a day when innumerable autonomous cars and drones buzz about, shuffling commuters to work and packages to doorsteps. In fact, there is new term for it floating around the circles of engineers and venture capitalists who hope to see the day arrive sooner rather than later:

Fort Carson Pushing Boundaries with Hydrogen-fueled Rig

On the outside, it looks like a sporty version of a mid-sized Chevrolet pickup. But the Army has little interest in its camouflage-chic paint job, its custom wheels or its knobby tires. The Army wants what’s under the hood. It is not a motor. Meet the hydrogen-powered ZH-2, an experimental truck built by General Motors

The Army Can Now Stop Enemy Tanks In Their Tracks Without Firing a Shot

U.S. Army personnel have successfully used advanced electronic warfare technology to completely disable enemy armor during a simulated tank assault at the Army National Training Center, Defense Systems reports. Developed by the Army Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), the combination of wireless communications-jamming and hacker exploits of vehicle systems forces enemy tanks to “stop, dismount, get

New Manikin Expands Natick”s Thermal Testing Capability

Thanks to a U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, contract, Natick”s Thermal Test Facility has a new, one-of-a-kind, articulating manikin to conduct flame and thermal testing on individual uniforms and personal protective equipment. The Pfc. Joseph Ouellette Thermal Test Facility, known as TTF, is a joint Army-Navy flame and thermal research facility located

DARPA”s “Flying Missile Rail” Seems To Be More About Manufacturing Than Combat

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has published its plan for a rapidly manufactured “Flying Missile Rail” drone that can be launched off the wing of a tactical jet. The concept sounds strange, and to some degree it is, but its existence could help underline the fact that unmanned systems can break the current

Scientists Unveil Explosion-Free Lithium-Ion Batteries

Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the University of Maryland have developed a battery that uses a water-salt solution as the electrolyte medium. The electrolyte helps ferry lithium ions between the battery”s cathode and anode, allowing for the loading and unloading of electric energy. Using the new solution, researchers were able to generate

The Military Will Try to Make a Missile-Destroying Laser Drone

The Pentagon wants another crack at shooting down ballistic missiles with laser beams. According to The War Zone, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is looking to put lasers on high-flying drones. Their mission: to intercept enemy missiles during the so-called “boost phase.” This is the second attempt to build such a thing, following an aborted

The Military Will Try to Make a Missile-Destroying Laser Drone

The Pentagon wants another crack at shooting down ballistic missiles with laser beams. According to The War Zone, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is looking to put lasers on high-flying drones. Their mission: to intercept enemy missiles during the so-called “boost phase.” This is the second attempt to build such a thing, following an aborted

Printed Sensors Monitor Tire Wear in Real Time

Electrical engineers at Duke University have invented an inexpensive printed sensor that can monitor the tread of car tires in real time, warning drivers when the rubber meeting the road has grown dangerously thin. If adopted, the device will increase safety, improve vehicle performance and reduce fuel consumption. The group hopes that the tire wear

The 2018 Body of Knowledge for the Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE)

The American Society of Quality has published the 3rd edition of the Certified Reliability Engineer Handbook. This handbook is fully updated to the 2018 Body of Knowledge for the Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), including the new sections on leadership, performance monitoring, root cause analysis, and quality triangles. Its purpose is to assist individuals preparing for

Army Researchers Point to Early Warning Signs in Military Vehicle Structural ”Wellness”

Researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have shown that early fatigue damage behavior in structures may be predicted through the study of the microscale mechanical behavior of the material. The findings are an important result for the structural health monitoring (SHM) community and may lead to new sensing techniques for predicting the service life

DLR to Fly Experiments on Blue Origin’s New Shepard

The German Aerospace Center, Germany’s space agency, will fly two experiments on a suborbital flight by Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle later this year as part of an effort to diversify its microgravity research efforts. Thomas Driebe, head of the physical and material sciences program at the center, known by the German acronym DLR, said