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Manned Systems

Member Profile: Girish Parvate-Patil of Caterpillar

Girish Parvate-Patil, works for Caterpillar Inc. as an Engineering Team Leader on marine propulsion systems. He is accountable for overall leadership and direction on...

Articles

Energy

Testing for Cold-Climate Comfort

Arjeplog, Sweden sits around 35 miles (57 km) below the Arctic Circle, but this remote city has been a bustling hub for the automotive industry for decades. Since the first winter tests were conducted...

What We’re Driving

Propulsion

What We’re Driving: 2018 Chrysler 300 S AWD

Selling a car, any kind of car, is tough business in a time when everyone wants crossovers. It’s always seemed particularly difficult for FCA, so in more than one sense you can see the...

Application Briefs

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Autonomous Helicopters

Northrop Grumman Corporation
Falls Church, VA
+1 703-280-2900
www.northropgrumman.com/firescout

Fire Scout is a combat proven, autonomous helicopter system that provides real-time Intelligence,...

Application Briefs

Aerospace

Miniature Data Recorder

DTS
Seal Beach, CA
+1 562-493-0158
www.dtsweb.com

Harsh, wet and dusty environments pose serious reliability issues for data collection. The SLICE IP68 data acquisition system is designed to measure...

Briefs

Robotics, Automation & Control

Advancements Made to the Wingman Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) Simulation: How to Operate the SIL

The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), US Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), DCS Corp., and Naval Surface...

Briefs

Unmanned Systems

Soft Robotic Fish Swims Alongside Real Ones in Coral Reefs

A team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) unveiled “SoFi,” a soft robotic fish that can independently swim alongside real fish in the...

Articles

Aerospace

New Technologies Tackle UAV Challenges

Unmanned vehicles for air, land, and water represent an increasingly-important capability for virtually all military services worldwide. Because each new generation of device technology promises...

Application Briefs

Data Acquisition

Automated Flight System Software

Kittyhawk
San Francisco, CA
+1 415-598-7757
https://kittyhawk.io

Kittyhawk recently announced new features to its flight system software platform. Kittyhawk is adding an automated flight...

Briefs

Aerospace

Soldier-Robot Team Communication: An Investigation of Exogenous Orienting Visual Display Cues and Robot Reporting Preferences

The advancement of robot capabilities and functionality has changed the way in which soldiers perform many of their...

Briefs

Communications

GPS Enabled Semi-Autonomous Robot

The primary objective of this research is to integrate GPS and local sensory data to allow a robot to operate semi-autonomously outside of a laboratory environment. The Pioneer 3-AT, a robust platform...

News

Propulsion

Nissan Variable-Compression Engine Gets First Shot at Volume with New 2019 Altima

Nissan’s all-new, sixth-generation Altima midsize sedan arrived at its 2018 New York auto show reveal with several innovations, but probably its most...

Application Briefs

Aerospace

Extended-Range Loitering System

UVision Air Ltd
Zur Igal, Israel
+972 9 749 6823
www.uvisionuav.com

UVision Air Ltd. — a company that specializes in lethal aerial loitering systems of all sizes — has successfully...

Articles

Imaging

Robotic Applique Kits Leverage Existing Assets

When it comes to modern military operations, robotic technology provides a tremendous tactical advantage. Drones, ground robots and autonomous vehicles are routinely used for missions such as...

Products

Electronics & Computers

New Products

Rapid Deployment SIGINT Sensor

VStar Systems (San Diego, CA) announced the addition of a pod version of its MA-C SIGINT Sensor, the MA-C MiniPod™. Two active high frequency (HF) antennas allow for intercept and copy of land...

Articles

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Protecting Critical Data on Unmanned Underwater Platforms

Emerging mission requirements from global defense forces are driving new programs and applications for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) platforms. Like their airborne counterparts,...

Briefs

Transportation

Development of a Vision-Based Situational Awareness Capability for Unmanned Surface Vessels

Using unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for “dull, dirty and dangerous missions” is gaining traction in recent years as it removes the human...

Articles

Electronics & Computers

Educating UGVs

Advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are accelerating as the technology matures from being research-orientated to being deployed in a wide range of products and services, such as autonomous vehicles. While...

Application Briefs

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Inertial Measurement Unit

Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd.
Plymouth, UK
+44 0 1752 723330
www.siliconsensing.com

Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd's latest DMU30 inertial measurement unit (IMU) has been chosen to provide highly...

Application Briefs

Aerospace

Robotic Paint Removal System

Air Force Research Laboratory
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
+1 937-255-0017
www.wpafb.af.mil

AFRL Materials Integrity engineers recently played a key role in enabling the safer and more...

INSIDER

Materials

Adaptive Materials Could Help Protect Rotorcraft

Engineers developed a technique that causes a composite material to become stiffer and stronger on-demand when exposed to ultraviolet light. This on-demand control of composite behavior...

News

Automotive

Axial-Flux Technology Gives EVs a Boost

Motor developments for electric vehicles (EVs) often are shaded by the emphasis placed on battery capability. But the enduring need to deliver improved packaging, power, torque and range from EVs...

News

Automotive

Simulation Rules: Scrubbing Heat, Sound and Dirt from Autonomous EVs

Engineering simulation software company Exa, now part of French Dassault Systèmes, has some advice for non-automotive companies that may be considering venturing into...

News

Automotive

Graphene: Living in a Stronger Material World?

The word “revolutionary” has often found its way onto the automotive industry’s descriptive list of new technologies – sometimes more in hope than conviction.

News

Defense

Beyond Catch and Release

Instead of relying on a few multi-million dollar unmanned aircraft, future warfighters may use swarms of hundreds of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to accomplish missions. In the face of air defenses, a...

News

Software

Simulation 'Libraries' Will Support Testing of High-Level Vehicle Autonomy

The challenges of validating autonomous vehicles designed to operate at SAE Level 4 and 5 are a major focus of driving-simulation specialist rFpro. The advent of...

News

Connectivity

Assuring Data Integrity: Vital for Connected-Vehicle Markets

Connectivity, one of the fastest-growing technical features for new vehicles, has attracted the attention of many companies that hope to offer services and garner revenue by...

News

Weapons Systems

OA-X Phase Two Kicks Off

Yesterday, the sound of turboprops was heard again over Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

News

Manned Systems

NASA Picks Lockheed to Build Low-Boom X-Plane

In April, NASA took another major step toward reintroducing supersonic flight with an award to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company to design, build, and test a supersonic aircraft to reduce...

What We’re Driving

Materials

Citroen C4 Cactus

Its birth may have been way back in 1955, but any mention among auto-industry technology aficionados of Citroën’s then startlingly radical DS will generate a sigh of admiration that echoes the sighs of the car's radical...

News

Robotics, Automation & Control

SAE Brings Autonomy to the Public in New Demonstration Program

With a first-of-its-kind program that allows the public to experience traveling in a fully-automated (SAE Level 4) vehicle, SAE International was in Tampa, Florida in early...

News

Aerospace

GE Aviation Delivers Improved Turbine Engine During U.S. Army Preliminary Design Review

An updated version of GE Aviation’s T901-GE-900 turboprop engine used in the AH-64 Apache attack and UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters...

Articles

Energy

Le Mans 2018: Can Anyone Beat Toyota’s Hybrids?

Arguably the pinnacle of auto racing technology, the World Endurance Championship’s 24 Hours of Le Mans is in a period of transition for 2018-19. The FIA sanctioning body has dubbed...

INSIDER

Defense

Artificial Intelligence Helps Soldiers Learn Faster

New technology allows U.S. soldiers to learn 13-times faster than conventional methods, and Army researchers said this may help save lives.

INSIDER

Defense

Navy Researchers Work to Lighten, Strengthen Warfighter Armor

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory pushed grain size engineering to the limit and recently discovered previously unseen behaviors...

INSIDER

Defense

Nuclear Radiation Detecting Device Could Produce New Homeland Security Tool

A Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory research team has developed an exceptional next-generation material for nuclear radiation detection...

Original Equipment

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Volvo Trucks Accelerates Electric Truck Debuts

Volvo Trucks recently unveiled two full electric trucks, in separate ceremonies in Gothenburg, Sweden and in Hamburg, Germany, within three weeks’ time. The company launched the two-axle...

News

Electronics & Computers

Studies Seek to Reduce Range Impact of EV Cabin Conditioning

If the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) is to enter the affordable mainstream, it has to overcome the challenge of 50-60% loss of range from the impact of cabin heating,...

News

Manned Systems

Boeing to Broaden Its Services Portfolio

June 2017 marked the launch of Boeing’s third major business unit Boeing Global Services. The new unit, which combined aspects of Boeing’s previous Commercial Aviation Services and Global...

INSIDER

Defense

NASA Teams with Uber on Safety of Future Urban Airspace

NASA has teamed with Uber Technologies to further explore concepts and technologies related to urban air mobility (UAM) to ensure a safe and efficient system for future air...

News

Electronics & Computers

Silicon Drives Autonomy Movement

Silicon has joined iron and steel as a basic infrastructure material for autos—and the drive towards autonomy won’t slow that transition. Numerous tradeoffs will challenge automotive engineers as...

News

Propulsion

Chevrolet Delivers a Bombshell with First-Ever 4-Cylinder for Fullsize Pickups

The latest act in the carefully-choreographed unveiling of the 2019 Chevy Silverado that goes on sale this fall is the first four-cylinder engine ever offered...

News

Power

Stanadyne Pumps up the Volume

Although the auto sector continues to intensify its focus on electrification, planners and analysts remind almost daily that internal combustion-based propulsion will continue to the baseline for a decade or...

News

RF & Microwave Electronics

Rolls-Royce and Superdielectrics Explore Supercapacitor Technology

Last month, Rolls-Royce signed a collaboration agreement with UK-based technology start-up Superdielectrics Ltd to create next-generation, high-energy storage...

Road Ready

Propulsion

2019 Avalon: Toyota Further Refines Its Lexus Alternative

At a time when buyers are increasingly migrating to SUVs, Toyota is launching its all-new 2019 Avalon believing that there is still high-volume life left in the large-sedan...

Road Ready

Energy

Nissan’s New VCR Engine: Worth the Effort?

Announced at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, Nissan’s new Variable Compression Ratio engine—known as the VC Turbo—pushes the pause button, at least momentarily, on the company’s journey to...

News

Energy

Nano-Based Ultracap Tech Boosts EV Power Density

French nanomaterials specialist NAWA Technologies is aiming to bring a new dimension to the automotive industry’s use of the word “hybrid.” It is aiming to link high efficiency new...

News

Automotive

First Operational Use of Aurora’s AACUS System

Last week, Aurora Flight Sciences’s Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) achieved a major operational milestone when it successfully delivered cargo to US Marines in the...

News

Propulsion

GM Adopts Advanced Cylinder Deactivation for 2019 Chevy Silverado V8s

Calling 2019 variants of its 5.3-L and 6.2-L OHV V8s for the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado fullsize pickup “the most advanced gasoline V8s in the [Chevrolet] brand’s...

News

Energy

What We’re Driving: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

The most prominent recent brand-identifier for the FiatChrysler Dodge brand has been its outlandishly-powered Challenger SRT Hellcat and Demon. But they are cars, after all, and...

Articles

Propulsion

Schaeffler ‘On a Journey’ of Propulsion Transformation

There might be few more incisive examples of the industry’s organic technology transformation than what’s going on with Germany’s Schaeffler. The company’s name...

News

Power

2018 Nissan Leaf SV

Uncoiling the fat-diameter charge cord from its kit bag, I plugged the Nissan’s new Leaf into the 120-V outlet on my garage’s exterior wall. Handling the cord, which was dirty from the previous night’s charging,...

News

Manufacturing & Prototyping

NASA Invites Proposal from Space-Based Large-Scale 3D-Printing Company

The International Space Station (ISS) is the most collectively expensive object built by humans. The total estimated cost is believed to be close to $150 billion....

News

Power

Can Tech Prevent Drunk-Driving Fatalities?

Despite the introduction of active and passive safety systems installed on new vehicles, the U.S. motor vehicle death rate remains high, currently some 40,000 persons. Although this number...

News

Unmanned Systems

'Function on Demand' Brings Opportunities, Security Challenges

The motorist is on a vacation in his leased car, a minimally-equipped vehicle for which the low price was an incentive. But now he temporarily would like some of the features...

News

Automotive

Embraer X EVTOL Debuts Design at Uber Elevate 2018

Autonomous flying cars and air-taxis have been the subject of science fiction movies for decades, but Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer has now announced plans to develop a...